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SLAM! Speaks: V1 in TNA
By
SLAM! Wrestling Staff
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In the past few years, World Wrestling Entertainment has released several wrestlers
from their contracts; arguably, though, there may not be any that has drawn
more fan passion than Matt Hardy's dismissal.
It's not hard to see just how large and passionate a group the "MF'ers"
are. There are countless fan sites around the Web and boisterous fans across
the world who scream for Hardy's return to WWE.
Hardy, however, will soon be making his debut in Total Non-stop Action. Thus,
the SLAM! gang decided to take a look at how "Version One" will draw
for the three-year old company. Here's what we had to say.
Jason Clevett
Well, based on the reaction of the ROH faithful to Matt debuting with the company
and facing Christopher Daniels, if TNA can make a similar impact with Matt it
can be a big thing. If the company heavily promotes him and uses him properly,
then it certainly has potential to make a big impact (*editor's note: pun not
intended, hopefully :-) ). It remains to be seen if they give the belt to AJ
Styles on Sunday or hold off and have Jeff Jarrett drop it to Hardy. Styles
vs. Hardy or Jarrett vs. Hardy could be stellar matches.
That said, to the casual fan who may not be familiar with the background to
Hardy's release, Hardy hasn't been used in a productive manner in WWE for over
a year, so to them it may seem like "another WWE castoff." It is in
the company's hands to book Matt Hardy in a way that he does make an impact,
let's hope they come up with something stellar that highlights him like ROH has.
Bob Kapur
Maybe I'm just being pessimistic, but I predict that Matt will start off
hot for a couple of weeks, and then get buried by Jeff Jarrett (assuming he
still has the belt by then) in his TNA PPV debut. His heat lost, he'll languish
in the mid-card ranks for a while, and by year's end will be engaged in a feud
with his brother.
Greg Oliver
Matt Hardy should fit into TNA like a glove. He'll be able to pull off great
matches with a wide variety of talent, and still has a passion for the
wrestling business that seems missing from his brother, Jeff. And maybe Matt's
arrival will spark his brother too. I just hope they don't put the NWA belt on
him right away. That's a mistake and makes their product seem second-rate, like
the castoffs from WWE can step in and beat their best.
Jon Waldman
Unfortunately, I just can't see Hardy becoming a top player in TNA. The politics
in WWE are so similar in TNA, whereas he will only be allowed to succeed as
much as those with power will let him succeed. In WWE it was Triple H; in TNA
it's Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett does seem more open to letting other stars shine,
however, so maybe he will be given the opportunity to shine.
The other factor working against Hardy is this - AJ Styles is in the midst
of a huge rise to success. If he cannot beat Jarrett Sunday, then all will be
for naught. Putting the main belt on Hardy's waist would also be a mistake, as
the immediate appearance would be that it took a WWE guy to dethrone JJ.
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How successful do you think Matt Hardy will be in TNA? Send us your thoughts.
