Matt Hardy Explains Vince McMahon's Tradition Of Hometown Losses For WWE Stars

Vince McMahon has made some many questionable decisions, especially at the tail-end of his career at the helm of WWE creative. Matt Hardy was on the receiving end of some of these decisions, and while speaking on "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" podcast, he speculated on why McMahon was fond of letting stars lose in their hometowns.

"I think he felt like it was going to get good heat, and I think in his mind he justified like, 'I can get heat on an individual by taking advantage of the hometown star. And then, I'll use this heat to build them into something bigger.'" Hardy suggested that McMahon likely enjoyed seeing stars embarrassed in their hometown, especially Jim Ross, who was subject to this trend in Oklahoma City by his former boss.

Hardy then recalled a feud he and his brother had with Edge and Christian, claiming that after their loss to the duo at WrestleMania 2000, the original plan was for them to win at SummerSlam in their hometown. However, McMahon changed course a week before the event. "Vince said, 'Damn it. Too many people think you're going to win. We've got to change it. We'll just do it at the next show –- wherever that's at.' It was Philadelphia, Unforgiven, in a cage match."

According to Hardy, despite what McMahon believed, sometimes it's okay to give fans what they're expecting. "I think sometimes people overthink pro wrestling, and I think that was one of the scenarios where they were overthinking pro wrestling."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.