Matt Hardy Explains Why Tony Khan Put The Hardys On AEW Dark: Elevation
On the latest episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the AEW superstar spoke about recent criticism AEW has received for putting him and his brother Jeff on AEW Dark: Elevation as of late, rather than Dynamite or Rampage.
The Hardyz teamed with Top Flight to take on the Private Party, The Blade, and Angelico of The AFO on last week's episode of Elevation, and Jeff wrestled on the previous episode in a 10-man tag match. Matt Hardy detailed what happened this past week when the team appeared on Elevation and why it's not a big deal for him and Jeff to work the show.
"Here's what happened that day," Hardy said. "We get to TV on Wednesday, they're putting together the card and everything, and initially, it was going to be a Dynamite and a Rampage on one night and then they split it to where it was going to be Rampage live on one night. Tentatively, on Rampage for weeks, there were talks of myself, Jeff, and Top Flight vs. a four-man team of the AFO: Andrade's guys.
"That was going to be on Rampage and Tony said, 'Well, I feel like we're just giving [the fans] a Dynamite and I want to give them all the stars that are here, I want to give them the best experience possible. Would you be okay just moving this Rampage match so they see the Hardys? Dynamite was packed from beginning to end, the card was loaded and there was no time for anything. We could put a pre-tape for you guys but we want you guys to be in front of a live crowd. Would you guys be okay with doing a live, Elevation match? We'll take that Rampage match that I talked about doing and just bump it to Elevation, and that way, the live crowd gets to see you and it'll be a huge match for Elevation. Hopefully, that'll do a great number online.'
"We said, of course, Tony, that's why we're here, we're wrestlers and we're more than happy to do that. Especially being first, before all of Dynamite, we were excited because we knew that would make it that much easier to have a great match because the crowd was going to be more into it. The match was so much fun, and I know Dante and Darius, they were having the time of their life teaming with the Hardy Boyz. And anytime we work with Private Party, those guys are so excited and so hyped. It was a great match, I loved it and I loved that we got to interact with them."
Continuing to talk about wrestling on AEW Dark: Elevation, Matt Hardy mentioned that no AEW talent has issues doing whatever it takes to make the company succeed, and that's what separates them from other wrestling companies. The former WWE superstar talked about how The Hardy Boyz appearance on the show would elevate "Elevation" and be a positive for AEW in the long run.
"He always takes legends or veterans and puts them in a position to succeed, and then I said on top of this, it helps Elevation," Hardy said. "There was a time I remember where a few months back, we were in Charlotte and it was the Battle of the Belts that they were taping, and the last match that they added was myself vs. Adam Page as captains of three-man teams. And we were going to select people, myself and Adam Page. We were happy to do that, and it was like the main event of a Dark.
"Everybody on AEW is willing and open to do that and that's why AEW succeeds because they have everybody who is on the same page to do what is best for the company. Myself and Jeff knew being on Elevation was going to have people tune into that show and help Elevation become a known event and show. Once again, whenever AEW ultimately gets their streaming service, all that stuff can land there. TK is very smart, he's getting that content and getting it very quickly."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.