Culture State: Matt Hardy Continues to Evolve

Matt Hardy joined Chris Lea and Dennis Cox on Culture State ahead of AEW's live Dynamite taping in Charlotte.

Posted 4:24 a.m. Jul 28, 2021 — Updated 4:24 a.m. Jul 28, 2021

Dennis Cox - 99.9 The Fan

It was August 27, 2000 at Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena (now PNC Arena), and one of the four pillar pay-per-view events for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) SummerSlam was taking place. Over 17,000 fans attended, and over half-a-million people purchased the PPV to see the likes of The Rock, Triple-H, Kurt Angle, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, and many other top wrestlers perform in the ring.

But they didn’t steal the show. Two young, rising stars from just down the road in Cameron, NC were part of the show stealing Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. Those two guys – brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy. They truly put themselves on the map, and that’s what this week’s episode of Culture State is all about as Matt joined Chris Lea and myself ahead of All Elite Wrestling’s live television taping of AEW Dynamite on Wednesday night in Charlotte.

No one remembers who won the main event of SummerSlam 2000, or really who was in it. But people remember the TLC match which featured the Hardys, Edge & Christian, and Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley. It made a mark on the industry so much that these matches become a regular staple throughout professional wrestling. WWE even has a PPV event each year called ‘TLC,’ which is solely dedicated to those style of matches. “We want tables” is chant commonly heard at wrestling shows, for better or for worse.

While the likes of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and rest of the Four Horsemen were the staple of wrestling in North Carolina in the ‘80s, it was Matt and Jeff Hardy who represented the next generation of wrestling fans from the state.

But it wasn’t an easy path to reach the top of the ladder. For Matt and his brother Jeff, it took self-training, getting ‘squashed’ in matches to the ‘bigger guys’ in WWE, and running their own independent wrestling shows to carve their own path and style of wrestling before reaching the pinnacle of professional wrestling.

Matt and Jeff, among others from North Carolina like the ‘Hurricane’ Shane Helms, crafted a style of wrestling that is more fast-paced and athletic, as opposed to bulky wrestlers using big power moves and holds. And it’s the type of wrestling seen throughout major promotions worldwide, including Matt Hardy’s current promotion, AEW.

Matt Hardy is the like the wily veteran on a team of young and rising stars – think Justin Williams on his most recent run with the Carolina Hurricanes. He still gets in the ring, but works as the ‘manager’ for younger talent, providing insight and direction for the next crop of stars in the wrestling world, while still finding ways to reinvent himself and his wrestling persona.

He’s been a top star in WWE, TNA, Ring of Honor, and now AEW. And it’s always good knowing that wrestling in the State of North Carolina will continue to have a lasting impact on worldwide.

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