Matt Hardy talks about Vince McMahon's booking philosophies.
WWE's booking of babyfaces in their hometown is no longer as simple as allowing the hometown hero to look good in their home city. Sometimes, that's deemed "too predictable" for higher-ups in WWE, namely Vince McMahon.
Matt Hardy, on the latest episode of his new podcast, The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, explains Vince McMahon's mindset and why he sees the positives and negatives.
Using the example of the first-ever TLC Match at SummerSlam 2000, Matt Hardy reveals he and Jeff were supposed to win the TLC Match but Vince McMahon said no because the brother duo picking up a win in Raleigh, North Carolina would be too obvious. Instead, Vince opted to crown them at Unforgiven, just one month later.
"Well, that was supposed to be our big win, and then he said, 'Well, it's too predictable. Everybody in that venue is going to know you're going to win, and they're expecting you to win. So I don't want to do that. Let's do it the next show.' I think sometimes it's a good thing, especially when you have babyfaces that are over that have been in this long rivalry and the fans want to be rewarded with this proper payoff, I would have loved to have had the win there. I think that'd been the time to do the win and also be the champions. Also to change the history of the TLC matches a little bit. But Vince is a big advocate of, 'If you're over as a babyface, there are times where you don't need to win, it doesn't make a difference,' and that that's kind of how we were looked at Yeah, we didn't ever have to win in those environments, because we were so beloved in so many ways. I think there is some merit to that argument. Yeah, there is some merit to it too. But then like, you know, when, if you want people to look at wrestling as a serious competition, even though it's entertainment, I think there are times where you have to pull the trigger and you have to give an act even if they're still gonna be popular, whether they win lose or draw, you gotta give them that respect and show them that win and let the people know like, Oh, these guys really are winners. So I'm glad to support them.'"
Elsewhere on the podcast, Matt spoke about stepping into a heel role slated for Brodie Lee before he fell ill. Learn more here.
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