Matt Hardy describes what AEW Full Gear means to him after having his confidence shaken following an incident at AEW All Out.
The major news story coming out of September's AEW All Out event was the health and well-being of Matt Hardy. Matt was competing against his nemesis, Sammy Guevara, in a Broken Rules Match.
Unfortunately, the match came to an abrupt end at All Out, after a fall from the top of a scissor lift saw Matt Hardy hit his head on the concrete and immediately show signs of a concussion. The match was initially called off but would be resumed and Matt Hardy would get the win after pushing Sammy Guevara off of a high platform.
In the time that followed, they would be conflicting reports of Matt’s health. According to Tony Khan, Matt did not suffer a concussion that evening but Matt's wife, Reby, displayed her frustration with how the incident was handled.
In a new video released just hours before AEW Full Gear, Matt Hardy opens up about what the incident did to his confidence as a wrestler and apologized for bringing down the mood of the September pay-per-view with his fall.
“I'm excited about my match, The Elite Deletion, which is going to be taking place here at the magical, fabled, iconic Hardy compound. I really am excited for the entire show from top to bottom. It's a killer card and it should be a badass night of professional wrestling. I want to take just a little bit of time and get a couple of things off my chest, maybe even confess a few things. First and foremost, I want to say this again, I want to apologize to everyone at the organization of All Elite Wrestling, all the wrestlers at AEW, [and] all of the AEW wrestling fans in their base all around the world, for my injury at All Out. Sure, wrestling isn't ballet and people are always going to get injured. It's a very physical, dangerous sport where we take a lot of risks night in and night out. But my injury on that night really [dragged] down a card that was so good and it really hurt the mood of the show and I really, really sincerely want to apologize for that.
“I really feel bad about that. I feel like I did a disservice to AEW on that night and even though it was really out of my control and it was obviously nothing I intended or meant to happen, it happened and I feel responsible for it. I also want each and every one of you to know that you weren't the only ones affected by my very serious and dangerous accident that happened on that night. It also affected me. My confidence took a big shot. It really did affect my confidence and it made me second guess and question myself, like 'late in the game, should I still be doing this? Is it time for me to give it up and move on to the next chapter of my life?' I've had confidence issues and if you are a big Matt Hardy fan, you've probably noticed the last few weeks, I haven't had the exact same spark. I haven't had the same confidence, the same conviction in my speaking and my mannerisms and it really is true.”
Matt Hardy would go on to say that he views his match with Sammy Guevara at Full Gear as a special chance to redeem himself. Hardy would thank AEW for allowing him this chance at Redemption saying that other promotions may not have given him that opportunity.
“Tonight, at The Elite Deletion, I am so grateful that I get a chance to make things right to try and redeem myself from my All Out match and I'm very appreciative and grateful to AEW and Tony Khan for allowing me the opportunity -- to give me a big match on this big platform to actually redeem myself and gain some form of redemption for what happened at All Out. So it's very important to me, a lot of promoters, a lot of promotions wouldn't allow that to happen, but AEW and Tony Khan did and I am forever grateful. With that being said, tonight is very important to me. I need to go out and I need to kill it in this performance, in this fight, in this battle against Sammy Guevara and it's very important to me that each and every one of you enjoy The Elite Deletion and that we end this blood vendetta, this intense rivalry on a high note, the way it should be ended.”
Matt concluded, “I want to turn in a performance that is going to make you all happy. I want to entertain the hell out of you. I want to give you a kick-ass match, a kick-ass story, a kick-ass battle. I'm so grateful to have this opportunity and I'm going to do my damnedest not to let any of you down. With that said, make sure to check out AEW Full Gear tonight, The Elite Deletion. It is something I hope and I truly believe you are going to remember for a very long time. I'm going to give you every ounce of heart, soul, and passion I have in my body tonight on the screen.”
Matt Hardy previously mentioned that a fight with Sammy Guevara on the Hardy Compound was always supposed to occur but due to the fluidity of storylines because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, plans were shuffled around.
Fightful will have live play-by-play coverage of Full Gear 2020 beginning Saturday, November 7, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
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