In 2018, WWE aired The Ultimate Deletion, the culmination of the feud between Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt. Hardy fought to bring the Broken character to WWE and fought to get The Ultimate Deletion on television. The segment aired in the main event spot of the Mar. 19 episode of WWE Raw.
Speaking on Talk is Jericho, Hardy revealed Vince's reaction after seeing the match.
"He didn't understand it. He was supposed to watch it earlier and clear it because it was going to go on last. He watched it in the production meeting. After it was over, everyone clapped and stood up and he was kind of like looking around. He told a couple of people, 'I don't get it. If it does a number, then I'm truly out of touch.' I think he said that. It kept the audience over three million viewers. It did okay," said Hardy.
The final hour of the March 19, 2018 episode of Raw drew 3,076,000 viewers, down from the 3.4 million viewers the show averaged in the first two hours.
Earlier in the podcast, Hardy said it was frustrating that Vince only saw him as one-half of the Hardy Boyz instead of allowing him to re-invent his character.
"I think everyone goes there being optimistic that you can breakthrough or maybe you can achieve something different. But it's definitely frustrating. Once you're a little older, Vince is like, 'Well, this guy is kinda old now.' Even for himself. At his age, he doesn't want to be on TV. 'You're old. Nobody wants to see an old person.' If you're a talent and you get to a certain age, it's like, 'I don't know.'"
Hardy is now part of All Elite Wrestling after allowing his WWE contract to expire on March 2, 2020.
In an interview with Busted Open Radio, Hardy discussed his original idea for his partnership with Wyatt after the two finished feuding. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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