One of my friends posted something on Facebook the other day that caught my eye. It was posted in the midst of Lindsey Lohan’s post-court drama, I believe her birthday, and something else having to do with Lindsey Lohan. I am not 100% sure, because whenever it comes to her, I tend to tune out. But the 2nd half of the post listed a series of American troops who had passed away as a result of the Middle East conflict this week. Why America was so intently focused on Lindsey Lohan, who poses absolutely zero tangible value to society in general, while these brave veterans died for our country was beyond me.
And then it occured to me – we’ve all become quite good at taking something so minor and inconsequential and turning it into a major event or story.
Such is the case with Matt Hardy. Sigh.
Someone will really have to explain to me what the big deal is. Why do I care about the conflicts he’s having with the WWE management? Why is it noteworthy that he’s got some weight issues? Why should I give a damn if he goes to TNA? Matt Hardy, overall, has contributed comparitively very little to the professional wrestling landscape. His best run in the WWE (in my opinion) was when his Version-1 character first came out, and even that was a credit more to the WWE production crew than Hardy himself. "Matt-Facts" always made me laugh, and then once his entrance was over, I’d usually go eat dinner.
Matt Hardy has been struggling to get out of the shadow of his almost equally underwhelming brother Jeff for well over a decade now, and yet internet fans screamed from the mountain tops that this guy "deserved" a push. If I hear one more "_____ deserves a push" discussion I’m going to vomit like Papa Shango just stole my armband. Nobody "deserves" a push – they earn it or they don’t. Matt Hardy did nothing to ascend beyond the U.S. Title picture.
Except one thing. He engaged the internet fans.
When the Hardy / Edge / Lita drama occured a few years back, it woke us up because it felt real. All it did was enhance Edge’s character in the end, but when Matt Hardy got fired for being unprofessional and lacking the value that Edge had, he went straight to the internet and started his grassroots campaign. I’ve often said that one internet fan does the work of 10 non-internet fans, because hardcore IWC Smarks will write letters, e-mail people, and post complaints until the carpal tunnel syndrome makes their forearms look like Mae Young’s breasts. WWE succumbed to the pressure and brought Matt back. He put Edge over – very professionally – and then moved on with his mediocrity. Ho-hum.
So you’ll have to pardon me if I don’t subscribe to the twitter-fest that is Matt Hardy’s "WWE status." If they resolve his status, it wouldn’t matter anyway, because he was barely in a major program even when everything was fine. Let him go to the minor leagues with his brother and their tatooed buddy Shannon Moore. Nobody will notice, and do you know why?
Because Lindsey’s back in rehab. Dear God make it all stop.
Chris W. Fitzpatrick
Wrestlezone Forums Moderator
