10 AEW Wrestlers Who Teamed With WWE Champions

9. Matt Hardy

Curry Man Bryan Danielson
myspace.com/theonlymatthardy

For reasons not entirely apparent beyond perhaps a deep respect Tony Khan has for his legacy, Matt Hardy seems to appear on AEW Dynamite an awful lot.

As a company that often makes the best of its veterans, Hardy's over-exposure often feels a little like the rule-proving exception, but a rich resumé over the last half-decade especially has perhaps earned him this extra leeway. And one can assume - with the greatest respects to the older of the North Carolinian brothers - that he won't become AEW World Heavyweight Champion.

This might be one think the Jacksonville outfit and WWE have in common - neither saw him as the top guy. Hardy was trusted with the ECW c-strand belt during that brand's ill-fated existence, but felt particularly small-time when it was naturally compared against brother Jeff's accomplishments higher up the card.

It's hard to know which scenario is more likely in 2021 and beyond - will Jeff be WWE Champion again, or jump to AEW to reconnect with his kin? He'll likely have both possibilities to consider in the future, even if Matt's Dynamite profile is eventually lowered.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett