10 Genius Ways Wrestlers Proved The Critics Wrong
5. Matt Hardy Breaks Out Of His Brother's Shadow
It's tough living in your sibling's shadow.
For years, popular perception of the Hardy Boys was that younger brother Jeff was the cool, maverick daredevil people paid to see, and Matt was... Jeff's brother. (Hell, it's a view still held by some of wrestling's more controversial podcasters).
However, in 2016 Matt did the impossible. Not only did he become a bigger name than his brother, he became the most-talked about man in professional wrestling when he popularized Cinematic Wrestling with The Final Deletion.
An absolutely bonkers "match" involving fireworks, drones and the world's most conveniently placed boat, The Final Deletion should have become the biggest joke in the industry. Instead, thanks to Matt's total commitment to the bit it became the biggest thing in wrestling when it dropped, and kickstarted a resurgence in Matt's career that culminated in him and Jeff Hardy making one of the WWE's most electric returns.
Cinematic Wrestling itself seems to have been quietly retired after 2020 overdosed fans on the format, but The Final Deletion deserves to be remembered. Not only was it a highlight in the long history of professional wrestling, it showed that Matt Hardy has always been more than his brother's keeper.