In 2005, Matt Hardy and his real-life girlfriend Lita were going through some domestic issues. Lita, also known as Amy Dumas, was caught cheating on Matt with Edge. Edge's wife had actually discovered the infidelity and revealed it to Hardy, who was taking time off due to injury. Hardy announced Lita's cheating ways in a video on his website and fans immediately turned on the Diva. Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that Matt Hardy was released by WWE soon after, presumably due in part to the videos he was releasing. Chants of "you screwed Matt" and "we want Matt" were heard throughout arenas and a petition for his return received thousands of signatures. Realizing the underground nature of the angle, WWE had Matt perform in a "worked shoot" capacity where he called into a Byte This show and verbally attacked Lita. He also appeared at an ROH show and cut a scathing promo on the WWE. Matt then appeared on episodes of Raw, attacking Edge from the crowd and screaming how they would pay for betraying him. WWE was genius in the fact that they treated the entire thing as it was a shoot. Commentators didn't say Hardy's name and cameras cut away from him when he attacked. Online fans weren't sure whether it was a work or a shoot and WWE suddenly had a hot storyline. With Edge already a top heel, it seemed natural for Hardy to get a big win and become the babyface star that he always wanted to be. Unfortunately, WWE had different plans. Not only did Edge defeat Matt in their first match, he also defeated him in a Loser Leaves Raw ladder match and forced him to the Smackdown brand. Hardy was immediately shuffled down to the midcard, rendering the entire thing a wasted opportunity.
