10 Most Inspiring Wrestling Transformations
3. Matt Hardy
From 2016 onwards, Matt Hardy's Broken Universe has served as quite the destination for reincarnation, and not just because of the magic lake that flows next to his compound.
The Rock & Roll Express, The Hurricane, Gangrel and others have all emerged as if from nowhere during some of the various battles fought in Hardy's back garden, but long before he could helpfully rehabilitate these careers, he had to take a long look at his own.
Revealed on a warts-and-all 2018 WWE 24 special on both Hardys, the elder brother was closer to the brink than many realised during what most assumed to be his final WWE run between 2005 and 2010. Sent home from a European Tour in September ahead of his release the following month, Hardy's behaviour was masked somewhat by constant appearances on television for the company. In reality, he was falling asleep during interviews, or causing the likes of longstanding friend Christian to worry about the very worst consequences of addiction.
As evidenced by his successes, a mind free from constant chemical imbalance is one freed to be spectacularly creative. 2016's Final Deletion (and the world that spun off from it) offered everything Matt & Jeff's prior contest failed to produce.