Matt Hardy was probably regretting his decision to re-join the WWE following his firing in April 2005 just a few weeks after returning. Hardy was released when he published details of the affair between his longterm girlfriend Lita and Edge online. WWE were forced to reconsider and rehire Hardy when he proved to have significant fan support following the scandal. Matt came back and did his worked shoot programme with Edge. Although it had its moments, the feud was clearly designed to elevate Edge and not Hardy. Following his loss in the feud, Matt was shifted to Smackdown to resurrect his career. In trying to rebuild himself, Matt elected not to take an Undertaker chokeslam during the Dead Man's return at the end of Survivor Series. He pleaded his case to road agents, who acquiesced to his demands. After reviewing the footage (Matt blatantly gets out of the ring ASAP to avoid the move), 'Taker was apparently furious with the change of plans. He confronted Hardy about it backstage and chewed him out in front of the boys, calling him disrespectful and asking him who he thought he was. Hardy just kept his head down and accepted it. He knew he'd f***ed up. The next month Hardy was booked against JBL at Armageddon. He was pounded like a jobber for five minutes and then pinned. This was clearly done to 'put Hardy in his place' and punish him for daring to avoid Taker's chokeslam. Hardy was being sent a message, alright. His career wouldn't really recover for some time after.
