10 Wrestlers Who Made Drastic Late Career Changes

4. Matt Hardy

Back in 2016, Matt Hardy was coming off a reign as TNA World Champion, and there didn't look to be much left for him to do at the top in wrestling. Already in his 40s and having exhausted his options in WWE, Matt decided to try his hand at some outside the box thinking.

The results were wonderful.

Within weeks of Hardy debuting his new "Broken" gimmick, the internet was starting to talk about whether or not Matt had legit lost his marbles. He hadn't, he'd found a formula that would get him back in the mix as one of wrestling's biggest talking points. Later, outrageous matches like "The Final Deletion" only upped the buzz.

WWE, interested in the hubbub Matt was creating online, came calling in 2017 and fancied a Hardy Boyz reunion at WrestleMania 33. Would that have happened anyway without the "Broken" character's dramatic appeal? Maybe, though it wouldn't have been guaranteed. Further, Matt wouldn't have been able to branch off into a (WWE version) of his OTT gimmick as "Woken" after the nostalgia kick died out.