10 Wrestlers Who Proved Their Worth In A Crisis
2. Matt Hardy
Is it too reductive to state that TNA/Impact Wrestling has existed in a perpetual state of crisis?
If that is indeed a cynical, blanket reading of a promotion that prior to the arrivals of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff had secured a sizeable base and offered a compelling alternative often in spite of itself, it was certainly in crisis by 2016: the company had alienated much of its core audience with its hysterically awful booking, and the best in-house talent had left as its TV deals shrunk in revenue and availability.
Matt Hardy's attempts to rebrand himself were often treated with condescension; he had always tried very hard - and think of the word that most always follows - and beyond an inspired acknowledgement of the toxic reception his ROH run was afforded by its fanbase, nothing clicked. But then, very little did at the height of WWE's monopoly.
This changed when Hardy first developed his "Broken Universe", the first glimpses into which drew scorn. It wasn't clear how in on the joke Hardy was, until the punchlines arrived with the force and frequency of a kangaroo jab.
Hardy brought the buzz back to Impact - and his own mainstream career, thought damned by the inexorable improvement of the in-ring standard - with meme-able mispronunciations, outrageous visual gags, and an endless well - or a lake - of absurd creativity.