101 Shocking Wrestling Plans You Won't Believe Almost Happened
99. The Broken Block
Listen to episodes of his podcast or tune into interviews the man has done with Ariel Helwani etc and you'll find Matt Hardy to be an engaging character with a keen grasp on wrestling psychology. He's also a champion for those who are struggling to make a splash. Matt knows all about that, because he was a toiling jobber before hitting it big with his brother Jeff in the late-90s.
Before leaving WWE in 2020 and jetting off to work for Tony Khan's AEW, Hardy made one last bold pitch to management: He wanted to implement 'The Broken Block' as a weekly segment on Raw. It'd pretty much be a vehicle for underutilised talent like Chad Gable, Mustafa Ali, Apollo Crews and chums. They get to work hotly-contested matches in an intimate setting on the Hardy compound.
What's more, it'd probably be within the framework of Matt's 'Broken/Woken' universe, so there'd be some barmy shenanigans for fans layered on top of that great wrestling action. Showcasing those that writers on the major shows often forgot was something Hardy felt passionately about, but it just wasn't going to happen.
He likely figured that WWE would be seeking quirky ways to shake up programming without a live crowd, but there was a flaw. Namely, they weren't particularly interested in giving some of the workers involved significant ring time on Raw or SmackDown unless it was in the ThunderDome.
So, rather unfortunately and ironically, Matt's brave pitch was deleted and that was very much that. Blighters still had time for tripe like Raw Underground though, huh?