50 Worst Wrestling Moments Of The 2020s (So Far)
19. Matt Hardy Gets Knocked Out
All Out 2020 was awful - AEW’s worst major show ever.
You literally couldn’t pay people to watch it; the enhancement talents and indy workers standing in for the crowd were too exhausted by the sweltering Floridian humidity to make any noise. The main event was class - MJF had to cheat on the outside because he was woefully outmatched in the ring, in a nice bit of heel work - but almost everything else, bloody hell.
If you caught the final hour and a half unspoiled, you’d think “Good show, shame the world’s falling apart”. If you watched the PPV live in full, you’d have thought “Is Matt Hardy dead?”
That’s because, in a Broken Rules (Last Man Standing) match, Hardy took a brutal blow to the head and turned purple. After he and Sammy Guevara tentatively manoeuvred around a scissor lift, they each bumped through a nearby table. This, weirdly, was set up to sell merch, even though no paying fans were in attendance. A risky spot with a tricky set-up, Hardy took the worst of it - and for a split, harrowing second, it looked like the worst had happened.
He recovered, but just because he could hurriedly complete the finish, that doesn’t mean he should have been allowed. The match was initially called off; the decision to resume it was rightfully admonished. Hardy would have to “leave” AEW, in the event of losing. If this informed the decision, how recklessly grim.
A very ugly and disturbing scene completely overshadowed the event. Who could care about the fiction?