8 Times TNA Turned Trash Into Treasure
4. Matt Hardy: From Injunction Injustice To Big Money Matt
In October of 2015, Matt Hardy finally won the big one, capturing his first World title (come on, the ECW reboot title doesn't count) by pinning Drew Galloway in a championship three-way also involving EC3.
What should have been a great moment was immediately ruined by storyline stupidity as EC3 took Matt to court, getting an "injunction" against Hardy that would keep him off television for a month. So, rather than deny fans the chance to see a fighting champion, Matt relinquished the belt, and TNA set up a World Title Series to determine a new champion.
This was a ham-fisted excuse to use matches they'd previously taped but had no story for. So you had wrestlers who shouldn't be sniffing World title opportunities - names like Jessie Godderz, Grado, Crimson - as well as a Knockouts bracket, because giving the women their own separate storyline would have been stupid, right?
It took until January of 2016 - over two months of fans' time wasted! - to whittle down the field to...EC3 and Matt Hardy.
Matt salvaged this debacle by turning heel and defeating EC3 to recapture the title. Along the way, he rebranded himself as Big Money Matt, flaunting his wealth and running his mouth in very entertaining promos.
This drew the ire of brother Jeff, and his ensuing clashes with Big Money Matt were the first steps toward a WONDERFUL BROKEN Universe...