Assessing The Futures Of 10 WWE Stars Who Didn’t Make Royal Rumble 2020 Cut

10. Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy Erick Rowan
WWE.com

Veteran Matt Hardy was last seen getting pasted by Erick Rowan on the go-home edition of Raw before the Royal Rumble. That two-minute loss is a clear indicator of where Hardy falls in WWE's thoughts right now. He's a "jobber to the stars", or (more accurately) a "jobber to the wannabe stars".

Is that likely to change? Probably not.

Matt would've received a nice pop from the crowd in Houston had he entered the Rumble, and it's actually a surprise that he wasn't used as one of the sacrificial lambs for Brock Lesnar during the bout's first half; Hardy would've spared someone like reigning IC Champ Shinsuke Nakamura the indignity of a 20-second cameo, for example.

Recently, Matt has been dropping hints that he's heading for the WWE exit door. This does have the feeling of a last hurrah for a former favourite before he swans off to try something else. AEW, maybe? Or how about ROH again?

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.