There was a lot of backlash towards AEW for allowing Matt Hardy to continue to wrestle in a Broken Rules Match at Saturday’s All Out pay-per-view event as it appeared that he was concussed.
Of course, the spot happened when Hardy and Sammy Guevara jumped off a raised scissor lift through tables, but Matt missed the tables to the point where the back of his head bounced off the concrete. Initially, the match was called off only to be restarted moments later with Sammy taking a bump off part of the stage structure. It was later reported that Hardy had been sent to a hospital to be checked out.
After the show, AEW President Tony Khan commented on the situation where he stated that at the beginning of the call that the health and safety of the wrestlers is always the most important thing in the promotion.
“I just wanted to give everyone an update on Matt Hardy and say, most importantly, Matt is okay and he’s going to be okay. What had happened was Matt had taken a fall in the match and I stopped the match, paused the match, and sent the doctor to check on him.”
Khan continued by stating that he was concerned Hardy could be hurt, which is why he rang the bell for the match to be paused.
“When the doctor checked him, he passed him and cleared him on the concussion protocol. He checked with Matt and then Matt came back after and passed the concussion protocol and he’s doing okay. I spoke with him after the match and talked to him again just now. He went as a precaution to the hospital to get some tests and check out that he’s okay.
Khan stated that it looks like Hardy is okay and thus the reason the doctor cleared him to continue. He stated that it wasn’t something that any of them enjoyed as it was a scary moment. The biggest take away was that Hardy is okay and they were really glad about that.
Then there was a follow-up question about the incident and the amount of time that passed in order to clear Hardy.
“Yes, there was a good amount of time to make the decision. The doctor did clear him. Matt did not pressure him and Dr. Sampson would not be pressured into clearing anybody.”
Khan stated that Sampson has pulled people from their shows without hesitation whether it’s due to a blood test or injury because he’s strict about that stuff.
“I would never go against a doctor’s decision. Most importantly, Matt would not have been able to overrule the doctor’s decision. Not with the doctor and not with me. That’s what happened.”
Khan stated that the doctor cleared him, which is the important thing and that Hardy wanted to continue the match.
“At that point when the doctor cleared him and Matt said he wanted to continue. We allowed it to continue.”
