Matt Hardy has reflected on the controversial finish to his highly personal match against Edge at SummerSlam 2005, stating that he believes the way he lost was a form of “penance” for publicly forcing WWE to re-hire him after his release earlier that year.
The Right Call, The Wrong Finish
The short, brutal match ended via referee stoppage after Hardy was busted open and deemed unable to continue. On his podcast, The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, he explained that while he agreed he should have lost his first match back to continue the story, he would have booked the finish differently.
“Paying Penance”
Hardy believes that because he leveraged fan support to get his job back, the company wanted to ensure he “earned” his spot upon his return, which was reflected in the booking of the match.
“If I was booking it, I probably would have done differently… I think in the beginning I need to get f—ed so we have stuff to continue to do. So I do think me losing in this scene was the right call… But I would have probably made the finish different where he f—ed me, and I look strong in getting defeated. And Vince was trying to pitch that here. But I think part of this was me going to be paying penance for making them hire me back too. That’s not lost on me also. So it is what it is, man, and I went out and made the most out of what we had to work with… I’ve been around long enough, and I was wise enough at this time, I knew they were going to make me earn it, because I forced them to hire me back. And Vince and company ultimately don’t like to admit that they were wrong.”
The feud between Matt Hardy and Edge continued after this controversial match, escalating to a classic Steel Cage match at Unforgiven, which Hardy won, and a final “Loser Leaves Raw” Ladder Match the following month.
Matt Hardy’s podcast drops every Friday at ExtremeHardy.com. If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit ExtremeHardy.com with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
