Mattitude commentary

[Guest BobBacklundRules]

The Latest Version

Jan. 21, 2003

 

Hello again-and welcome to a new year and fresh start. Welcome to the year 2003, a year when Mattitude will reach unprecedented heights and popularity. I'm excited, and I hope you are as well. The beginning of a new year always helps me to refocus and feel like I have a clean slate to work with.

 

I really enjoyed the Royal Rumble this year and was pleased with my performance. I thought that Shannon Moore did great and was hilarious in his role. The interaction between V1 and the original MFer continues to get better I think. I especially liked the spot where Shannon was keeping me from hitting the floor with his feet. I also was happy with the crowd response towards the interaction between Jeff and me. I felt like the crowd was excited to see Jeff beat my ass, and well, I guess that I've had it coming since our breakup. It was also fun to be able to briefly interact with Shawn Michaels, who is one of my all-time favorite performers. I'm not sure how, but somehow I also managed to survive the F-5 to the floor. The 2003 Royal Rumble was my favorite of the three I've been in, and I was happy to play a prominent role in it. And by the way, Matt Hardy, Version 1, Founder of Mattitude, was the longest surviving SmackDown! superstar in the 2003 Royal Rumble.

 

The reaction that Matt Hardy, Version One, has been getting recently is something that I find very interesting. Some nights, I get booed out of the building. Some nights, I get cheered out of the building. Most nights, I get a very mixed reaction. Recently, on some house shows, I've been a "good guy," even though I'm a "bad guy" on television. Why is this you may ask? It's quite simple-because the fans tell me to be. If the audience decides that they want to cheer for Matt Hardy more than they want to cheer for my opponent, then so be it. I think it's cool that every night the crowd can direct the Superstars into different scenarios. My philosophy is this: Why swim upstream? Go with the flow. I personally believe this is the direction in which our business is headed.

 

The "good guy" in the match will be the person that people most want to see win. I think that in the future a character's situation or storyline will determine who the fans cheer or boo. Some characters will always be booed, and some will always be cheered, but a majority of the characters will be dictated by their current scenario and storyline. I think that WWE fans are so intelligent and have such knowledge of the product, we can't insult their intelligence. I don't think we can force or trick everyone into fully making clear-cut choices on how to react toward every Superstar. As long as there is interest and a compelling story between two Superstars, I think you have a match that people will want to see. The Super Bowl, World Series and Stanley Cup don't always have a good guy and a bad guy, but always two rivals with the goal to be No. 1. I think wrestling will eventually evolve into the same thing, in my opinion.

 

I'd like to share a Christmas story with you. On Christmas Day, myself and some friends met at my house to exchange gifts and hang out. We started this process at about 9 p.m., and I know this may be shocking, but the punctual Jeff Hardy showed up at about 2 a.m. I gave Jeff his gifts, and he gave me his, and said he had a special gift for me as well. Jeff made me open the gift in a certain way, so that I would see the writing on the top of the box first. The box said, "The true Version One, the eternal Mattitude Follower, frozen until one day brought back." So my first guess was that it was some kind of gimmicky doll or action figure. I opened the box, and much to my surprise, there was a nine pound, fourteen inch long fish. The fish was frozen, had been beheaded and cleaned, and smelled terrible. In magic marker, Jeff had written "Mattitude Follower, Version One MFer," on the actual fish. Jeff had the fish wrapped for two days, and said it was probably spoiled. Needless to say, it got quite the reaction from the crowd. Well, that's my brother, the uncanny Jeff Hardy. For those of you who ask why he gave me a bloody, spoiled fish for Christmas-good question. He's been leaving me with unanswerable questions for years. Since we're on the subject of Christmas, I'd also like to share a travel story with you. On Jan. 4 and 5, the SmackDown! group performed in Alaska. The first night's event was in Fairbanks, where we would be dealing with sub-zero temperatures and an abundance of snow and ice. Since Shannon wasn't on the shows, Edge and I were traveling together. As we were looking for a gym to work out, we got turned around and realized we were going the wrong direction. Suddenly, Edge and I saw a sign that said, "North Pole - 11 miles." We decided to skip the gym and go visit the North Pole, joking that we wanted to meet Santa. We went into a McDonald's at North Pole to get two hot chocolates, and ran into some WWE fans. As we signed some autographs, they asked us what we were doing there. "Looking for Santa Claus", we jokingly stated. The fans said, "He lives about a mile from here in the Santa Claus house." I thought they were kidding, but they were dead serious. Edge and I pulled up to the Santa Claus house, which is apparently a big tourist attraction, and made our way in. As we were overwhelmed with Santa and Christmas paraphernalia, I spotted St. Nick himself in the back of the house. When Santa saw us, he said, "Matt, Edge, I'm a big fan!" We said, "Santa, we're big fans!" After talking to Santa for probably 20 minutes, he took us outside and showed us "Dasher" the reindeer. We asked Santa if he would like to come to WWE show that night and he said he'd love to. I asked for his real name so that I could get him tickets. "Kris Kringle," he said. I told Santa that I needed more than his "gimmick" name, and he proceeded to show me his identification, social security card, and credit cards and they all said "Kris Kringle," Before leaving, we posed for a picture with Kris that is hanging up in the Santa Claus house in the North Pole as we speak. Santa also took a picture with me and we both flashed the V1 hand sign. Edge and I left the North Pole giggling like two little kids; we had a blast. Santa came to the show, and even got in the ring and danced with Rikishi. Kris came backstage and meet most of the guys and delighted them with the greatest "Ho, ho, ho" you have ever heard. I've doubted it before, but this was proof positive that there is a Santa Claus.

 

Remember, "Exist 2 Inspire," the story of the Hardy Boyz will be in bookstores everywhere in March. "The Cleansing," which is a ritual that myself, Jeff, and five of our friends have every first of the year, is discussed in the book. On Jan. 10, we had our seventh annual "Cleansing," so my clean slate for 2003 has officially started. It's a really cool tradition that helps you remember what's really important in life.

 

In closing, I would like everyone to keep Alice and Luna, two of the biggest supporters of Matt and Jeff Hardy, in their thoughts and prayers. Alice had been battling cancer for almost a year, and I was able to see her on January 4th in Oakland. Tragically, she passed away on Jan. 6. May God be with her and her best friend Luna during this trying time. Always remember that life is short and precious and don't take anything or anyone for granted. Everyone be well, and until then ...

 

Matt Hardy V1

[Guest Insane Bump Machine]

Matt Hardy is great.

[Guest The Mighty Damaramu]

Santa Clause is a Mattitude follower! Awesome!

[Guest candie45]

A dead fish?!? Glad I'm not getting any presents from Jeff Hardy anytime soon.

[Guest The Mighty Damaramu]

I wonder what Jeff was doing till 2 a.m.? Was he coked out when he arrived?

[Guest CanadianChick]

"Kris Kringle"? That's pretty funny...

[Guest BobBacklundRules]

I found some info on "the cleansing" mentioned in the column, here it is:

 

The New Year also brings around another tradition for Matt Hardy. Some of our fans who have followed us closely have probably heard of "The Cleansing." Six years ago, myself, Jeff, and five other close friends sat around a campfire on New Year's Day and talked about all the regrets we had from the previous year and what our goals were for the coming year. We all took turns speaking that night. One at a time, we confessed, complimented, critiqued, wished, and shared all our thoughts about ourselves and the other six. When you were done speaking, you would place a log on the fire--the log represented everything from the previous year.

[Mecha Mummy 0]

Sounds like something my mom would do. *Laughs* Another great column by Matt Hardy, once again he makes a good point and told some funny stories while doing it. Gaah, if I see him at Axxess I'll end up making a fool of myself, I'm sure.

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

Well, that's a lot less disturbing than I figured a Jeff Hardy Holiday Tradition would be.