Latest Mattitude Commentary

[Guest art_vandelay]

WWEMATTITUDE.COM:

 

The Latest Version

Feb. 21, 2003

 

The moment you’ve all so anxiously been awaiting has finally arrived: Matt Hardy is back with the Latest Version. It’s been really hectic recently (as it always is), and there is no sign of things slowing down in the upcoming months. It’s always busy around this time of year as the Road to WrestleMania begins. March will also be a whirlwind as "Exist 2 Inspire," the Hardy Boyz autobiography, will be released on the 18th. I will be doing a plethora of promotional appearances for the book, all over the great U.S. Make sure to come out and visit, and let me know what you think of the book. Even if you aren’t a fan of Matt and/or Jeff Hardy, I think you will thoroughly enjoy "Exist 2 Inspire."

 

Random thought -- Could spring hurry up and get here? I’ve seen more snow and ice this winter than ever. Didn’t Mother Nature catch the Matt Fact that stated "Matt hates cold weather?"

 

There’s been some talk recently about the direction that Matt Hardy and his character have been headed. Matt Hardy, Version One, founder of Mattitude, has not only been personally rewarding, but it has also been professionally rewarding. I take a lot of pride in busting my ass to make things work, and creating a new persona for myself was no different. One thing is for sure -- Mattitude will always be a part of Matt Hardy from here on out. Although Mattitude is exaggerated on television, it’s a quality within me that won’t change even if my role does. It doesn’t make a difference if I’m a heavyweight, a cruiserweight, a bad guy, a good guy, or a valet. Trying to lose weight and take away the Cruiserweight Title from Billy Kidman -- I think it’s been a fun and entertaining story. Although winning the Cruiserweight Title hasn’t always been in my master plan, it’s great to be in a storyline revolving around a title. If anyone thinks I’m taking a step backwards by competing for the title, you’re wrong. Matt Hardy takes every situation, whether it is good or bad, and turns it into a positive. I consider winning any title another step in my ultimate goal of becoming the WWE Champion.

 

Random thought No. 2 -- Shannon Moore has really stepped it up the last couple of months. He is doing phenomenal as the original MFer, my first Mattitude Follower. I really enjoy interacting with him in the ring, backstage and on the road.

 

People often forget how tough our schedules are, sometimes thinking that a WWE Superstar’s workday only consists of about 10 minutes in the ring. I wish. I thought I would recap a weekend for everyone, just to remind the masses it’s not just glamour and glitz. Here we go --

 

Jan. 25, 2003 – Destination Saskatoon. I get up at 5:45 a.m. at my house in Cameron, N.C. I get myself together and drive 50 minutes to the airport in Raleigh to catch an 8 a.m. flight to Minneapolis. I arrived in Minneapolis around 9:45 a.m., and had to wait until 2:30 p.m. to take a charter to Saskatoon, Canada, with the rest of the SmackDown! crew. During my five-hour layover, I eat, sleep and listen to music. The charter ends up being delayed in Toronto because of bad weather, and is tentatively set to leave at 5 p.m. We end up leaving about 5:30, and land in Saskatoon at 7:40 -- keep in mind bell time is 8 p.m. I step off the plane and everything in my nose instantly freezes because it’s 22 below zero.

 

Everyone hauls ass to get to the building, and the show amazingly ends up starting around 8:20. I was on early against Nathan Jones, and basically just threw my stuff on and went to the ring. I didn’t have time to stretch, tape my wrist or think about a promo, much less make a game plan for the match. It was my first time wrestling Nathan, so fortunately I made it through the match with everything going OK. I was traveling with Edge, who was wrestling in the last match. The show ended and we were ready at about 11:30 that night to make a 170-mile drive to Regina. The temperature as we leave is around 40 below zero, and we’re starving as we haven’t eaten since 4 p.m. or so. We are forced to stop at truck stop and get a couple of sandwiches, which both turn out to be horrible. The majority of the trip we talk about how miserably cold it is, and how long it would take us to freeze to death if we got stranded or wrecked. About an hour was my guess. We arrived at our hotel in Regina around 4 a.m., and I finally get checked in and to bed around 5 a.m.

 

Jan. 26, 2003 – I get up around 10:30 a.m., so I have time to get some breakfast and get ready to go to the building. Today’s show was at 1 p.m., so we needed to be there by noon. Still exhausted from not sleeping that great the last two nights, I left the hotel about 11:30 a.m. and realized it had warmed up to a scorching 20 below zero. After another match with Nathan Jones, Edge and I ended up leaving the building around 4 p.m. We went and got a bite to eat and squeezed in a workout at our small hotel fitness center. That night, most of the boys watched the Super Bowl in the lobby, and ate from a special buffet that was set up in the hotel. Everyone was going to make an attempt to go to bed early, as we had a 7:30 flight the next morning. I finally got to sleep around 12:30 a.m., dreading my 5:30 wake up call.

 

Jan. 27, 2003 – Destination Milwaukee. I was up at 5:30, ready to leave at 5:45, and we arrived at the airport at a little after 6 a.m. After checking in and boarding the flight, we were told that we would be delayed because of weather and the fact that they had to de-ice the plane. I’m not exactly sure how long we were delayed because I fell asleep, but it was long enough to force us to miss our connection in Toronto.

 

Once in Toronto, we had to get our checked baggage, and then recheck everything because we were going to be forced to switch airlines. Our flight landed in Chicago about 4:30 p.m. and now everyone had to drive to Milwaukee. The drive is about an hour and a half, and it was rush hour in Chicago. By the way, our show is at 7 and we’re supposed to be there at 6. Edge and I grab some food on the way, get caught in traffic caused by a wreck, and finally get to the building in Milwaukee at 6:45 p.m. I wrestled Nathan Jones again, and during the match, partially tear my MCL in my knee. Ouch, that hurt. I finish the match, and just pray that it’s not that bad. Edge and I leave the building about 10 p.m. and try and find somewhere to have a good sit-down meal, but have to settle for Subway. Edge actually had about the same injury a couple of months ago, and I specifically remember both of us struggling to get out of the car and into Subway. We both felt like we were 80 years old. We drove a couple of hours that night and got into our hotel in Green Bay about 1:30 a.m. I went to sleep shortly thereafter, but woke up every time I moved because of my knee.

 

Jan. 28, 2003 – I was up at 8 a.m. to go to the hospital and get X-rays and an MRI. Larry, the SmackDown! trainer, picked me up and took me to the hospital. I remember the lady telling me I had to wear headphones with loud music to block the loud sound of the MRI machine. She said she was sorry that I probably wouldn’t be able to go to sleep with all the noise. I fell asleep in the machine immediately. Amazing what exhaustion can do. After getting all the MRIs and X-rays done, we drove to the doctor’s office, where he read the test and examined my knee. The doctor concluded I had a partial tear of my MCL; a piece of it had ripped off the bone in my knee. It’s one of those things you could have surgery for, but as long as you strengthen everything else in your knee, it should be alright in six to eight weeks. That translates into about two weeks in this business. The doc prescribed me a custom-made knee brace and some rehab exercises. I got to the building about 1:30 p.m. that day for SmackDown!, and fortunately I didn’t have to wrestle. I just attacked Kidman after his match with Shannon and beat him up with my pitiful knee. Shannon, Edge and I left the building about 11:30 p.m. that night, stopped and ate, and hung out with some of the other boys that night. I went to bed at 2 a.m., got up at 4 a.m. for a 5:30 a.m. flight, and flew back to Raleigh and then fought to stay awake as I drove to my house. If this sounds fun to you, you’re really gonna be jealous because I do this every week. Granted, it’s not like this every week, but it’s a tough life we lead to provide a living for ourselves and entertain you. Regardless of how bad the schedule and travel and injuries get, I wouldn’t trade it for anything -- I’m fortunate enough to live my dream.

 

Random thought No. 3 -- A lot of people ask me how Amy (Lita) is doing and when she hopes to get back in the ring. I think she is starting to get over the hump as far as her injury goes, because she is starting to pick her training back up. It’s been really tough on her both physically and mentally; I know better than anyone. She is the only female to have this major surgery and attempt to come back to the ring. If any female can do it, it’s her; she’s a fighter through and through. She’s hoping for a June or July return.

 

I would like to send my condolences to Curt Hennig’s family. Curt was a great guy that would always light up a room and put everyone in a better mood. "Mr. Perfect" was one of my favorite all-time performers, and I remember him being one of the main reasons I tuned into WWE programming every week. I was fortunate enough to wrestle Curt a few times, and I actually wrestled him in his last WWE match. I would personally like to thank Curt for everything he has done for the business, and he will be greatly missed by all within it.

 

Wish me luck this Sunday, as I look to add the Cruiserweight Title to my resume, and make Mattitude stronger than ever. MFer’s unite—and throw your V1’s in the air upon victory.

 

Be well, and until then,

 

Matt Hardy

V1 and only

[Guest tpww7]

Matt Hardy rules.

[Guest TheArchiteck]

Damn, that schedule sounds hectic as hell.....

Much respect to those cats.

[Guest JHawk]

I love how Hardy is able to be honest and stay in character the whole time.

 

Good read.

[Yuna_Firerose 0]

Matt Hardy = Ownage. 'Nuff said.

[Guest art_vandelay]

I love how Hardy is able to be honest and stay in character the whole time.

 

Good read.

That's because he lives his character. Mattitude is a way of life. + extended 3rd finger.

[Guest creativename]

I remember the lady telling me I had to wear headphones with loud music to block the loud sound of the MRI machine. She said she was sorry that I probably wouldn’t be able to go to sleep with all the noise. I fell asleep in the machine immediately.

 

I was fortunate enough to wrestle Curt a few times, and I actually wrestled him in his last WWE match.

 

That's pretty cool.

[Mecha Mummy 0]

Matt Hardy = Ownage. 'Nuff said.

Indeed he does. Matt's columns are always a great read, and I'm glad that he's one of the two or three superstars who have their own REAL websites that WWE hosts. If it just had more stuff, WWEMattitude.com would be up there with Storm and Hurricane's site to me.

[Guest wwF1587]

Matt Rules... Just give him the CW title already Vince...

[Guest the 1inch punch]

I was fortunate enough to wrestle Curt a few times, and I actually wrestled him in his last WWE match.

 

That's pretty cool.

Thats really cool, and its sorta weird that he comes up with a better tribute to Curt than the WWE itself did, no bullshit, just a few nices words

[Guest eiker_ir]

Matt Rules...

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

Man, I remember when almost all you guys hated both the Hardys.

[Guest CanadianChick]

Man, I remember when almost all you guys hated both the Hardys.

I've actually always thought Matt would eventually be the better one because Jeff would kill himself by the time he was 25. I never really hated the Hardys. I was pretty indifferent towards them near the end of their tag team and I liked them when they were feuding with E&C and Dudleys.

[Guest bob_barron]

I was fortunate enough to wrestle Curt a few times, and I actually wrestled him in his last WWE match.

 

That's pretty cool.

Thats really cool, and its sorta weird that he comes up with a better tribute to Curt than the WWE itself did, no bullshit, just a few nices words

What are you talking about? Did you miss the video tribute they did last Monday?

 

Excellent commentary from Matt as usual

[Guest TonyJaymzReloaded]

eh i always liked The Hardyz, always liked Matt more. Man, but poor jeff...he's the shits now

[Guest the 1inch punch]

What are you talking about? Did you miss the video tribute they did last Monday?

Yes, yes I did, I stopped watching Raw altogether

[Guest TheArchiteck]

Man, I remember when almost all you guys hated both the Hardys.

Well, i've never really was fans of em.

They was just sort of THERE 2 me.....but Matt's new role is pretty funny.

[Guest Polish_Rifle]

Matt should be a role model to all the wrestlers. He works that hectic schedule and still has the ability to provide honest and sincere commentaries without sounding egotistical or bitter.

 

I'm glad he mentioned that Amy is doing better but I thought the wrestlers were suppose to always be in character? I find it weird that the WWE would allow him to be himself on his commentaries.

 

Oh BTW, Mattitude Rules!

[Guest Nater]

It's truly amazing what these guys do to get all their shows off. Not just TV, but house shows .. for the fans. Much Respect.

[Guest JMA]

There is a rumor that WWE may start calling "Lita" by her real name, Amy. It makes sense now that Essa Rios is gone.

[Yuna_Firerose 0]

Since I didn't watch back then, I'm curious...how did the 'Lita' name come about?

[TheFranchise 0]

She came in one night on a Heat i think with Essa Rios, the night he beat Gillberg for the light heavyweight title (gillberg was gone for months, he came back and lost on his first night, lol)

[Guest bob_barron]

There is a rumor that WWE may start calling "Lita" by her real name, Amy. It makes sense now that Essa Rios is gone.

Nah- Amy is a bland name while 'Lita' sounds like this cool wild exotic name which fits the personality of Lita perfectly