Has ________ signed himself into the WWE Championship scene? (RAW spoilers)

[Ben Rodrigues]

After re-watching RAW and taking in the reaction that Matt Hardy received, has he in fact made a legitimate step toward becoming WWE Champion? The pop he got he came on screen totally blew away Cena’s crowd reaction. There’s no doubt that Matt Hardy can claim right now that he’s one the most over, if not THE most over guy on the RAW roster.

Matt Hardy seems to be red hot right now and if the WWE takes advantage of this could he be the WWE Champion once his feud with Edge ends? Or will his massive pops soon fizzle out and will he find himself at the end of the unemployment line again?

[Fox]

Unfortunate as it is, I'll go with the latter. Hardy is good - there's no doubt about that - but he's just not WWE Championship material. We're talking about a guy who has never held anything higher than the Cruiserweight championship as a singles wrestler, and even though Version One was entertaining, that's not what you build your company around.

These days you have to have a muscle magazine body and a "bad ass" persona to be in the world title picture - look at the recent title holders: Triple H, John Cena, JBL, Eddie Guerrero, Batista. People with "funny" gimmicks don't make the main event.

[Ben Rodrigues]

I don’t think Matt Hardy is going to use the V1 gimmick anymore. He seems to be playing a renegade/anti-establishment character or as someone else stated a poor man’s “Loose Cannon”.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

I think he COULD be champion, but only for like a week or two... Basically if Edge wins the title, I could see Matt beating him for it on a RAW, only to lose it back to him, or HHH, or HBK

[Dave Youell]

Anything can happen in the wwe................













Bwhahahaha! Nah Matt won't get the title within the next 12 months anyway, lets see how this new angelic diablo thing works out, it depends on how hot he stays. Which after this thing with Edge ends could be tough to keep hot.

If i were booking, i'd let him keep doing the indy dates and the anti wwe gimmick, so when he's done with Edge Vince or Bisch can feed him a few enforcers and shit. i guess it all depends on how much time they are willing to give him, i know i personally haven't been this excited for years and they need to keep hold of that feeling with fans for as long as possible

[Hired Hitman]

I don't think he will stay great, It's interesting to see him there, but I don't think there is much for him to do.

[Shaggy]

For some reason I can see Matt Hardy Vs Edge with Edge putting his Money in the Bank contract on the line...and then losing it

[Pepsi Man]

Unfortunate as it is, I'll go with the latter. Hardy is good - there's no doubt about that - but he's just not WWE Championship material. We're talking about a guy who has never held anything higher than the Cruiserweight championship as a singles wrestler, and even though Version One was entertaining, that's not what you build your company around.

These days you have to have a muscle magazine body and a "bad ass" persona to be in the world title picture - look at the recent title holders: Triple H, John Cena, JBL, Eddie Guerrero, Batista. People with "funny" gimmicks don't make the main event.
Just to be nitpicky, two things here...

First off, Hardy has held the European Title as well as the Hardcore Title. Secondly, you mention Eddie Guerrero and talk about how people with "funny" gimmicks don't make the main event?

VIVA LA RAZA! I lie. I cheat. I steal.

No comedy in that character at all. Nope.

Nor with Cena and the rapping and shit. No comedy whatsoever. :p The Cena one is more of a stretch, but seriously...

to not say that the whole "Latino Heat" who "lies, cheats, and steals" and gets cheered isn't comedy...

[M. Banana]

Nah.

[Morgan]

If this angle really takes and Edge gets the title, I could see it happening. It would be weird though, in ten years times Hardy's going to be saying "thank you Mr. Copeland for fucking my girlfriend. It's made me a bigger star than I ever would have been".

[Corkscrewed]

Has ________ signed himself into the WWE Championship scene? (RAW spoilers)
No.


(Hardy's pops won't last, btw, especially if he doesn't do anything besides go after Edge)

[KingofOldSchool]

Hardy will have what I call the Hogan Complex.

When Hardy first comes back, he'll get huge pops.

Then as time goes on, the more times he shows up, the more his crowd reaction will drop.

The only way they can prevent that is by not doing the same thing with Hardy every week,

[Kane Knight]

No.


(Hardy's pops won't last, btw, especially if he doesn't do anything besides go after Edge)
Yeah, and that's all they'll do with him, because they don't get it,.

[Shadow]

Hardy will have what I call the Hogan Complex.

When Hardy first comes back, he'll get huge pops.

Then as time goes on, the more times he shows up, the more his crowd reaction will drop.

The only way they can prevent that is by not doing the same thing with Hardy every week,

They could just have him pop up every now and again...keeping him off camera but letting him come in for an attack or something like every other week.

Then at Summerslam, he totally kills Edge.

[Kane Knight]

That's not a good thing, Shadow.

[The CyNick]

We've pretty much talked about this on another thread, so I'll try to keep it brief.

Basically I think this is a one shot deal for Hardy. to me the recation he got has been overrated, frankly I thought it would be bigger, but at the same time it was a significant reaction.

Where I see the problem is the direction they go after Edge. I think this just a situation where the fans think its fun to yell "You Screwed Matt" and Lita and Edge, and some fans are probably upset that he got fired the way he did.

I still dont think there is a large enough audience that knwos about all this stuff and will back him enough to make him a a main eventer.

Going forward, I dont think an anti-WWE gimmick is the way to go for him to be a top guy, it just doesn't make sense. Ive said this before, but even the dumbest fan out there will fiugure out he's under contract when he's on RAW every week.

I also think hardy himself will shoot himself in the foot when it comes to promos. Ive read some of his stuff on his website and I (unfortunately) watched Byte This on Thurs. he comes off as the biggest crybaby/wuss Ive ever seen in my whole life. I just dont see fans getting behind a guy like that.

Only time will tell, but I dont see the path from this one angle to Hardy being a draw, to Hrady being a big draw to Hardy being WWE Champion.

[Shadow]

We've pretty much talked about this on another thread, so I'll try to keep it brief.

Basically I think this is a one shot deal for Hardy. to me the recation he got has been overrated, frankly I thought it would be bigger, but at the same time it was a significant reaction.

Where I see the problem is the direction they go after Edge. I think this just a situation where the fans think its fun to yell "You Screwed Matt" and Lita and Edge, and some fans are probably upset that he got fired the way he did.

I still dont think there is a large enough audience that knwos about all this stuff and will back him enough to make him a a main eventer.

Going forward, I dont think an anti-WWE gimmick is the way to go for him to be a top guy, it just doesn't make sense. Ive said this before, but even the dumbest fan out there will fiugure out he's under contract when he's on RAW every week.

I also think hardy himself will shoot himself in the foot when it comes to promos. Ive read some of his stuff on his website and I (unfortunately) watched Byte This on Thurs. he comes off as the biggest crybaby/wuss Ive ever seen in my whole life. I just dont see fans getting behind a guy like that.

Only time will tell, but I dont see the path from this one angle to Hardy being a draw, to Hrady being a big draw to Hardy being WWE Champion.

To tell the truth...Matt's always been the bigger crybaby of the two Hardy boys.

[Pepsi Man]

To tell the truth...Matt's always been the bigger crybaby of the two Hardy boys.
How so? That comment just seems so random.

[Ruien]

How so? That comment just seems so random.

+1.

[Shadow]

How so? That comment just seems so random.

Ya ever hear of Jeff crying over a relationship to anyone?

[Mr. Nerfect]

I am a HUGE Matt Hardy mark, and I must say he does come off really whiney. BUT it has gotten him his job back, so let's just see how that goes.

Anyway, Matt Hardy as a tough-ass is not going to work long run. I miss Mattitude, and quite frankly, that's where I believe the WWE should be heading with Matt Hardy. Here's how I'd handle Matt's return to the WWE:

Matt Hardy is at ringside next week, claiming he bought a ticket and has every right to be there. Eric Bischoff comes out and tears into Hardy saying he was fired because he didn't have the ability of Edge, and now Hardy is ruining the show (have Edge refuse to have a match with Shelton Benjamin or someone because Hardy is out there). Hardy says he is better than Edge, and that he can prove it on any given night. Bischoff OKs the match for Summerslam, and announces that if Hardy wins, he'll allow Matt to return to RAW, and he will change the Money in the Bank stipulation to allow Hardy to challenge the winner of the Cena/Jericho match anytime he wants up until Summerslam '06. If Edge wins, Hardy is out on his ass, and Edge gets the stipulation changed to be for the WWE Championship, up to WrestleMania 22. Hell, even throw in the stipulation that if Hardy wins, Bischoff will even sign a superstar of Matt Hardy's choice (Shannon Moore) to a RAW contract.

Hardy runs into problems such as Gene Snitsky & Tyson Tomko in the weeks leading up to Summerslam. Snitsky & Tomko are playing the "Problem Solvers" to Edge, but Hardy cancels them out with help from his friend The Hurricane, and his tag team partner, Rosey. Hardy even teases a relationship with Stacy Keibler (again). Snitsky & Tomko injure Hurricane & Rosey, though, so at Summerslam The Problem Solvers are forfeited the World Tag Team Championship, and still pose a threat to Matt Hardy later on that night.

Hardy and Edge are having their match, and the referee is knocked down from behind with the briefcase by Lita, and Snitsky & Tomko are in to be on Hardy, and the 3-on-1 beatdown begins. Hardy manages to bail and says he knew "Feces" would try something like this, so he's brought in a Problem Solver that shares Hardy's hate for the WWE. Cue Brock Lesnar's music, as Hardy's former enemy makes his way to the ring, then DEMOLISHES Snitsky, Tomko & Edge. Hardy then pins Edge when the referee comes to. Hardy is now in possession of the Money in the Bank Title Shot.

The next night on RAW, Jim Ross has been givent he daunting task of interviewing Matt Hardy (and Brock Lesnar if you decide to add in the hiring of a superstar of Hardy's choice), but Matt Hardy never shows up. He appears over the titantron and says it is not his will to appear on Eric Bischoff's RAW. Going over to the political RAW from the "land of opportunity" that is SmackDown! was career suicide for the Angelic Diablo. Hardy reveals that as soon as he was released from the WWE, Theodore R. Long rang him and said he hopes everything goes well for Matt. Brock Lesnar has been receiving similiar calls from Long. Now that the green light has been given for them to return to the WWE, there is no way Hardy & Lesnar are going to join "Feces" in "HHHell". Hardy then gives off a quick advertisement for SmackDown!, then closes with "Fuck RAW and The Whore. Hey, I'm already better than Cena!".

Hardy then gets a breath of fresh air on SmackDown! where he becomes "Matt Hardy Version 2.0", in tribute to the greatest character of his career being on founded on SD!, and he enters an almost immediate feud with Batista over the World Heavyweight Championship (Hardy still has the MITB Title Shot, as he never opted to get it changed to being exclusively for the WWE Championship), and Lesnar either stays paired with Hardy, building to what will be inevitable feuds with Batista and his "Mattster", or he goes solo and builds his own feuds. I personally like the former because it gives Hardy more credibility since he's probably "too small" to look like a threat by himself, and it lets Lesnar have his own feuds lower on the card, while keeping him ever-present in the main event, until the fans have accepted him as "The Big Thing" again.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Or you can take the main idea of what I just posted, and have Hardy bring back someone like Shannon Moore, which pisses off Lesnar since he only agreed to help Matt because Hardy said he would bring him back to the WWE using the giring stipulation. Lesnar squashes Shannon Moore/other talent brought in by Hardy, and enters a feud with Matt, and the fans choose who is the face and who is the heel.

Putting Lesnar on RAW distracts form SD!, though, so maybe they could have Eric Bischoff refuse to hire Lesnar, so Brock joins the SD! roster, leading up to an interpromotional match between the two at WrestleMania 22?

[John la Rock]

Matt does not have main-event talernt

[Mr. Nerfect]

Matt does not have main-event talernt

Debatable.

[den1982]

matt beceause a Heel main event could happen

[Pepsi Man]

Ya ever hear of Jeff crying over a relationship to anyone?
Ya ever hear of Jeff IN a relationship? Hell, these days, ya ever hear of Jeff?

[Anybody Thrilla]

I'll admit, it was cool to see Hardy return, but in the long run, I really don't think he's that fucking good. I chuckled at the V1 gimmick, but his mic work and his crooked ass legs have always annoyed me.

[Eunos]

Was this put on or what?

The commenators went silent when this happened. usually JR would be like "BAH GAWD BBQ SAUCE HIS BACK I DON'T BELIEVE IT"

and i noticed they changed the subject very quickly afterwords.

Then again had this Matt/Edge/Lita situation never happened then he would just be another guy on the roster.

[Mr. JL]

Yeah, Matt came off as a BIG pussy on Byte This. Just one of those annoying people you dump but they never get over it and go all emo, just get the fuck over it already and shut the fuck up.

Lita came off pretty well. It's actually my bet that Matt and Edge will have a match at Summer Slam. Matt will be the HUUUGE face. Edge/Lita will be the HEELS. Matt wins the match.

Next night he comes out and attacks Adam and Amy again and pulls off all the 'I'm a big pussy who can't get over a girl' routine he pulled on Byte This. Eventually Adam and Amy become the faces and the fans all have a good time calling Matt a pussy who can't "get over it".

I think if done right, a one off FACE Matt Hardy and then a HEEL whiny bitch Matt Hardy could actually work for Matt and he could become a BIG Champion if he has the talent to keep the heel heat.

[TerranRich]

I think like the idea of a whiny, bitchy, pussy gimmick for Matt Hardy...

After all, the best gimmicks are those that mirror real-life personas. ;)