On a recent edition of his “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” podcast, WWE/AEW alumnus Matt Hardy reacted to AEW airing the All In 2023 backstage footage between CM Punk & Jack Perry on Dynamite, Wardlow’s potential, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On the AEW All In 2023 footage being shown: “I wasn’t crazy about the footage and just kind of how they utilized it. I mean, I get the intent, I guess. But like, I would have stayed away from it. And if I was in charge of AEW and making decisions, I would leave CM Punk in the past where he was, and I wouldn’t reference him at all going forward. CM Punk is not at AEW, he’s somewhere else, I would just I would not reference him at all going forward. And I would focus on AEW and who is currently at AEW…
“I do think at the end of the day, Jack Perry is going to end up coming out bigger and better when this is all said and done. I really do believe that. So I think too, like he’s motivated, and he’s angry. You know, he went through some s**t, you know what I mean? And I just think he’s going to end up coming out bigger and better when this is all said and done.”
On Wardlow: “I mean, I would love to be able to book a guy like Wardlow. Because I mean, I’ve said that here on the show. I think he’s a good-looking dude who has got an incredible attitude, just a phenomenal attitude. I think he has the potential to be a huge star in AEW, I think he has the potential to be a champion. I think he has the potential to be the face of the brand. And I think you just have to follow through. If you have someone like this, you have to have a game plan and you have to stick to it. I mean, you can make changes, you know. You need to take the side street here as opposed to doing this, because you know, the climate has changed in the audience’s eyes or whatever. But I think you really have to follow through with these people and see it to the end. Because if you don’t, the audience will cool off from them. Or if they go away, they’ll forget about them or whatever. And then you might lose that opportunity to make someone.
“When you have a talent that gets hot, and you can tell like people want them right then and right there? Sometimes you gotta’ jump on that s**t and capitalize on it. Even still looking back, I would have gone with Swerve Strickland in that three-way match at Sting’s last match [AEW Revolution]. Just because that was such a big audience. I know it did a great number, there were so many people there. And I feel like if you were going to crown him as a world champion, that would have been in place to do it. That’s just me. That’s me speaking.”
