"They were the smallest contracts" - AEW star Matt Hardy divulges details on his initial salary in WWE
Current AEW star Matt Hardy recently revealed his initial salary when he first signed with WWE.
Matt penned a full-time deal with the Stamford-based promotion in 1998. He and his brother, Jeff, were an integral part of the Attitude era and are regarded as one of the greatest tandems in the history of pro wrestling. The duo captured multiple time tag championships during their storied tenure with the company.
Speaking on his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, the 47-year-old explained that he and Jeff initially signed a three-year contract with WWE. The contracts in those days were no match for the ones of today. However, Matt was ecstatic to get what he was promised.
“Yes, our developmental bills, initially in the beginning were $300 a week and then you would get $300 If you wrestled a match. That was our developmental deal, and we’d signed it for three years initially. So just considering that we’re getting $300 every single week coming to our house, we were ecstatic as you can imagine, I mean, those contracts, they were the smallest contracts, obviously there but like we were just excited to get our feet in the water.” (H/T Inside the Ropes)
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Matt Hardy says Christian Cage was jealous of him and Jeff during their WWE days
The multi-time tag champion has highlighted that former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Christian Cage was jealous of them back in the day.
The duo of Christian and Edge were arch-rivals of The Hardys during the Attitude Era. The two teams faced off in the first-ever tag team ladder match at WWE No Mercy in 1999, which the brothers ultimately won.
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Speaking in the same interview, Matt recalled that Christian was delighted to watch Jeff slip off the top rope during their bouts:
"Whenever Jeff slipped off the top rope, he said he cheered in his house because he was so mad that we got contracts, and he did. He cheered for Jeff's Jeff's destruction, which is a funny story that we still share all the time now, and eventually, he got signed and we all ended up being okay."
He added:
"We ended up being best frenemies, but that's a very funny but true story. He was very envious of Jeff and I when we first signed and he cheered when Jeff slipped off the top rope from a moonsault body block to the floor.” [H/T - Fightful]
Matt Hardy signed with AEW in March 2020. He was operating as a heel until March 2022, when he was saved by a debuting Jeff Hardy, Sting, and Darby Allin from an attack by his former stable AHFO.