Matt Hardy firmly believes 10-time WWE champion will be a "difference-maker" in AEW
Matt Hardy departed All Elite Wrestling earlier this year, but he's still keeping up with the company. The tag team legend recently addressed Shelton Benjamin's AEW debut and expressed his confidence that the veteran could be a major force in Tony Khan's promotion.
Shelton Benjamin has joined MVP in AEW as the latter looks to build his new faction, The Hurt Syndicate. Benjamin wrestled his first match for the promotion on last week's Dynamite, impressing fans with his victory over Lio Rush.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the elder Hardy brother revealed that he enjoyed the match. However, he wished Benjamin had been more dominant as he believes that the veteran could be a "difference-maker" in AEW:
"I enjoyed seeing Shelton’s match. My biggest criticism of it is that I feel like they should have had Shelton have a more definitive win his first time out. ... I like Lio Rush. I think he’s super entertaining. I dig what he does, but I don’t think we needed a 10-minute, 12-minute match, whatever it was, super competitive back-and-forth. I think you really needed to just shine the light on Shelton. Like, 'This is Shelton Benjamin. He’s here. He’s bada**, and he’s going to be a difference-maker in AEW.'" [H/T 411Mania]
Matt Hardy thinks AEW's tag team division needs a "kick in the a**"
Matt Hardy was a prominent figure in AEW throughout 2020 and 2021, but once he moved into the tag team division with his brother Jeff, his momentum slowed.
Hardy spent more than a year working with Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen), and although the young tag team ultimately betrayed him, he is still a fan of their work.
On a recent edition of his Extreme Life podcast, Matt Hardy discussed Private Party's failed attempt to claim the AEW World Tag Team Championship from The Young Bucks at WrestleDream 2024. He praised the duo but also claimed that AEW's tag team division needs to get rolling again.
"They weren't ready to be the top tag team and carry the division at all. But over time, they have learned, and specifically Isaiah. Isaiah really is tuned in to what he needs to be doing nowadays. And he has a good grasp, not only of what to do in the ring and how to execute a match, but also how to perform as a character. He is really on the pulse nowadays...I am hoping that Tony pulls the trigger on them. The tag team division does need a little kick in the a**. It needs an extra spark really to get it going and kind of rejuvenate it," he said.
Hardy is currently enjoying his time as a free agent while also putting in work for TNA. Both he and Tony Khan have claimed that the door was still open for a return to All Elite Wrestling, but whether that happens in the near future remains to be seen.