AEW's Matt Hardy on living in North Carolina his whole life and whether he plans on writing a second book (Exclusive)
It has been close to 30 years since Matt Hardy made his professional wrestling debut as a teenager. A champion in numerous companies before making his AEW debut in March 2020, it's safe to say that Matt Hardy is not only one of wrestling's longest-tenured performers of today, but also one of its greats from the last two decades.
Presently known as the "Multifarious" Matt Hardy, from week to week -- even segment to segment -- watchers of Dynamite never know which Hardy to expect ringside. In turn, his steady unpredictability in an era where diehard wrestling fans seem to know what's next is especially remarkable.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Matt Hardy via Zoom on July 7, 2020 -- one day prior to the second night of AEW's Fyter Fest -- about working with AEW, his recent alignment with Diamond Dallas Page's DDPY, why he has always lived in North Carolina, his favorite music to work out to, whether he has plans for a second book, and more.
Audio of the full conversation is embedded below, in addition to transcribed highlights; the full chat will also appear on an upcoming episode of the Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz podcast.
On choosing to live his entire life in Cameron, North Carolina:
Matt Hardy: There was a moment around 2000-ish where once my brother [Jeff] and I finally made it, I contemplated moving to Raleigh just to be near the airport. We're about 50 minutes from the airport, so it's a little bit of a drive. Now, fortunately, there's one road that goes straight there, so it's pretty easy. But I was contemplating moving there and I remember my brother said, "C'mon man, we have plenty of land out here, let's just stay here, it's just a drive, so what? We could do it a few times a week, it's not a big deal and we're closer to dad." He was right and I'm glad that I listened to him and ended up staying here.
On what there is to do in the Cameron area:
Matt Hardy: Cameron is kind of known now for its antique festivals. It has them twice a year. COVID has obviously slowed that down, but that was a big deal. People all over the East Coast would come in and spend the weekend at these antique festivals. There's a ton of antique shops, there's 30 antique shops and they really really have many things that they get from all across the world. That's really the only thing that stands out as far as Cameron goes. Within the city limits, there's less than 300 people as far as the population goes.
In the cities around here, there's Pinehurst, which is a golfing area, that's 15-20 minutes from me. Raleigh is 15 minutes, it's a real nice city, a nice town. There's not a lot to do specifically right here. If you drive out and about, North Carolina is a real cool state overall.
On whether he plans on writing another book:
Matt Hardy: I am certain I will. Actually, now I have enough material and I've lived enough life, good and bad, to actually write a good, compelling book. It's funny, the book that we did earlier, that came out in 2003, we didn't have a great story to tell because of our life experiences. Although, it was interesting to see how we got to where we were at that point in our lives.
Now, when the book will come out, it will be absolutely arresting. If you were to read this book, you wouldn't be able to put it down... Me, as far as the story of Matt Hardy, I'm not sure when that'll come out.