AEW star reacts to Firefly Fun House match at WrestleMania 36; Bray Wyatt responds
While he did put over the Boneyard match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles, he seemed to have the done the same with his former Tag Team partner. Matt Hardy seemed overjoyed by Bray Wyatt's Firefly Fun House match with John Cena, with Wyatt acknowledging the response.
Moreover, Matt Hardy jokingly also said that this is the most 'over' he has ever been in WWE, despite him now working for AEW.
It's interesting to note that while Vince McMahon never really got The Final Deletion, a similar style was deployed for both The Undertaker and Bray Wyatt matches. It's safe to argue that Hardy was the progenitor of 'Cinematic Wrestling' and believes that it is a format worth doing in the future.
It's also been reported that Vince McMahon even approved a cheeky line in the Firefly Fun House match, which was initially spoken by Jon Moxley on Chris Jericho's podcast. The line is, "It's such good s#it."
WWE had to be more creative, considering the constraints they had due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's possible that these cinematic presentations wouldn't have happened, had it not been for the outbreak.
One of the reasons why Matt Hardy left was because he felt that his creativity was being smothered. Even though Hardy admitted that WWE wanted to re-sign him, he thought that his role would have limited had he stayed.
He said:
They tried very hard to sign me. They have offered very good money, but I know my role would have been minimized. For me, more important than money right now, I like to totally utilize my creativity. And these last 3, 4 years I have to do this, I want to enjoy it."
"I want to be creative and I want to have fun. In WWE, a lot of times, they suck the fun out of it. because it's become such a business and you become a cog in the machine."
With that said, Matt Hardy's debut in AEW was well received, and he is currently engaged in a feud with Chris Jericho. Jericho and Hardy already had an in-ring promo together, and it looks like their feud is going to keep going for a while.
With WWE now using the cinematic presentation to their advantage, will AEW employ the same tactic, considering that they have Hardy in their roster? Le Champion vs. The Broken One in the Hardy Compound could make for good television if and when it does happen.