Matt Hardy congratulates Jeff Hardy on title victory
AEW wrestler Matt Hardy has taken to social media to congratulate his younger brother, Jeff Hardy, on his WWE Intercontinental Championship victory tonight on Friday Night SmackDown.
Matt Hardy who now competes for All Elite Wrestling tweeted on his official Twitter account congratulating "Brother Nero" [Jeff Hardy] after winning the Intercontinental Championship gold:
"Congratulations, Brother Nero!"
RETRIBUTION causes chaos
Tonight on Friday Night SmackDown, WWE presented their first show live from the WWE ThunderDome in the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. This would be WWE's first broadcast outside of the WWE Performance Center since the COVID-19 lockdown in March.
One of the featured announced matches heading into the show was AJ Styles defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Jeff Hardy.
In the opening segment of Friday Night SmackDown, The Fiend interrupted WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon as the Chairman welcomed the WWE Universe into the TunderDome. After a brief stare-down, The Fiend was then confronted by WWE Universal Champion, and SummerSlam opponent, Braun Strowman.
However, before The Fiend and Strowman could get physical, the lights were dimmed and the chaotic faction known as RETRIBUTION, surrounded the ring containing Bray Wyatt and The Monster Among Men. But, The Fiend would quickly disappear into the darkness, leaving Braun Strowman to be attacked by RETRIBUTION.
As the WWE Universal Champion was being attacked by RETRIBUTION, the SmackDown roster made the save, fighting off the masked faction. This included AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy. However, when Hardy's back was turned, AJ Styles attacked Jeff Hardy's knee, injuring The Charismatic Enigma before tonight's title showdown.
Jeff Hardy wins the Intercontinental Championship in controversial fashion
After receiving a knee brace from a WWE doctor backstage, a wounded Jeff Hardy soldiered on and competed against AJ Styles in the Intercontinental Championship match later in the show.
Styles would work over Jeff Hardy's injured knee/leg for the majority of the match, exposing Hardy's knee brace. However, Jeff Hardy would later use the knee brace to his advantage, striking it against the head of the Phenomenal One.
With AJ Styles seemingly knocked out, Jeff Hardy climbed to the top rope and hit the Swanton Bomb for the victory to become the new WWE Intercontinental Champion. This marks Jeff Hardy's fifth Intercontinental Championship reign during his WWE career.
What are your thoughts on Jeff Hardy's Intercontinental Championship victory? Who would you like to see Jeff Hardy defend the Intercontinental Championship against in the future?