WWE Legend honestly admits that he 'dreaded' wrestling Chris Benoit
Matt Hardy has revealed that he feared wrestling against Chris Benoit due to the former WWE Champion's intense in-ring style.
Hardy and Benoit wrestled on several occasions during their time together in WWE. Matt disliked facing his former adversary, specifically at house shows.
Matt Hardy recently stated that he enjoyed working TV matches with Chris Benoit as his body was always prepared and in good shape for WWE's main shows. He didn't feel the same way regarding live events as talents are often tired from traveling and prefer having less stressful matches on the road.
However, Benoit was cut from a different cloth as his unmatched work rate enabled him to put maximum effort into all his matches. Here's what Matt Hardy shared on his podcast about his experiences wrestling Benoit in WWE:
"I'll tell you what, Chris Benoit, you know, obviously everyone hates how everything ended with him, understandably and correctly so. But I was going to say, whenever I wrestled him, I loved wrestling him on TV because I knew I would be ready for it, and I would go because I was prepared for TV, and I always knew it was going to be a phenomenal match," Matt Hardy explained. "But whenever we were on a house show, especially when I was run down and beat up, I was like, 'F***!' I always dreaded wrestling Benoit because I knew you couldn't slow down." [56:54 - 57:24]
Matt Hardy recalls wrestling Chris Benoit with a hangover at a WWE Live Event
While stepping into the ring with Chris Benoit seems like a daunting task in itself, doing it while exhausted would seem like the worst thing imaginable for a talent.
Hardy was in a similar predicament many years ago as he was scheduled to take on Benoit at a non-televised event. Hardy was originally slated to face MVP before WWE changed the evening's main event and brought in Chris Benoit as a replacement.
The AEW star instantly regretted not getting enough sleep the previous night, as taking on Benoit was a very fatiguing assignment for any talent. Matt Hardy added:
"We (he and MVP) were both hungover and exhausted, and I looked at the card, and the main event is Matt Hardy vs. Chris Benoit. And I'm like, 'Holy s***; I'm going to f***ing die. He is going to beat the shit out of me.' You knew when you're wrestling Chris Benoit, I mean, he was only one gear, and that was like, fifth gear. That's as fast as you could possibly go. So, that was quite the shock, like, 'Oh, geez, I'm regretting not sleeping last night." [54:51 - 55:17]
Hardy also said that Benoit had the hardest chops out of any competitor he'd ever faced and shared high praise for the controversial wrestler.
What are your opinions on Chris Benoit's wrestling career? Share them in the comments section below.
While using any quotes from this article, please credit 'The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy' and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.