Matt Hardy believes the ladder match against Edge and Christian at No Mercy 1999 propelled The Hardys into superstardom.
All Elite Wrestling‘s Matt Hardy recently sat down with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked about the Hardys ladder match against Edge and Christian at No Mercy 1999, Hardy said they knew they were gifted with the opportunity of having this match and just wanted to make the most of it.
“Before that match, none of us knew what was about to happen,” Matt Hardy said. “All we knew was that we were gifted with an opportunity and we wanted to make the most of it. Jeff and I had wrestled several ladder matches before the WWE on the indies, when I wrestled as Surge against Jeff, who was under a mask, as Willow the Wisp. We had a pretty good grasp on ladder matches, and we thought Edge and Christian would excel there, too.
“All we knew was that this was a chance to become something bigger than we were. All these years later, I can still hear the applause. It went on all match. The next night on Raw, we got another standing ovation. The way audiences reacted to us, it kept getting stronger and stronger. We realized we made magic, but we never knew it would be that big. I can’t wait to watch it back and share some parts of the match that haven’t been shared.”
Giving Back
Over two decades later, The Hardys are still competing at a high level in All Elite Wrestling. But at this stage in their careers, Matt said they’re more concerned about giving back to the young talent and giving others the rub.
“I love giving back,” Matt Hardy said. “When we were younger, I remember that being much bigger of an issue with the older talent. Myself and Jeff, we promised we’d never be those guys. It’s part of the responsibility to give younger guys a rub. Without people giving back, the business withers away. Someone made the older talent. Then comes the time to make someone new. The business has definitely gotten a lot more selfless over the past 30 years.”
The Hardys have given back and influenced countless performers over the last two decades, but one of the most prominent acts they influenced are Matt and Nick Jackson, The Young Bucks.
“The Bucks, we’ve loved those guys for over a decade,” Matt Hardy said. “I remember the night before we returned to WWE at WrestleMania 33, we wrestled the Bucks in a ladder match at Supercard of Honor. I told Matt and Nick that we were going to WrestleMania the next day and I can still hear myself saying, ‘Tell everyone you beat the Hardys for the Ring of Honor world tag-team titles. Use that, man. Use that.’ That’s how pro wrestling works in the grand scheme of things.”
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What do you make of Matt Hardy’s comments? Have you ever seen the No Mercy ladder match between The Hardys, Edge, and Christian? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
