Getting a grip: ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy in WWE; Bullet Club attempting indie super-show

Brian Fritz

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Getting a grip: ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy in WWE; Bullet Club attempting indie super-show image

Each week, Sporting News runs down the biggest stories in the world of professional wrestling.
 

'Broken Universe' coming to the WWE?

Ever since Matt and Jeff made their surprise WWE return at WrestleMania 33, fans have wonder if we would see ever see the “Broken Universe” on that stage. Now, it appears that it will happen.

After losing to Bray Wyatt this past Monday on “RAW," Matt Hardy remained slumped in a corner of the ring and began screaming “Delete!” over and over while throwing his arm out to the side with fans doing the same in unison.

This is the first step of him officially returning to the “Broken” character that he developed with Impact Wrestling and earned rave reviews.

The Hardys and Anthem Sports and Entertainment, the parent company of Impact Wrestling, have been entangled in a legal dispute regarding the ownership of the “Broken Universe” intellectual property and the characters.

MORE: Mick Foley on milestone of his infamous "Hell in a Cell" match

Anthem Executive Vice President Ed Nordholm recently sent this statement to SI.com: “We have seen the character development and will be interested to see where they take the concept. Our new talent agreements all incorporate language that allow talent to continue to use their IMPACT persona after they leave the company. We are working with our legal team to amend our existing agreements to extend this to all of our current and former talent.”

In other words, Hardy is free and clear to use the character in the WWE.

It’s an amazing development and one never seen before in wrestling with Impact Wrestling allowing talent to retain ownership of their characters, including ones that are created and developed with the company.

The question now is will the WWE truly embrace the “Broken” Matt Hardy character and the entire “Broken Universe” including all of its subtleties and quirkiness that made it a viral sensation.

If WWE makes a real investment into the character including an explanation of how he became broken for the fans that aren’t familiar with him, than it could be a huge boost for Matt and another impactful star that WWE can utilize.

Bullet Club super-show

Never say that Cody Rhodes isn’t up for a challenge.

He has quelled doubters by walking away from the WWE and proved himself on the independent circuit — including his current run as the Ring of Honor World Champion and a member of the prestigious Bullet Club.

The latest challenge he is embarking on is teaming with the Young Bucks to put on 10,000-seat “All In” super-show. The trio is currently scouting buildings in various cities and hope to announce soon when and where it will take place later this year.

Cody recently stated on the “Busted Open” show that his dream scenario for the event would be to defend the ROH World Title against Daniel Bryan.

If they could Bryan on the show, especially in his first match back, would give them a real chance of hitting the lofty goal. First things first as Bryan has to receive medical clearance that he can return to the ring and he would have to not re-sign with the WWE. The company could make him an attractive deal if it allowed him to wrestle but there are a lot of hoops to jump through before that could happen.

Another consideration is that Bullet Club is trying to galvanize fans in their efforts with the hope to get people from around the world to be a part of this show. Don’t underestimate the power of wrestling fans and their willingness to support something they feel is a big event worthy of their time and money.

Starrcade return a hit

All signs point to the Starrcade-themed show this past weekend being a rousing success.

WWE wisely took the opportunity to make what would be a regular house show at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in North Carolina and turned it into a special event built around the original NWA Starrcade event that took place in the same building back in 1983.

The company went all out in making special video packages and graphics for the “SmackDown Live” brand matches along with special appearances from NWA legends including Ricky Steamboat, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, and The “Nature Boy” Ric Flair who continues to improve following his recent health scare. Even Arn Anderson broke out a picture-perfect spinebuster on Dolph Ziggler to the delight of the audience.

The show wasn’t sold out but drew a larger audience than an average WWE house show. Plus, the company did extremely well selling the special merchandise that was available to commemorate the event. It was such a hit that WWE is likely going to do the show again next year around Thanksgiving.

While there was an outcry from some to have this event air live on the WWE Network, the production costs were likely too high. But the company would be wise to try something similar in other markets with some history attached to a past pay-per-view — just not WCW Hog Wild.

News and notes

— Drew McIntyre confirmed that he was injured in his recent “TakeOver” match that saw him lose the NXT Championship to Andrade Almas.

McIntyre suffered a torn biceps and has already begun rehab following surgery. There’s no doubt that the Scotsman is driven to return as soon as possible and will try to make it back in time for WrestleMania 34 week next April in New Orleans.

— Kurt Angle had his right leg taped up during the main event of Survivor Series and was limited in what he could do in the ring. The “RAW” GM recently explained on his Facebook page that he tore a muscle doing wind sprints two days before the event and he should be back to 100 percent soon.

— It was quite the busy night for Kane on Monday night with “RAW” in Knoxville, Tenn. That happens to be in Knox County where, as Glenn Jacobs, he is running for county mayor. After having to escape an attack from Braun Strowman in the final minutes of the show and suffering an injured throat, Jacobs held a campaign rally at nearby Calhoun’s BBQ restaurant. Here’s hoping he at least wore the mask.

— Just to prove that wrestlers are the biggest fans, here’s The Rock telling a story from his childhood when he marked out for Hulk Hogan.

— And more of The Rock as he shows off his festive side on the latest cover of Entertainment Weekly.

He really is “The Great One."

Brian Fritz can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrianFritz and listen to his Between The Ropes podcast on Blog Talk Radio.

Brian Fritz

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Brian Fritz is a contributor with The Sporting News covering the NBA and NFL who previously worked at BasketballNews. He is a 20-year veteran of sports talk radio in Orlando, Florida, after graduating from the University of Central Florida. He now resides in Durham, North Carolina.