#97: Bray Wyatt vs. Matt Hardy, WWE Raw (3/19/2018).
This is The Ultimate Deletion Match.
So, yeah. Woken Matt Hardy in WWE was a bit of a dud, yeah? His return, along with his brother Jeff, at WrestleMania 33 in April of 2017 sparked one of the loudest pops in a very long time. But, the follow through was lacking. Jeff got hurt, and Matt just kind of lurked in the singles division. It wasn't his fault. He was trying to bring his popular "Broken" gimmick to WWE, but some jackasses at Impact Wrestling tried to claim the rights to the gimmick.
Well, Matt eventually won the rights, and debuted the "Woken" version of it on Raw during his feud with Bray Wyatt. Their interactions were weird, to say the least. It worked, mostly, and fans were just happy that Matt Hardy could finally do this character in a WWE ring. This was the blow off match to the feud, in all its cinematic glory. The fact that WWE aired this as the main event of Raw on the road to WrestleMania 34 is a fucking miracle.
Bray arrives at the Hardy Compound. The gates open on their own, and Bray walks inside. He is greeted by Vanguard 1. He's instructed to follow the music. Matt is waiting inside of a ring in the woods. His wife is playing the piano - Bray's theme.
Both men circle, and laugh manically at the other. They lock up, and Bray tosses Matt into the turnbuckle. Vanguard distracts Bray, and Matt gets the upper hand with strikes. Side Russian Legsweep gets 2 for Matt.
Matt tries for the Twist of Fate, and Bray tries for Sister Abigail. Bray hits a huge clothesline. Bray grabs a chair from Under the Ring. Vanguard sets off fireworks to distract Bray. Matt uses the chair on Bray repeatedly.
Now out of the Ring, both men fight into the woods next. Bray kicks Matt near the Dilapidated City. Bray is distracted by the resemblance to the Wyatt Compound. Matt hits him with a kendo stick, and then Bray takes control and hits him with it.
Bray is now looking for Matt, who has wandered off into the Land of Obsolete Men. They chase each other, Scooby Doo style, through the statues with kendo sticks.
Bray sends Matt into a tree, and kicks him in the midsection. Bray breaks a huge stick over his back. He gets 2 off of that. Bray with huge strikes to the head. Bray grabs Matt and sends him into a steel door.
The door suddenly opens, and inside is another ring. It's the Dome of Deletion. Bray kicks him again. Bray goes for a Urinage on the piano, but Matt escapes and sends him face first into the steel ring post.
He grabs a ladder and hits Bray in the chest with it. Next, he strikes him in the back with it, and another to the chest. Chair of wheels, or mower of lawn? Which will Matt choose?
He chooses the lawnmower. He goes to run Bray over, but Bray gets back to his feet. Bray rams his head into the mower, and brings him into the Ring. Matt guillotines him on the ropes, and eats a kick to the gut.
Bray drops Matt face first on the apron, and gets a 2 count off of it. Bray hammerfists Matt repeatedly. Bray drags Matt away, as Vanguard scans the area. Bray has brought Matt to the Lake of Reincarnation.
Matt calls for his dilapidated boat friend Skarsguard. Bray goes for Sister Abigail, but here comes Vanguard. Bray grabs the drone and tosses it away. He flips the boat over, only to find Senor Benjamin!
He tosses Bray a globe, and he and the returning Jeff Hardy sing to Bray how he has the whole world in his hands. Matt reappears and hits the Twist of Fate on Bray for the win. Matt picks up a hockey stick and tosses Bray into the Lake, and asks for Benjamin to remove his body, but Bray is gone.
The Woken gimmick peaked here, for sure. This wasn't anywhere near the weird level of greatness that The Final Deletion achieved in Impact Wrestling, but on its own, it was pretty good. Just the spectacle of seeing this in WWE alone was wild. Matt got to have one night to showcase his brilliance to the biggest audience, and he and Bray made the most of their time.
This had all the elements that made Broken Matt Hardy work so well. It had a shitty filmed quality to it, random weapons, cameos, etc. It didn't exactly do wonders for Bray, though, who suffered through another major loss in his career. His disappearance in the Lake of Reincarnation would see him reemerge at WrestleMania 34 to help Matt win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. They would soon form a team and have a run as Raw Tag Team Champions.
To many, the Bray Wyatt character was dead on rights following this match. In fairness, it would take a year and a half for him to find his footing again. This is a good match to watch, though. Bray and Matt's cooky manifestations meshed perfectly here. The biggest negative I have about this match is I think it was a huge missed opportunity not to have this match at WrestleMania.