ROH Classics: Matt Hardy & ROH - 10 yrs. ago
Flashback Article by Mike DeRosenroll, former Torch specialist

Hardy the Pirate Broadcaster

Before it was apparent that Matt Hardy would be returning to WWE, Ring of Honor booked him to work three dates in Summer 2005. In the DVDs for the shows leading up to Hardy's debut, ROH ran short clips of him that he was supposedly beaming into the shows against ROH's will with some kind of pirate broadcasting technology. However, we never got to see where this was actually going because Hardy re-signed with WWE before his first ROH appearance and ROH dropped the angle.

WWE allowed Hardy to fulfill his outside bookings after re-signing, so ROH went ahead with Hardy's three scheduled matches that summer with no further elaboration on the pirate broadcasts.

(The first match was ten years ago today at "Fate of an Angel" against Christopher Daniels.)

Hardy Mentions ROH on Raw

Hardy re-debuted on RAW on July 11, 2005, a few days before his first ROH date. WWE tried to portray the angle as a shoot, as though Hardy was not a WWE performer and was trespassing at Raw to attack Edge, but the execution was so choreographed that it was obviously an angle.

On the July 11 Raw, Hardy came through the crowd and attacked Edge in the ring after a bad match with Kane. After the two were separated, Hardy grabbed the ringside mic, and he cut a promo on Edge and Lita. WWE officials conveniently caught up to Hardy just after he finished his promo and, as they were dragging him away, he yelled into the mic: "Come see me in Ring of Honor, ROH!"

Hardy's ROH Debut

The following weekend, Hardy faced Christopher Daniels at ROH's Fate of an Angel event in Woodbridge, Connecticut. The match was the semi-main event before C.M. Punk's ROH Title defense against James Gibson (Jamie Noble on WWE TV) during the red-hot "Summer of Punk" angle.

Hardy got a great babyface reaction from the crowd, which he solidified by cutting a good basic promo putting over ROH. Since he was facing another babyface (Daniels had recently turned face), the crowd reaction during the match was split. The match itself was good, but not a classic by ROH's extremely high standards for in-ring work. Nevertheless, it was a good performance from Hardy considering he was just returning after a long injury layoff.

Hardy got the win over Daniels when C.M. Punk interfered and hit Daniels with a chain while Hardy and the referee were not looking. The fans were not happy with the tainted finish, but still gave Hardy a respectful ovation.

Show Recommendations

The Hardy-Strong match at "Punk: The Final Chapter" was excellent and well-worth buying. Only buy Hardy's other two appearances, Fate of an Angel and Redemption, if you are a huge Matt Hardy fan and seeing him outside the WWE intrigues you.

[Torch photo credit Wade Keller (c) PWTorch.com]

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