By James Caldwell, PWTorch columnist

Matt Hardy says that when he was drafted to ECW earlier this year, he set a goal to become ECW champion and make the most of his opportunity.

Although it seemed as if the ECW brand was stripped of most of its talent and Hardy was one of the few credible wrestlers moved to the brand, Hardy was determined to make the most of his opportunity.

"I really was happy about going to ECW," Hardy told Mike Mooneyham in the Charleston Post-Courier. "Anytime I am given anything, it's exciting. It's something I can sink my teeth into and make the most out of. It was the same with ECW."

Working with Mark Henry has been personally rewarding, Hardy says. "I feel like I've gotten some of the best matches out of Mark that he's had in his entire career," he said. "WWE has really been behind it, and I think they've been happy with my effort behind it."

While on the ECW brand, Hardy recently dealt with an excruciating knee injury that nearly sidelined him on the recent European tour. Hardy says he just took it as part of being a wrestler.

"If you're a professional wrestler and you work a tough schedule like we do, you're going to get hurt," Hardy said. "It's one of those things where you can't sweat it. You just have to understand that there's going to be an injury, and you have to learn how to treat it and deal with it and get through it."

But, how long will his body continue to hold up? Hardy says he probably has a few more years left in him and he hopes to make the most of it.

"I definitely can see myself in the ring for another four or five years," Hardy said. "My body is pretty good. I think I've got a lot of things left to do. I'm very honored and very proud to be ECW champion, but my goal is to become the world heavyweight champion and even the WWE heavyweight champion. I'm sure ECW is not going to be where I finish out my career."

Hardy added that he recently renewed his contract with WWE and he would like to contribute more than in the ring. "I would even like to start contributing more behind the scenes to help out some of the newer guys and younger guys just because I'm at a point in my career where I can do that," he said. "I just signed a new contract, so I'm going to be around for a little while."

Already with an eye on the TV product, Hardy says they need to slow down the product sometimes and not try to cram as much content or stars into a small window of time.

"One thing I do like about ECW is that usually you'll have one or two matches where you have time to go out and tell a story and get emotionally involved in a storyline," Hardy said. "Sometimes it's better to give a match more time or one story more time and maybe not try and jam everyone on one show."

Regarding his former girlfriend Lita, Hardy says they maintain an amicable relationship, but he's moved beyond her after each side has admitted to mistakes.

"She's doing okay. I talk to her every so often," Hardy said. "We're friendly and get along. It's all good. You can't sit back and hold on to something forever. It's bad on you. It's going to affect you going forward."

Link: Hardy interview.

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