Matt Hardy has explained the story behind the injury on his arm after TNA Slammiversary. He revealed that an off-script move by his brother Jeff Hardy led to a painful moment during the wild ladder match.
The Hardy Boyz won the TNA World Tag Team Championships at Slammiversary by surviving a brutal Ladder Match against The System and The Righteous. With tables, ladders, chairs, barbed wire, and several dangerous spots involved, it came as no surprise that both brothers walked away with bumps and bruises. But according to Matt, one moment happened because Jeff decided to change the plan during the match.
Jeff Hardy changed the plan during the match
Speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Matt pointed to the bruise on his arm. He then explained the origin of the bruise.
“I’ve got a little wear and tear here tomorrow on this side. Some bruising on the arm,” Matt said before sharing the story.
Matt said the original plan was that he and Jeff would clear the ring, Vincent would climb the ladder, Matt would knock him down with his signature “Delete” sequence, and then the brothers would set up one table for the next spot.
But Jeff had a different idea. Instead of sticking to the plan, Jeff pulled out another table from under the ring. He then placed it against the steel steps.
“But Jeff is, I was talking to guys about this at TV yesterday, which is so funny. Jeff is like so present in the moment, right? He just, a lot of times, he goes just off script. Like if we’ve talked about something, he just kind of does his own thing,” Matt said.
Jeff’s extra table caused another problem later in the match. Matt explained that both tables had a role to play for a later spot, so neither one could break early. When he was thrown toward the steel steps, he couldn’t go through the table because it had to stay in place. That meant he had to hit the steel steps instead.
“So I ended up taking the stairs like shoulder first and that’s my arm got jabbed right in the point of the stairs. And it was like super swollen and big for those days. But it’s just because I couldn’t break those tables. I was doing, ‘Damn it, Jeff, stay on, stay on track here, man,'” Matt said.
Even though his arm became badly swollen and bruised, Matt said it looked much worse than it actually was. He explained that the swelling came from fluid buildup and that there was no serious damage.
“And it just is where it is. I mean, that happens a lot with Jeff. It’s one of the things I love about him because he is once he just feels something, he kind of rolls with it. But sometimes like, ‘Hey, brother, like stay on track, dude.’ But yeah, it’s all good. Fortunately, that wasn’t anything bad. It was just like a lot of fluid and just a very swollen arm and it’s feeling OK now just looks gnarly and nasty,” Matt added.
While Jeff’s unpredictable style can sometimes prove frustrating, it’s a key reason they have created several memorable moments together over the years.
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