WWE News: ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy Appears At ‘House Of Hardcore 24’ – Attacked By Former WWE Tag Team Champions
At the beginning of April, the Hardy Boyz returned to WWE and won the Raw Tag Team Titles on their first night back, but they still had work outside the company to do. As with Samoa Joe and some other superstars who signed WWE contracts, they were allowed to be able to finish any independent dates they had already agreed to. For “Broken” Matt Hardy, one was Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore 24, and it was one of the strangest nights ever.
Before coming to an agreement to sign with WWE, the Hardy Boyz were taking other bookings through the month of April but not into May. Upon signing new WWE contracts, they were granted permission to finish out any independent appearances they had, but one didn’t seem to sit very well with Vince McMahon.
On Friday night, Tommy Dreamer presented House of Hardcore 24, and the main event was set to be Dreamer taking on “Broken” Matt Hardy in New Jersey Delete Street Fight. Dreamer was already in the ring and that is when the piano music hit and Matt came through the curtain to cut another awesome promo.
At this point, the Spirit Squad came out of nowhere and simply referred to themselves as “The Squad,” per Cageside Seats. Mikey, Johnny, and Kenny told the crowd that their boss Vince McMahon ordered them to bring Matt Hardy back to Connecticut as he now belongs to WWE.
Matt Hardy said that he was the boss now and not “Meek Mahan,” but that didn’t sit well with The Squad, so they attacked him and Tommy Dreamer. Low and behold, Bully Ray makes the save and rips the Spirit Squad before a tag match is made pitting him and Dreamer against Kenny and Mikey.
Hang on, @bullyray5150 is here to make the save! #HOH24 pic.twitter.com/AongVO5UgK
— FloSlam (@FloSlam) April 22, 2017
Yes, “Broken” Matt Hardy was taken out of the Street Fight, and it can only be assumed that Vince McMahon had a lot to do with that decision. He probably didn’t like the idea of having one of his Raw Tag Team Champions competing in a rather important event.
Can’t say that anyone could blame him for this, but it did complicate matters for Tommy Dreamer and House of Hardcore 24. Cageside Seats reported that Dreamer advised the live audience that he needed to re-book the entire show at the last minute, and it most likely had to do with Matt Hardy not being able to compete.
The match between The Squad and the team of Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer was said to be alright, but nothing special. Considering there was going to be a Street Fight between Dreamer and Matt Hardy, the fans had to be disappointed when it was announced as not happening at the very last minute.
During the main event, Bully Ray’s girlfriend Velvet Sky even got involved, and then, The Sandman came out to beat up The Squad with a kendo stick. Still, it didn’t end up having the same thrill that the advertised main event was going to bring.
Thank yoy everyone who attended @HouseofHardcore 24 Metuchen NJ or watched on @FloSlam
All the hard work is so worth it w/crowds like that— Tommy Dreamer (@THETOMMYDREAMER) April 22, 2017
On Saturday night, it was a bit of a different story as both Matt and Jeff Hardy showed up at House of Hardcore 25. The Squad showed up again and said they weren’t going to wrestle, but the Hardy Boyz said due a last-minute deal between HOH, Triple H, and Vince McMahon, they were there to perform.
As reported by WrestleZone, the Hardy Boyz took on Tommy Dreamer and Bully Ray in a match which was won by the current Raw Tag Team Champions.
House of Hardcore 24 still ended up being a big-time success despite the weird and confusing main event which brought a close to Friday night. “Broken” Matt Hardy did show up to face Tommy Dreamer, but the Spirit Squad attacking him and Bully Ray appearing to make it a tag match goes to show you how much power is in WWE’s hands. Still, Vince McMahon may not have wanted Matt wrestling at FloSlam, but something changed from Friday to Saturday nights.
[Featured Image by TNA Impact Wrestling]
