WWE News: 'Woken' Matt Hardy finally appears on WWE TV

What's the story?

Ever since he returned with Jeff at Wrestlemania 33 to capture the RAW Tag Team Titles, Matt Hardy has been teasing the return of his beloved Broken character that had formed in TNA the year prior.

It seems that, after months of legal battles, the Hardy Brand has recaptured the beloved Broken trademark, as Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt had an interesting promo that introduced the character to the WWE Universe.

In case you didn't know...

Matt Hardy has been in a legal battle between Impact, Anthem and Jeff Jarrett over the Broken gimmick since his departure last February. The feud between the two sides was so intense at the time that ROH, the home for the Hardy's at the time, were issued a cease and desist by Anthem, preventing them from broadcasting anything involving the use of the Broken Matt or Brother Nero characters.

Between bitter Twitter rants via Hardy's wife Ruby, and consistent failings of negotiations between the two sides, it seemed like Hardy would never get the rights to the Broken gimmick. However, in November 2017, Impact Wrestling forfeited ownership of the character to Hardy.

The reason WWE termed the new version of the gimmick as 'Woken' is because of its hiistory in TNA and the fact that it was conceptualised there.

The heart of the matter

On the December 4th edition of Monday Night RAW, a Bray Wyatt promo was interrupted by Broken Matt Hardy, with the fans erupting in applause and Delete chants after noticing his attire that he usually wore under the Broken gimmick.

Hardy would go on to hit all the mannerisms and strange pronunciations of words he had become famous for only a year prior, and Wyatt and Hardy's two separate vignettes would end up combining into something truly captivating.

Nice to finally meet you......@MATTHARDYBRAND I welcome The Great War

— Bray Wyatt (@WWEBrayWyatt) December 5, 2017

After the video, Bray Wyatt would send an ominous tweet to the newly Broken Hardy, but Matt would send a response in only a few minutes.

Oh, Consumer of Terrestrial Entities..Our SOULS have known one another for EONS, you just aren’t aware.....YET.The Great War is upon us.As well as your impending DELETION. https://t.co/mZQRIweJ8g

— #WOKEN Matt Hardy (@MATTHARDYBRAND) December 5, 2017

What's next?

Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt are on a collision course for an incredibly strange and bizarre feud. It's one that wrestling fans around the world have been clamoring for since Matt was first broken in TNA back in 2016.

Both Wyatt and Hardy have sat at the top of the wrestling world when it comes to interesting characters and captivating promos. This feud should be something special, and hopefully, mean something bigger for both men in the future.

Author's take

I cannot stress this enough. Before last week's Raw, I had all but given up hope on Hardy. When he and Jeff made their surprise return at Wrestlemania, it was the kind of Wrestlemania moment that you hope for.

After they won the titles, I figured it was only a matter of time until the Hardy's would have control of the Broken name. However, as the months went on, it became a bit more difficult to support the Hardy Boys.

With all that being said, Matt coming out on RAW completely Broken tonight gave me goosebumps. Broken Matt is a once in a lifetime character. Utterly kayfabe breaking, but giving you the kind of entertainment that makes you come back for more. I can't wait to see where this goes.