Gimmick Some (Wrestlemania) Lovin': Spring BROKEN Edition

Common side effects of wrestling Matt Hardy can include increased instances of deletion.

The Match

The distinction between the brothers is on full display from the entrances on; Matt opts for a no frills determined march to the ring, while Jeff dances to fanfare and fireworks, as well as the adulation of the Houston crowd.

The match gets the start as right as possible, seeing Jeff slap his brother to end an extended staredown, followed by a slugfest involving the ring steps, trash cans, and the sturdiest Wrestlemania poster in existence. Jeff hits a very cool-looking Poetry in Motion against the guardrail, which the stairs substituting for Matt (1999 Jim Ross asks, "IS THIS SYMBOLIC"), before failing another in the ring, this time using a steel chair. Matt takes the chair and, in a jaw-dropping spot, smashes his brother out of midair with it during a Whisper in the Wind attempt.

This is the TRUE "Poetry in Motion".

Matt takes over at this point, first with the aid of an unnamed shop vac (2018 Matt would at least give it a Twitter handle), then a Side Effect onto the chair. Matt wraps his brother around the ring post, then introduces a table into the contest; Jeff fights off a superplex attempt, then mule kicks The Broken One into the ring steps before clattering the elder Hardy with a kendo stick and a crutch.

I need 100% more of this in my wrestling life.

Finding another trash can, Jeff wraps his brother in it and, in a classic hardcore spot, clatters the Hardy/trashcan combo, then dropkicks his binned brother in the corner. Jeff misses the Swanton, allowing Matt to try a Twist of Fate, which only gets two; when Matt climbs, Jeff fights him down before bringing Version One down with a superplex of his own.

An unprotected chair shot echoes through stadium ("That chair's legal!" JR reminds us) as Matt falls to the outside, where Jeff makes a Matt-and-Chair Sandwich with two tables serving as the bread; Jeff defies wrestling logic by putting himself through the top table with a splash in order to send Matt through the bottom table with the chair for emphasis. It was a cool-looking spot, made terrifying by Jeff's face smacking the pavement at the end, and gets a two-count when Matt finds the ropes.

PSA: Hulk Hogan has severe spinal problems just doing this move from a standing position; adding 20 feet to that is a recipe for disaster.

As anyone knows, where Jeff Hardy goes, ladders can't be far behind, and the Enigma slides a pair of them into the ring; Jeff legdrops Matt off a chair, then sets up the two ladders side-by-side while the stadium buzzes. He misses a leg drop leapfrogging over the taller of the two ladders, and Matt places his brother's face on the seat of an open chair to deliver the Twist of Fate for the win in one of the coolest chair-assisted moves not involving shattering Brian Pillman's ankle WWE has ever broadcast.