TNA World Tag Team Champion Matt Hardy took to an episode of his “Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” podcast, where he talked about a number of topics including if ROH World Champion Chris Jericho should remove himself from AEW TV.
Hardy said, “First and foremost, I understand being an older guy around in wrestling, someone who is looked at as like a legacy talent. Someone who’s looked at as a living legend, more or less. Chris and I fall in the same category a lot. And there were a lot of people at AEW who thought Jeff and I should not be there, we shouldn’t be featured. It was pretty brutal. And it’s so funny that we came to TNA, and numbers across the board are up. And it’s not just myself and Jeff, but we definitely help. We help with that issue. They’re doing these great houses, they’re selling more tickets than they have in over a decade. It’s a very positive thing, and it’s nice that we are being utilized in the correct way. Looking back at it, I watched the ladder match that he had with Mark Briscoe, and I thought Jericho was utilized perfectly… If you’re trying to build Ring of Honor, even if it is on the Ring of Honor app or their site, he’s a great guy to be the champion and to feature him. That match where he wrestled Mark Briscoe, it elevated Mark Briscoe, in my opinion. And the finish, he was just such a chickens**t heel, the way Big Bill put him on his shoulders and carried him up the ladder, which was a great finish. I think the people who say Chris Jericho should not be on TV at this stage of the game, I just think they’re absolutely wrong. I think he has a benefit, I think he adds a lot to pro wrestling.”
On Jericho’s name value:
“Chris Jericho is a household name that people know. And casual fans that just tune in for wrestling, that don’t really give a s**t about what’s going on behind the scenes, they just want to be entertained. And Chris Jericho is somebody they know.”
On Bobby Lashley’s AEW debut:
“This is going to be interesting. There can definitely be some equity in MVP, Bobby Lashley, and Sheldon Benjamin together. I think those three could be a force, and I think they could be a very important part of AEW television. I think they could be like a cornerstone, a building block of helping them build towards the future… They’re all three guys that I’ve worked with a lot in the past, and I like them all a lot, so I’m happy for everybody.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
