Matt Hardy explains real-life heat with The Undertaker in WWE
The Undertaker was one of WWE's biggest names during his 30-year in-ring career with the company. In a recent podcast episode, Matt Hardy recalled how he once upset The Deadman in real life.
In 2005, Hardy joined his fellow SmackDown stars in the ring after Randy Orton secured a victory for the blue brand at Survivor Series. The celebration was cut short when The Undertaker suddenly appeared, prompting Orton and several others to panic. Hardy, by contrast, leaned against the ropes before casually exiting the ring.
On his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, the WWE legend revealed he received backstage heat after the incident.
"I was like leaning on the ropes, and I was probably in the wrong," Hardy said. "I was in the wrong. Not probably in the wrong. I was in the wrong by doing that. Undertaker ended up being hot about it, and I had heat with Undertaker for a while." [34:24 – 34:34]
Earlier that day, then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon told Hardy to leave when The Undertaker entered the ring. However, his character was supposed to act afraid of The Phenom rather than slowly walk away.
Matt Hardy's punishment after getting heat with The Undertaker
At the time, Matt Hardy had recently returned to WWE after being released. The popular star earned a new deal with the company after his online revelations about Edge and Lita's affair garnered fan attention.
According to Hardy, WWE's higher-ups punished him for several months by booking him to lose matches:
"Eventually made all that right [with The Undertaker], and I just went through a period of putting people over, getting beat, getting punished, and it was what it was, and I weathered the storm and then got back on track." [34:35 – 34:46]
In the same episode, Hardy addressed whether a major heel turn could take place during the King of the Ring final at Night of Champions.
Please credit The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
