The Hardy Boyz tables match with The Dudley Boyz at Royal Rumble 2000 was discussed by former WWE superstar Matt Hardy.
Follow Us
Matt Hardy discussed The Hardy Boyz table match with The Dudley Boyz at Royal Rumble 2000 on the most recent episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy.
On the show, Matt also discussed his encounter with Rikishi’s notorious “Stink Face” finishing technique.
Hardy discussed the Hardy Boyz’s high-flying techniques. He also went into why his brother Jeff handed him his iconic leg drop from the top rope.
“I loved doing that, that was my gig,” Hardy said. “Leg drops bothered Jeff more than it did me so he kind of ended up giving me the leg drops by default. He had all these cool high-flying maneuvers as it was, so I was the leg drop guy. Until I leg dropped my pelvis and lower back out of existence, years later.”
Unprotected chair blows to the head have become prohibited in wrestling. This is a direct result of the growing awareness of concussions and CTE in all sports.
Former WWE Doctor Frank Romascavage spoke with Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman last year about chair blows to the head and why he dislikes witnessing them.
The former WWE Doctor also discussed the deaths of Owen Hart and Chris Benoit. He also shone some light on how unprotected chair blows to the head may have harmed Benoit’s brain.
READ MORE: Jeff Hardy’s departure from WWE is explained by Matt Hardy
There were multiple unprotected chair shots amongst the four contestants during that notorious tables battle that you would never witness today. Hardy discussed how the industry is changing and why it has shifted away from chair shots to headshots.
“When I look back at it, it doesn’t really bother me,” Hardy stated. “I get it, I get why people cringe about it because we’ve learned so much about the effects of concussions, and the brain, and CTE, and how real it is, but it’s almost how it was back then.
“When you first came in, if you were getting a chair shot — like, to be accepted with the clique as far as the locker room, it was almost like you had to man up and take a chair shot like that.
“That’s kind of how wrestling was, especially when it transitioned from the wild wild west days. A lot of it stems from the Chris Benoit situation and what happened, thinking back to that. There are just a lot of things in wrestling that can affect your brain, even regular bumps too.
“You almost have to put all of that stuff into one basket if you’re going to talk about it. I’m good with not doing them, I think it’s great and the business has evolved.
“Looking back on that, I just realize that’s how the business was during that day and age, and it doesn’t bother me or make me sick or cringe, or anything like that. It’s just a positive thing that we moved past and decided to ban chair shots to the head.”
Hardy was asked if he would take a chair blow to the head in today’s wrestling scene, and his response was “probably not.”
