Credit: WWE via PWManiaCredit: WWE via PWMania
With Hardy's long-running legal battle with Anthem Sports over his "Broken" character seemingly behind him for good, WWE finally pulled the trigger and brought the innovative gimmick to Monday Night Raw last week. The character, now known as "Woken" Matt Hardy, proved to be an instant hit, giving hope to those within WWE that something created outside of the company can succeed in it.
According to SEScoops, the debut of "Woken" Matt quickly generated over one million YouTube views (nearly 1.3 million in one day, in fact), and as of this writing, sits at roughly 2.1 million views on the video-sharing site. That continued the trend of Hardy's innovative gimmick being a major attraction stemming back to his time in TNA, when his special "Final Deletion" episode of Impact in July 2016 generated the show's highest viewership in more than a year.
Perhaps that's why Hardy has already won over Vince McMahon.
According to a report from Sports Illustrated, McMahon is a huge fan of the Woken/Broken gimmick and sees the advantages of the gimmick previously getting over with fans in TNA:
Hardy’s mannerisms, creativity, and passion for the character will be on full display within his “Woken” state. A contact within WWE reached out to inform Sports Illustrated that Hardy will be allowed a creative license by McMahon, who sees opportunity and the opportunity to cash in on a character that is already established...Hardy has long faced criticism that he cannot be a top star in wrestling and that McMahon does not view him in that light. Yet McMahon has known Hardy for over two decades, and the Chairman clearly trusts Hardy enough to give him the opportunity to connect his character with the vast WWE audience.
The great thing about the creative "Woken" character is that it already has a built-in audience that only figures to grow with the WWE machine and, most importantly, McMahon firmly behind it.
Matt, along with his brother Jeff, has already shown that the inventive gimmick could be a huge merchandise mover for WWE. In 2016, the Hardys were the 10th best sellers on the very popular Pro Wrestling Tees Web site, ranking ahead of established names like Chris Jericho, Edge and Ric Flair. That is one of the reasons why the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer once said the "Broken" gimmick was a "potential merchandise goldmine" with the chance to become a full-fledged one under the WWE banner.
McMahon appears to feel the same way, and rightfully so.
">WWE didn't have to do anything to find its next top star because "Woken" Matt Hardy created it himself.
Credit: WWE via PWManiaCredit: WWE via PWMania
With Hardy's long-running legal battle with Anthem Sports over his "Broken" character seemingly behind him for good, WWE finally pulled the trigger and brought the innovative gimmick to Monday Night Raw last week. The character, now known as "Woken" Matt Hardy, proved to be an instant hit, giving hope to those within WWE that something created outside of the company can succeed in it.
According to SEScoops, the debut of "Woken" Matt quickly generated over one million YouTube views (nearly 1.3 million in one day, in fact), and as of this writing, sits at roughly 2.1 million views on the video-sharing site. That continued the trend of Hardy's innovative gimmick being a major attraction stemming back to his time in TNA, when his special "Final Deletion" episode of Impact in July 2016 generated the show's highest viewership in more than a year.
Perhaps that's why Hardy has already won over Vince McMahon.
According to a report from Sports Illustrated, McMahon is a huge fan of the Woken/Broken gimmick and sees the advantages of the gimmick previously getting over with fans in TNA:
Hardy’s mannerisms, creativity, and passion for the character will be on full display within his “Woken” state. A contact within WWE reached out to inform Sports Illustrated that Hardy will be allowed a creative license by McMahon, who sees opportunity and the opportunity to cash in on a character that is already established...Hardy has long faced criticism that he cannot be a top star in wrestling and that McMahon does not view him in that light. Yet McMahon has known Hardy for over two decades, and the Chairman clearly trusts Hardy enough to give him the opportunity to connect his character with the vast WWE audience.
The great thing about the creative "Woken" character is that it already has a built-in audience that only figures to grow with the WWE machine and, most importantly, McMahon firmly behind it.
Matt, along with his brother Jeff, has already shown that the inventive gimmick could be a huge merchandise mover for WWE. In 2016, the Hardys were the 10th best sellers on the very popular Pro Wrestling Tees Web site, ranking ahead of established names like Chris Jericho, Edge and Ric Flair. That is one of the reasons why the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer once said the "Broken" gimmick was a "potential merchandise goldmine" with the chance to become a full-fledged one under the WWE banner.
McMahon appears to feel the same way, and rightfully so.
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