On a recent edition of his “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” podcast, TNA veteran Matt Hardy discussed AEW booking big matches on weekly television instead of saving them for pay-per-view events, AEW’s new media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, and other topics.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On AEW’s reported WBD deal: “Yeah I mean, if those numbers hold true, you know, the numbers that you were just mentioning there, I mean that’s great. It’s a huge positive for AEW. And I obviously want the best for it. I want AEW to have the best TV. I want them to have the best TV deal, the biggest amount of money they can possibly get. Same thing with WWE, same thing with TNA. I know that is actively something TNA is working on right now. They’re looking to find a bigger platform, especially now that they’ve just grown in terms of buzz in many ways. And they have a hell of a rush right now, no doubt.
“So yeah, the better TV, the more rights people can get financially, from the financial aspect, all the better. Because it is a positive thing for pro wrestling. And I want to see all pro wrestling do well, and I want to see the industry be healthy.”
On AEW putting big matches on TV instead of saving them for PPV: “It doesn’t bother me. And I think in some ways that’s a good move for Tony Khan. Especially if you’re trying to like, make your numbers be as possiblly high as they can, if you’re trying to generate interest for your shows. And I feel like the more interest he generates for shows, the better number they do. It’s more of a positive-looking thing for AEW. Their roster is still absurd. They have an insane amount of people on that roster. So there is no lack of dream matches. And I can understand why you would say that — like, you know, this should be saved and e built for a pay-per-view match, this, that and the other thing.
“I would say more — I would say the Ricochet-Will Ospreay [match] would probably be better suited for a pay-per-view match if you want to put one of those, one of those two matches. When it comes to Dragon and McGuinness and when it comes to Ricochet-Will Ospreay, I think Ricochet-Will Ospreay could be on there. Because those are guys that are going to be around for a while to come right there. They’re young, they’re healthy, they’re in their prime. They’re doing their thing. The Bryan Danielson-Nigel McGuinness match, I think that is a great place to air it. Because you want as many eyeballs to see it as possible. Sure, it may have done great pay-per-view-wise. But I feel like if you tell people the story of their old rivalry, you get that message out there. People know their past, and I think it gives them a reason to tune in. And it seems like a very historic event on TV, on the television program.”
