The following are excerpts from the 8/5/15 edition of WrestleZone Daily featuring current IMPACT Wrestling Superstar Matt Hardy and WZ Daily host Nick Hausman.
NH: Tonight you’re going for the TNA World Championship in a Full Metal Mayhem match against Ethan Carter III. Can you please catch everyone up that may not know? What is going on here between you and EC3?
MH: Everyone calls him Ethan Carter The Third. I actually like to refer to him as “Ethan Carter The Turd.” It’s very accurate. We actually have a world title match in a Full Metal Mayhem match, which is TNA’s version of a TLC match. About 4-5 weeks ago I talked with Ethan Carter. I came in and wrestled Kurt Angle and he said, “If you take this match with Kurt Angle, and accept my offer to wrestle Kurt Angle, I’ll give you a title shot.” Later, he bailed on that title shot. I had to go to the fans, I had to go to social media and I had to get a little campaign going myself using the hash tag #Matt4Champ. Once that started, TNA management gave me the opportunity to face Bobby Roode in a Tables Match for the #1 Contender (to the TNA World Title) when we were both ranked in the top five. I won that match. And now, “The Law” Bully Ray has given me the opportunity to pick the stipulation for this match. So I picked Full Metal Mayhem and also Tyrus is banned from ringside. To say the least, Ethan Carter is very nervous about this. You should look forward to this match tonight. I promise you, you’re going to get thirty minutes worth of action that’s going to keep you on the edge of your seat and is going to blow you away. Almost twenty years after this entire ladder, table, TLC madness started I’m going to go in there and put on a performance like none other. The kind of performance you won’t see from any of the other pioneers of the TLC match, anyone not named Hardy, I can tell you that.
NH: There’s a lot of speculation about what is going on in TNA right now. What’s the situation? Just generally, what’s the vibe like backstage amongst the boys in regards to company and the state of TNA?
MH: I’ll be honest. If you follow one my best friends in life, Shane Helms, on Twitter at the end of the eight day taping run we just did he kept making jokes about #BadMorale. I really feel like TNA is doing a good job of trying to keep the positive, optimistic, hard working people around. These last eight days of television were absolutely great. I know we did television all the way up to Bound For Glory. We did some stuff for the IMPACT after that. We did a variety of things. Everyone knows, it’s no secret, there have been a couple of issues with Destination America and IMPACT Wrestling but that deals not done yet. It’s continually going on. IMPACT Wrestling is so successful right now internationally. Even if we did lose domestic TV, which is a big “if.” Even if we did lose that then we’re still going to continue to run. We’re still going to be fine, we’re still going to exist. TNA is not going anywhere, it’s not going out of business. My goal, right now, is to do everything that I can to help TNA succeed domestically. I’m trying to be really hands on. I’m being hands on from a creative aspect to a talent aspect. I’m trying really hard to help the younger guys by saying, “We can do this,” or, “We can do that.” Shane Helms has been incredible as an agent. I can’t tell you how good he’s been. He helps bring the best out of talent. He improves their in ring work but is also helping to improve their personas. He is tailor made for that job of being a producer. There are some of the troops there that are really dedicated to giving back and helping the business and that’s what we need. We need people to have positive attitudes. We need the creative people to listen to the guys. TNA is very open to working with everyone now. Obviously there’s the interaction going on with GFW. We would love to work with Ring of Honor, if that was possible, but I think Sinclair are wanting to do their own thing. I get that too. With TNA, it’s tarnished a little bit in the some people’s eyes but we are working everyday. The group, the handful of guys that are there, we are working everyday to make TNA a better place because professional wrestling needs IMPACT Wrestling. The up and coming wrestlers need a place to work where there are veterans. So they can learn and get better and the business really does need it.
In the full interview Matt talks candidly about his feud with CSR’s Justin LaBar, his time in Ring of Honor, whether or not he will be a part of GFW, Billy Corgan’s role in IMPACT Wrestling, the toll his body has taken, his memories of Roddy Piper & MUCH, MUCH MORE!
The full interview can be found by clicking HERE or by listening to the show in the embedded player below.
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