- 3 months ago
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00:00They need no introduction. Greatest tag team in the history of, like, I'm not even joking. I'm very excited about this. The Hardy, is it the Hardy brothers or Hardy boys?
00:10You can call us Hardys, you can call us Hardy brothers, you can call us Hardy boys. Everything is exciting.
00:17I'm a Hardy boys guy, but literally, when I tell you that these guys, by the way, they're throwing out the first pitch of the Red Sox tonight.
00:24They're going to be doing, let me plug all the stuff I got to plug before I tell you guys how awesome.
00:28And so, October, at the Songus Arena, at the Songus Center in Lowell, they're going to fight Team 3D, who is another amazing tag team.
00:37It's going to be the last time ever, you guys?
00:39It is.
00:39You know, in pro wrestling, a lot of times they say, like, last time ever, last time ever.
00:43But this is legit going to be the final time we wrestle.
00:46And it's going to be a very emotional match when it's all said and done.
00:48Wow.
00:49No, not just for them and for the fans.
00:51And let me explain to you why.
00:52That's sad.
00:52I was trying to explain to them what it is about you guys.
00:56So, wrestling for a long time was you got invested in somebody because you wanted them to win.
01:04Or you got invested in somebody because you wanted them to lose.
01:07You know what I'm saying?
01:08Like, oh, I love this guy.
01:09I want him to beat everybody.
01:10Or I hate this guy.
01:11I just want him to lose.
01:11This was the first team that came in and had matches where the big one was, it was like in the early 2000s, the table, ladders, and chairs.
01:22It was them.
01:23It was Team 3D.
01:25They were called the Dudley Boys back then.
01:26Oh, yeah.
01:27And Edge and Christian.
01:27Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:27It was the first time that a match was had.
01:32Now people do it kind of like, they almost do it too much.
01:36It was the first time that someone had a match.
01:38And at the end of the match, everybody in the arena just applauded everybody.
01:45They applauded.
01:46They didn't applaud like the winner.
01:47They just applauded the performance.
01:49And it was the first time that I remember going like, wait a minute.
01:52I think that's what I like about wrestling.
01:53It's more about the moments than the actual results of the match.
01:58And it was because you, first of all, how do you guys still walk around?
02:01Like literally walk.
02:02I was trying to explain to them how the crazy stuff that you guys do.
02:07So this, this is probably not on your algorithm.
02:10Whenever, have you guys seen the memes of like somebody climbing a ladder like to fix something?
02:15And all of a sudden, yeah, all of a sudden like the Hardy Boys music hits.
02:18They start juking, deleting.
02:20They've done the sickest, just the bumps that these guys have taken.
02:27Like, I mean, Jeff has fallen off the ladders, fallen through tables.
02:30Matt's fallen through tables.
02:32He did a, who did you drop the leg on?
02:34Remember you dropped the leg on a cage?
02:35On the edge, yeah.
02:36On the top of the cage, yes.
02:37I've never walked the same since.
02:39Yeah, you know like a leg drop, right?
02:41Like a leg drop on someone.
02:42He did it from the top of a cage onto a dude.
02:45Think about like when you, like when you miss a chair, when you go to sit down, how you feel like you broke your ass.
02:49Yes.
02:49How did you, how long was it that you were feeling that for?
02:54I'm still feeling it today.
02:55Yeah, really?
02:56You know, I just did, I did leg drops so much.
02:58And when we first started, we would do 10 days on, four days off.
03:01That was our initial WWE schedule.
03:03We were, you know, in a different town for 10 nights straight.
03:05And our finish in the beginning, because we're young and hungry, was a leg drop and splash simultaneously off the top rope.
03:13And we would do that every single night, whether we were winning or losing.
03:16And just like that, compacted over and over and over and over on my lower back and pelvis.
03:21And then eventually I did that leg drop off the cage.
03:23I took great care of the guy.
03:25I was wrestling edge.
03:27He was safe as he could possibly be, you know, but I ate it.
03:30But that, it just kind of changed the course of my walking.
03:33And I changed my arsenal from there out.
03:35I started going off the second rope, ho, as opposed to leg drop, I would drop an elbow to the back of the neck.
03:39You know, just to work a little smarter.
03:40And that's kind of what you have to do as you get older.
03:42You have to evolve and kind of work smarter.
03:44Have you guys had multiple surgeries?
03:46I'm thinking you've had to have had surgeries for all the injuries you guys, I'm sure, have had.
03:51I didn't start having surgeries until I turned 40.
03:54Man, I was super lucky until I turned 40.
03:57And my shoulder pops one night, rotator cuff repair on my right shoulder.
04:01And then PCL knee repair a few years later.
04:05I've been blessed, man, throughout my career, without a doubt.
04:08We have had some surgeries, no doubt about it.
04:10But it is amazing, especially this guy, that he's able to walk and be healthy and is as in good of a shape as he is currently.
04:18Yeah, it's unreal, some of the stuff that you guys have done.
04:21That you've, I don't know, man, you're crazy.
04:24Like, when you guys are coming up with this stuff before the matches, are you kind of saying, hey, let's do this, but not rehearsing it in advance because it's so dangerous?
04:35Or are you kind of sort of rehearsing, you know?
04:38You're right.
04:39I am crazy, but I'm a good kind of crazy.
04:42I like to see it as a good kind of crazy.
04:44And that's kind of what I live for, man, those moments.
04:46I got a big moment I want to bring to life in this match with Team 3D at Bound for Glory.
04:52And just over the years, I just feel like I can do something.
04:56And fear is part of the fun, you know, kind of, because, you know, you hope you survive.
05:00And it's always exciting when you do.
05:02But that's what's so cool about wrestling from my perspective as well is just dreaming up these moments in my head and bringing them to life in front of an audience.
05:09Man, it's just the greatest feeling of all time.
05:11And, you know, what you said earlier, you were totally right in saying that wrestling at the end of the day isn't necessarily about a five-star match or a banger or whatever else.
05:19No.
05:19The match is kind of a tool to get you to a point as characters in story.
05:23It is storytelling when it's all said and done.
05:25And I think one of the reasons people have always been so into us is that we have been very open.
05:29We're an open book.
05:30And whenever we meet people, I think we build a lot of equity with them because I see we're very real people, much like them.
05:35You know, we don't think we're special because we're pro wrestlers.
05:38We're living our dream every single day.
05:40We've been doing it for 33 years.
05:41And just that investment of the fans is really what gets people to follow acts for a long time.
05:47And people thought there's people that have literally been following us for four decades.
05:50And we're very blessed to have these diehardy supporters.
05:52Yeah.
05:52It's crazy because you guys will, you know, it doesn't matter who you're wrestling.
05:56People just go like, I know I'm going to see something that I'm going to remember.
05:59And there's a ton of people who, especially now, are like the athletic level of wrestling has gone up exponentially.
06:08Absolutely.
06:09But it's weird to say this, but they're almost doing too much to.
06:18They're going crazy, move, crazy, move, crazy, move, crazy, move, crazy, move, crazy, move.
06:20Like you always have to one up.
06:22Not even one up.
06:23They're doing it so close to each other that you're not giving people a chance to almost absorb it and really like sink it in.
06:31Like the way you guys did it was.
06:33No, you're totally right.
06:34Totally.
06:34Yeah.
06:35Okay.
06:35You guys understand what I'm saying.
06:36That is the essence of pro wrestling.
06:37One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from Eddie Guerrero.
06:41I was blessed to work with him a lot.
06:42And I've never seen someone that can fill a live crowd as well as Eddie could.
06:47Yeah.
06:47And we were both bad guys technically at the time.
06:49We were wrestling one another.
06:50And we were out there and we just said, okay, we'll see who the crowd sides with.
06:54And they'll end up being the good guy.
06:56And we'll just, we'll call it on the plot.
06:57We'll figure it out as we're, as we're on the, you know, in the match.
07:00And there was a point where I had him in a hold and I was working him.
07:04I was working.
07:04I was like, well, you know, the crowd's not coming.
07:06I was like, should we, should we go?
07:07Should we get out of here and get back to action?
07:09He said, no.
07:10He said, just wait, they'll come, they'll come.
07:12And we did it and we waited and the crowd did come.
07:15Eventually he ended up being the baby face.
07:16He ended up being the good guy in the match and he ended up doing a big comeback and he wins, whatever.
07:20And at the end of the, at the end of the day, we finished the match and we're sitting back there and we're talking about it.
07:25And he says, you know what, Matt?
07:25Sometimes you have to like bore the crowd.
07:27You have to bring them down so they can get excited again.
07:30He said, you can't stay like, Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
07:34It's impossible to make, emphasize anything.
07:37Nothing means anything if you don't let it mean something.
07:40So that's some of the best advice I ever got.
07:42And I really took that to heart.
07:43Yeah.
07:43That makes perfect.
07:44When you guys are done, do you think that you're going to go onto that type of role of like a producer to help people do their matches and stuff?
07:50Cause you have that, that your mentality of it is much better.
07:53I think.
07:54I mean, I'm, I'm sure I will.
07:56I'm a lifer, no doubt.
07:57It's just something I love and I enjoy doing it.
07:59So once I'm done actively wrestling inside the ring, I'm sure I'll be a producer or a booker or coach or whatever trainer.
08:05You both have given so much to the sport physically, mentally, emotionally, I'm sure across the board.
08:12What do you feel it's given back to you throughout your career?
08:17Oh man, it's given us so much, especially now we're both fathers, you know, we have families of our own and pro wrestling has given us so much to that as well.
08:25You know, and we have given so much of our bodies to pro wrestling.
08:27So I'm still in love with the craft and, and I love coming up with these things that I can pull off in front of crowds.
08:33But what you, what you said earlier, it's exactly the way I was thinking back in 94, 95, 96, 97 ish years.
08:40Uh, when we were the jobbers, the enhancement guys, you know, I'm going to do something in the night to make somebody remember me that it's going to be impossible to forget what I do out there.
08:48But that was kind of my mentality back then.
08:50And it, it all worked out.
08:52Do your families get scared for you guys that continuing to do this?
08:56Cause what you do is very dangerous, but it's also, it's your job.
09:00So it must be tough for your families to be like, okay, so they're going out tonight and they're risking their lives pretty much every night.
09:08It is. It's scary for my family, man.
09:11My wife, oh, you're going to be, it's going to be great.
09:13You'll be fine.
09:14But yeah, the, and like I said, fear is kind of part of the fun when you're doing something huge.
09:18But, um, but yeah, you know, uh, yeah, our families have been great support systems for us.
09:24And, uh, naturally they're a little afraid at times.
09:26And you're right. I mean, it is dangerous.
09:28I mean, we're, we're like living, breathing something and, you know, doing it live with the red light on.
09:32And, and we try and take the best calculated risk that we possibly can.
09:36We try and be smart about it and we're pretty good at what we do.
09:38And we try and game plan everything, kind of think things through.
09:41But, you know, sometimes things go awry and it happens and you get hurt.
09:44So it, it, they are, there, there are times where they're on the edge of their seat and very nervous.
09:48I'm glad we were talking about family right now.
09:50I have a two part question.
09:52Number one, you said 33 years of wrestling.
09:55Who, uh, inspired you guys?
09:57And then are there any family members that are trying to follow in your footsteps?
10:02Uh, the first guy that really caught my eye and, and made me fall in love with pro wrestling was the macho man, Randy Savage.
10:09I just thought he was this larger than life over the top character.
10:13He had this, you know, super flamboyant look and robe.
10:16And, and he talked with the crazy voice and his finishing maneuver was the elbow drop off the top room.
10:21So it was very exciting because a lot of guys were doing more basic moves then.
10:25Uh, so, so I loved him.
10:26And then once I, I started watching, we got hooked.
10:28And, and from that day on, I just said, wow, this is what I want to do.
10:31I want to be one of these living, breathing super heroes.
10:33And, and we wanted to be the, the world tag team champions one time.
10:36And if we did that, we could call it a career.
10:38But obviously we've, you know, exceeded that many times over.
10:40That's staying in the ultimate warrior for me, man.
10:43Really?
10:43Explaining where the face paint comes from today.
10:46And I've took my face paint, uh, to an ultimate level of like, oh my God, this is, you know,
10:51I still get so much joy out of doing that, uh, every night before a match.
10:54And, uh, and I love that.
10:56And staying in the ultimate warrior, I have them to thank for that.
10:58Who is your, uh, favorite opponent of all time?
11:03For me, uh, Umaga.
11:06Get out, really?
11:06Yeah.
11:07God rest his soul.
11:08Yeah.
11:08He was one of my favorite feuds and he was just a big Samoan, you know, an early member,
11:12you know, bloodline guy.
11:14But, um, but yeah, we had so many great matches.
11:16I, uh, I mean, it's hard not to say edge and Christian because the, the tag team ladder
11:22match that we had with those guys, that's the match that put us on the map.
11:25And we all became stars in that match and we'll always be forever linked.
11:28And I just think we had the best chemistry with those guys.
11:31We had the best chemistry of, of any other team in the world with those two.
11:34When you guys went backstage after that match, what was the reaction like with all the other
11:38wrestlers and stuff?
11:40The, the office that were right in there, like Vince McMahon, the running gorilla, they
11:44standing ovation, they clapped.
11:46They'd never seen anything like it because that, that truly was when we did that in
11:49No Mercy 1999, there was a point where we were executing moves and we were like kind
11:53of upping ourselves each time with different spots with the ladder.
11:57And it was like the crowd would stand up and clap as you were saying.
11:59Yeah.
11:59And then the next night we came out to do a promo and just say like, Hey, we respect
12:03you guys as a team because we went through war last night and they did give us another
12:06standing ovation at the end for the night before, which was wild.
12:09But then that, that, that became, you know, part of our history.
12:12We use these inanimate objects.
12:13We were the ladder guys.
12:14There were the chairs and the Dudleys were the tables and the TLC match became a staple.
12:18We were the forefathers of that.
12:19And it's something that we'll be in pro wrestling forever.
12:21Now I just wanted to go back real quick, any family or maybe even your kids.
12:26Are they showing interest in becoming pro wrestlers?
12:29And if so, what's your advice to them?
12:32Great.
12:32My oldest daughter, uh, just the other day, she said, dad, are you still thinking about
12:35maybe getting a ring one of these days?
12:37And I said, yeah, yeah, I am actually.
12:39So, uh, it would be pretty cool before the, uh, WWE tag team women's tag team championships
12:44became a thing.
12:44I'd say, man, what if our daughters were, uh, were the, for the hearty girls, you know,
12:49the first tag team in pro wrestling, the hearty girls.
12:51And sure enough, uh, soon after that thought, uh, WWE came out with the women's tag team
12:57championships.
12:58And, um, so yeah, you never know, man, with pro wrestling, uh, uh, my, my daughters might,
13:03uh, fall in love with it.
13:04Like I did just a little later in life.
13:07I, uh, I, I have three boys and then we finally had a girl.
13:10So I have four kids, but my oldest son and my youngest son, they're definitely into wrestling
13:14right now.
13:14I think they would be the team, uh, the hearty boys, Jen too, you know, uh, they're both
13:20very into it and we'll see if that, that sticks.
13:22My middle son, he, uh, he's not necessarily into like getting beat up and taking bumps and
13:27them all down, but he asked me, he says, Hey, Hey, uh, data, can I like talk trash and
13:31insult people and make money?
13:32Can I do that in wrestling?
13:32I said, actually you can.
13:35So he said, that would be awesome.
13:36That's what I want to do.
13:38That's classic.
13:39What, what is the most painful, uh, maneuver that you've done or received?
13:44Uh, I went through a table.
13:46I remember having to get it cleared and approved by Vince McMahon, but I wanted to go through
13:50it vertical instead of the normal way you go through tables.
13:53And I was only like a 12 or 14 footer and Rob Van Dam was on it and he was, he was going
13:58to move and I was going to crash to the table.
14:00And that, that was just like doing a swanton straight to the floor.
14:03That table exploded.
14:05And I always go back to that moment as far as being the worst bump I've ever took.
14:09I would say for me, it was in, uh, uh, TOC two.
14:14Myself and Bubba Ray Dudley, a guy that we'll be facing here coming up at Bound for Glory.
14:19We were actually on a 14 foot tall ladder in the ring, both reaching up, grabbing the titles
14:24and it got pushed from the side and it pushed and tipped us out of the ring.
14:27We fell out of the ring all the way to the floor through four tables, which they just,
14:32Jesus.
14:32I remember that.
14:34I remember that.
14:35The one I remember when you fought RVD was when you guys were kind of like in front of
14:40the, like in front of the Titan Tron, kind of to the side and you went to hit him or something.
14:46Yo, you had the chair.
14:47You had the chair.
14:48You went, he has the chair, right?
14:50Goes to swing at an RVD.
14:51RVD gets up, does a spin, kicks the chair back into his face and he falls off the stage
14:57onto the, onto concrete.
14:59Right?
14:59Yeah.
15:00Wow.
15:01It was a weird little setup that night.
15:02It was like the ECW guys were coming from one side and the WWE guys were coming from
15:06the other side, but he, yeah, he countered my attempt to hit him with a chair and I fell
15:10down to the concrete with one of his massive, you know, quick kicks and yeah, it was, I was
15:15bleeding a little bit, but yeah, that was pretty nasty.
15:17Yeah.
15:18I see some of the moves that they've taken and it's just like, how are these guys still
15:23like, all right, we got another match tomorrow.
15:26It's insane.
15:27So I can't wait.
15:28So this is going to be you guys and team 3D.
15:30How do you, this is like a little, I guess, inside baseball question.
15:34So you get to keep your music wherever you go, right?
15:37It's not just a WWE thing.
15:39You get to keep your name wherever you go, but like the Dudleys couldn't keep their name
15:44when they left WWE and their music and stuff.
15:47Why, why is it like a, like a thing that you have with a lawyer that you get, you get
15:51signed off or.
15:53I'm not sure how that works.
15:55Well, with us, it's our government names, you know?
15:58So, you know, the, the, the, the Dudleys, obviously they had names, which were, you
16:02know, not necessarily the, they're not the real names.
16:05So the, the Dudley concept, the Dudley boys was trademarked by WB.
16:09So that's why I changed to team 3D when they were out.
16:11But, you know, now there's a big working relationship between TNA and WB.
16:14So I think calling them Dudley boys is fine too.
16:17Hardy boys, uh, with the Z B O Y Z is trademarked.
16:21I guess, you know, they own, but once again, we're still kind of cool saying whatever.
16:24But the reason I think we ended up with our legitimate government names is because we started
16:29off doing jobs, being enhancement talent where the superstars, they would come beat us up.
16:33We were young kids.
16:34He was 16.
16:35The first time he wrestled on TV.
16:37And the guy that took us like made him move his birthday back two years and lie about his
16:42age.
16:42Just because he was collecting a 66% payday from whatever we're getting paid.
16:46He was bringing 14, 15 guys at a time.
16:48So, you know, we did that and we got our start as Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy are real names
16:52just from guys who were getting beat up in the, in the, in the, in the ring.
16:56And because we teamed together and they said, Hey, you know, let's call you guys the Hardy
17:00boys while you guys are teaming, because it's catchy.
17:03Like the mysteries, you know, the Hardy boys, you guys are just a new different version.
17:06You're pro wrestlers.
17:07And then that stuck and we got to keep it.
17:09Okay.
17:09Just because it, it doesn't sound like a big deal, but it's kind of a big deal when
17:13you switch and yeah, like, and it's something like when it's like, Oh, it's Jeff and Matt
17:19Hardy, the Hardy boys versus like somebody who like can't keep their name.
17:23And all of a sudden it's like, Oh, it's Chris Robinson.
17:26When he went by like a different name, you know, in WWE.
17:29Yeah.
17:29It's a big deal.
17:30I mean, once, once again, you know, even like when, uh, edge, you know, left to go to
17:34yeah.
17:34Adam Copeland, you know, just going by his legitimate name.
17:37Uh, it, it, it is interesting, you know, how that works and trademarks and copyrights
17:42and whatnot, and people taking care of their IP when it comes to the music.
17:46Uh, the thing that's so interesting about the Hardy boys music is it is something that
17:49was, you know, you could license.
17:51It was, you know, music that was like uncopyrightable is like music.
17:55You just, you just licensed and use for a certain amount of time because we did that
17:58and WDB and it caught on and it became like iconic as our theme.
18:01Like other companies can just like license that music and we can use it.
18:04You know, so that's how, that's how we get away with it.
18:07Yeah.
18:07It's on my bucket list of things to achieve before my career is over, but somewhere in
18:11the future, um, for WWE for that, my old, my theme song from WWE, my solo theme song,
18:18no more words to kick, man.
18:19I think there's a huge magical moment, man, for a Jeff Hardy to do, do a little something.
18:24As far as tonight goes, you guys are throwing out the first pitch at the Red Sox game.
18:27Are you guys nervous about that?
18:29You've got to, you got, listen, there's a lot of pressure for doing something like that.
18:32You got to, you got to throw a strike and who's, are you going to be able to use your
18:36music as you walk out?
18:37Hopefully that'd be cool.
18:39Yeah, I think so.
18:40And we've done, this will be the third time we've done it.
18:41We did it at a Mets game and we did it at a Minnesota Twins game.
18:45And how'd you do?
18:45We did great.
18:46We did good.
18:47The last one I threw, I used to be a sucker for a high fastball.
18:50That's exactly what I threw.
18:52And, um, but yeah, we throw them at the same time too.
18:54So that makes it unique in itself.
18:56Yeah, we, we, we, uh, we did good.
18:57We threw two strikes whenever we were the Mets, uh, at the, uh, at the Minnesota Twins
19:02games, uh, mine was a little low and inside Jeff's was a little high, but they were both
19:06very respectful.
19:07So we feel good about that.
19:08Okay.
19:09Uh, I, I just got to say this on behalf of, I would say most wrestling fans, if not all
19:15wrestling fans, and you probably hear this a lot.
19:17Thank you so much for the entertainment, for the moments I texted my kids and they, they're
19:23going crazy and whatnot.
19:25And, um, you know, when you're in it, you probably don't realize it as much, but the
19:30further you get away from it, like my kids are a little bit older now, you are like, man,
19:34those were precious, precious moments, you know, and having them all, them and their friends
19:39come over.
19:39So again, just thank you.
19:42Our pleasure, man.
19:43And it is so cool that we have been around for such a long time.
19:46We have, we, we meet constantly at, at, you know, autograph signings or comic cons,
19:51which we do pretty often, like, uh, a father that is in his mid thirties, they grew up
19:56watching us.
19:57It was a huge fan.
19:58And now he has a kid and him and his son, they bond over watching wrestling.
20:01And he talks about like, Oh, we went back and watched the original TLC matches.
20:05And then the tag team modern match, the tag team fables match, and you know, all these
20:08different things.
20:08And it's so cool that there are people that have such shared moments together, like fathers
20:13and sons and even fathers and daughters and mothers and daughters that, that bond over
20:16us.
20:17And we're generational talent now because we've been around that long.
20:19It's crazy.
20:20And it's just cool that, you know, when you guys get older and stuff and you're, there's
20:23going to be like a generation of people going, you know, to their grandkids being like, Oh,
20:26look at my Instagram.
20:27Look, here's my lunch.
20:29There's me in front of a mirror.
20:30There's me in front of a mirror.
20:31There's my lunch.
20:32And you're going to be like, check out what grandpa did.
20:35It's me getting wrecked, going through four tables, me eating a chair.
20:40That's amazing.
20:41Hardy boys.
20:42I can't wait.
20:42So bound for, bound for glory, October 12th at the song is center and low the final time,
20:47the final time between them and team three D man.
20:51That's going to be so emotional.
20:52That's crazy.
20:53That's crazy.
20:54Well, thank you guys for coming in.
20:55We appreciate it.
20:56So thank you for having us.
20:58Great chatting with you.
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