While All Elite Wrestling has its fair share of homegrown stars, evident by the likes of The Acclaimed and Maxwell Jacob Friedman occupying the championship scene at the moment, Tony Khan’s young promotion has utilized a number of top talent that made their names in other companies. That said, some of those major names have donned new personas upon showing face in AEW, with former world champions like Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho being almost unrecognizable from their WWE gimmicks. Even with the success of originality, nostalgia sells, and one veteran AEW star may be bringing a popular gimmick back to television.
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The latest episode of Being The Elite showcased Matt Hardy briefly transforming into his “Broken” persona before the screen went black. Hardy has never been shy about teasing “Broken” elements on Being The Elite before, but this is the first time in years that he has made a complete transformation into the fraying hair and sleeveless coat.
Hardy has been “Broken” in AEW before, as he debuted in the company with that gimmick back in March 2020. He continued with that persona for a couple of months but ultimately returned to his “Big Money” monicker by that year’s end.ย
The popularity of “Broken” Matt Hardy is undeniable, especially during the character’s 2016 run with Impact Wrestling and brief WWE tenure in 2017. What began as a crazed iteration of Matt Hardy slowly evolved into a “broken universe,” with a series of supernatural elements. AEW President Tony Khan addressed some of these other-worldly details in a past interview, noting some aspects of “Broken” Matt were a little too much for him.
“I was not as into Broken Matt Hardy as other people were,” Khan said in 2021. “Dude, I’m lucky these guys are even there, but the idea of teleportation, I was just like, ‘Alright. I’m just lucky you guys [are here].’”
AEW returns to television this Wednesday with AEW Dynamite on TBS at 8 PM ET.
