On an episode of his podcast, Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy, TNA World Tag Team Champion Matt Hardy discussed various topics, including what he believes makes a perfect match.
Hardy said, “Well to begin with — full transparency, I hate that term, ‘perfect match.’ But we are going to talk about what I think are perfect matches. My criteria is going to be very different. It has evolved and has changed. And at the end of the day, being in this industry for 30-plus years, my criteria is to do matches that are entertaining, that people are going to be interested in, people are going to want to pay money to see because there is a story there. There is a reasoning. These two people meet in the ring and they’re going to battle it out. That is really what caps it all for me when it’s all said and done. There are times where you see a match that is just absolutely amazing and can blow you away. But I can tell you my reasoning for selecting the matches I did is more about the match being built and the momentum it took to get to this match, and the motivation behind the two characters that are battling one another. And the crowd reaction, and ultimately what the payoff is at the end of the day. I feel like when memories are made. When you watch a match, and there are indelible moments and images in that match that are burned into your head that you don’t forget. And that’s not always from the athleticism of the pro wrestling that they’re performing, the acrobatics and the athleticism and just the incredible technicalities and whatnot of the wrestling match. It’s just human, personal moments. I feel those human and personal moments, whenever they — that’s something you feel. It’s emotional, and you feel it, and those are the things you remember the most, and those really make those matches stand out.“
On why he hates the term ‘perfect match’:
“Because I feel like perfect is such a word that can be misused in so many ways. I feel like — and I tell everybody, this is something I say all the time. I say, ‘Shoot for perfect. And if you get close, then you killed it.’ You know, that’s what it is. Perfect is something where people say like, ‘Oh my god, it has to be perfect.’ Nothing is truly perfect in life. Life is not perfect. Life is not about being perfect. It’s not about ‘All ups, all ups, all ups. Yay, success, joy, great’ all the time. It doesn’t happen. And I just feel like as a realist, nothing is truly perfect in life. You know, things can be very close to perfect. But just as far as saying like, ‘These matches were perfect.’ In my opinion, nothing in life is perfect. You know, things can be amazing, fantastic. They can be right up there. I think, strive for perfection. And if you get close, you’ve hit a grand slam.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
