As TNA Wrestling continues to reshape its creative structure following the departures of Tommy Dreamer and Sami Callihan, Matt Hardy has offered his own suggestion for a potential addition to the company’s creative team.
Speaking on his podcast, Hardy discussed TNA’s recent creative shakeup and named former WWE writer Nick Manfredini as someone he believes could be a valuable asset moving forward.
“I would bring in—and you know the individual as well—Nick, who worked with myself and Bray back in WWE and was a writer there.”
Hardy went on to explain why Manfredini stood out during their time working together in WWE, particularly when it came to developing unique personalities and layered storytelling. “After thinking about it, I felt like he was really layered in the way he could do stuff. If he was working with novelty characters like myself and Bray, he knew how to treat us as special and different.”
According to Hardy, Manfredini possessed a strong understanding of how to maximize characters that existed outside traditional wrestling archetypes. “If there was something with a supernatural aspect that you were trying to get out of those two characters, he knew how to utilize them.”
However, Hardy stressed that Manfredini’s strengths weren’t limited to more elaborate or supernatural personas. He also praised his ability to work with straightforward wrestling characters. “At the same time, he was very good at utilizing characters who were just legitimate wrestlers that go out to the ring and wrestle.”
Hardy believes one of Manfredini’s greatest strengths was his ability to understand different character types and tailor stories to bring out the best in each performer. “I felt like he had an understanding of all the different characters and how to enhance each character to its maximum potential.”
“Even if they were a regular, ‘I go in the ring and I’m the best wrestler in the world’ type of character, he could still enhance that character just as well.”
Hardy concluded by making it clear that Manfredini would be his personal choice to help guide TNA’s creative future. “He’s the guy I would suggest.”
The comments come during a period of significant transition for TNA. Tommy Dreamer recently departed the company after serving as a major creative voice, while reports have indicated that Delirious is expected to lead the creative department moving forward. There has also been speculation linking WWE Hall of Famer Road Dogg to a possible role within TNA’s creative team.
As the company prepares for Slammiversary and the next phase of its evolution, Hardy’s endorsement highlights another name that could potentially enter the conversation as TNA evaluates how it wants to structure its creative leadership moving forward.
