We’re taking another trip to the late 90s-early 2000s indies with a 1996 bout between the Hardy Boyz. Now this one is of better quality than the 1997 match we featured before but it’s more of the same—which is more of a good thing than a bad thing.
This Matt vs. Jeff match went down in late 1996 and possibly for Atlantic Coast Championship Wrestling or the Heartland Wrestling Association.
I only say “possibly” because it wasn’t unusual for indies to have their shows taped and aired locally—or just to have the match on tape. It’s dated December 1996 but I’m not seeing any matches between the two at that time. The last one is in October 1996 for HWA.
First Impressions
Honestly, I have the same impressions as last time. The two matches are only a few matches apart and I’m not expecting extreme gear upgrades—especially when I watched a later match first. Still, they got better gear from their early WWE appearances.
Actually, Jeff Hardy’s early Hardy Boyz gear—the tights—is better than OG Willow’s gear. It’s as if Blitzkrieg’s raggedy son started wrestling. Mr. Aguila had a similar motif but more rooted in lucha libre and it was better than Willow’s gear.
However, Jeff had the mannerisms down for this gimmick. Also, he did his best with the gimmick’s design for a teenager. The Willow gimmick is similar to superhero movies. Sure, the concept or story could be presented now but the technology and know-how might be some ways off. The look of Willow would always be a work in progress that had to deal with a very successful single and tag careers for the future Charismatic Enigma.
Meanwhile, Matt Hardy looked like he was just ready for the late 90s indies. He’s got his bandana and his cool but basic in 2022 tights. Matt looked like he was ready to wrestle, was a wrestler, and was looking to get called up for a tryout.
Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy: Another Early Hardy Boyz Clash
I’m going to say that this match was better than the first one we looked at on “Out of the Archives”. I don’t know, it just seemed cleaner in execution throughout for both men. In the match from 1997, I gave it more to Matt Hardy as far as being clean with all of his stuff but this time, they both hit their spots as best as possible.
Mind you, Matt Hardy still looked like the crisper of the two. Also, we get some rare Matt Hardy where he’s all super agile and taking risks. Seriously, watch the early Matt Hardy matches. It’s amazing that he had the maturity to realize what would stay and what can go just a few years into his career.
Some wrestlers can take years to reach that stage because—admittedly—some of them have some really cool stuff that would suck to just be forgotten or not used. However, wrestlers reach that age after time with their cool stuff. They might see that they are bigger in size or higher in position, injuries are closer together, or that stuff doesn’t gel with their gimmick at that point in their career.
It can be anything but it’s always great to have those earlier matches where their style is noticeably different or riskier than it became.
Ultimately, this was a better-lit showdown that the fans really got into midway through. By that time Matt and Jeff really turned their engines and gave them a nice exchange in the finishing stretch and a decent finish.
As was the case with the first match, the high flying here will look very intro to high flying but by the late 90s and early 2000s with was what became of the Cruiserweight division.
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