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WrestleMania 25: Previewing Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy

Sunday April 5, 2009 BY iFight365.com

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Between now and Sunday night we’re previewing the full card for WWE’s WrestleMania 25 PPV. In addition we’ll have a couple of WrestleMania-themed Roundtable articles going up on the site ahead of our live coverage this Sunday night which kicks off at around 5pm EST/10pm UK time.

Its brother vs. brother in Houston as Matt and Jeff Hardy square off against in each in an Extreme Rules match…

Mark Bright: This extreme rules match has the potential to steal the show, despite both guys’ limitations as promo guys in the buildup – which i personally thought was disguised well enough by using eerie background music while they were speaking. As for the match, Jeff is legitimately one of the biggest stars and most over babyfaces in the company, and the crowd have seen him and Matt grow up together in WWE over the last decade. Whether that manifests itself with a hot crowd getting behind Jeff or a quiet crowd not interested in seeing these two face each other (the Scott Hall v. Kevin Nash singles matches in WCW always had disappointing crowd reactions, to use that as an example).

If it’s a hot crowd, and it goes on after Money In The Bank so they’re not limited on ladder spots, they could have a great match. Contrary to what i’ve read in a lot of other WrestleMania previews over these last few days, I would have Jeff win this match, because i feel upping Matt’s bitterness so he snaps and beats the hell out of Jeff to extend the feud works better than having Matt’s bitterness and jealousy be proved RIGHT by having Matt win. You don’t build entire feuds on the heel being jealous because he’s better than the babyface and then proving it by beating him at the biggest show of the year. It’s also possible they could go with the Bret v. Owen vibe and have this match open the show, certainly 70,000 people going nuts for the entrance of Jeff Hardy as the first guy on the PPV would be quite the sight.

Dan Short: Jeff vs. Matt is one of those matches that some want to see, but most don’t want to see. A lot has to do with the fact that they’ve worked far too well together that if they ever attempt to face off against one another the hype would be too high to live up to. Much like Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson. Ric and Arn have been associated with one another for so long that their eventually battle didn’t quite have that spark. Jeff and Matt did a one-on-one encounter in past in late 2001 when they teased a split. It didn’t work and WWE eventually scrapped the feud.

It’s put together this time because of a foolish attempt by Vince to stay one step ahead of the fans and swerve them as opposed to going to supposed original plan of having Christian attack Jeff at the Royal Rumble. Most fans are not really buying into the feud. At the same time, though, pitting them in an Extreme Rules Match does perk interest. And WrestleMania would be an ideal setting for mixing them together. WrestleMania is generally the event in which Jeff really digs deep and pulls out all the stops to wow the fans while Matt puts on his best creative analysis and strives for good storytelling. Storyline aside, this has the potential of actually being a great match.

I suspect Jeff will win the match, but there’s a part of me that thinks Matt will pull a shock win that no one sees coming.

James Mustoe: The build up to the Hardy’s match has been pretty disappointing; I think this can be boiled down to the fact that the crowds really don’t want to see the brothers fight. Both were really over a babyfaces and the Matt turn seemed forced and unnecessary, especially with the frankly disturbing elements that the older Hardy has been using in his recent promos. That being said, the match should be a decent enough affair, certainly better than their Vengeance 2001 effort, although not a patch on Bret/Owen! I’d pick Jeff to win as it looks like WWE has already realised the feud is a bit of a wash out and booked a gimmicked blow-off match at the big show.

Phil Lowe: The majority of the build has done nothing for me, but the past couple of weeks have certainly been an improvement. That said, I still can’t buy into Matt as the guy who attacked Jeff and I don’t think many of the casual fans who don’t follow sites such as this one will either. Regardless of the flaws in the logic leading up to this though, it should be a very, very good match, providing they get plenty of time out there. The Extreme Rules stipulation obviously adds to the match and I think everybody is expecting some crazy spots out there from both guys.

I’d be surprised if this is the blow-off to the feud and can see it running through to the summer if booked well. Because of that, I think we may see the evil Hardy get the win before Jeff eventually picks up the win on a future PPV. If Jeff wins, however, I’d be inclined to think WWE are ending the feud quicker than they should be.

Michael Campbell: This has been a disappointingly limp feud. And unlike back in 2001, when they tried to split these two up, and it was unsuccessful, largely due to the failings of both guys, it’s entirely down to lousy booking. Of course it doesn’t help that it was originally scheduled to be Christian in Matt’s role, and without him, parts of the rivalry make no sense whatsoever. Let me get this straight… Matt cost Jeff an opportunity to fight for the title, then tried to help him win it (he weakly brawled with Kozlov, who interfered in the Armageddon three-way), then cost him it once he had it. HUH????

That said, the two have delivered some stirring stuff over the past few weeks, and it’s almost certain that they’ll deliver the goods in a quality effort. But Christ, they need time! They need to have enough time allocated to start an intense brawl, and develop it into a stunt-filled thriller. Of course, the other challenge is that they’ll be following the earlier Money in the Bank Ladder match. They may well have some innovative sequences up their sleeves.

I’d say, give Jeff the crowd pleasing victory, perhaps with a roll-up, then have Matt beat him down after the match, to get his heat back, and continue the feud for another month. Jeff needs the big Mania victory, after the few months he’s had. Matt Hardy doesn’t have a great deal of momentum, and a loss won’t hurt him as much as it could hurt Jeff. Winner: Jeff Hardy.

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