AEW Rumors: Matt Hardy Vs. Chris Jericho ‘Elite Deletion’ Match Is Under Consideration, Per Dave Meltzer
After taking part in similar bouts during his time in Impact Wrestling and WWE, it looks like Matt Hardy might soon be taking part in an “Elite Deletion” match against his first rival since joining All Elite Wrestling last month — former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho.
As cited by Wrestling Inc., Dave Meltzer said on a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that the match is a possibility at this point, though it’s still unsure whether AEW would approve of the idea. It isn’t clear either why the match’s status is up in the air when Hardy’s promo vignette challenging Jericho to the bout aired on this week’s AEW Dynamite. But as Meltzer reportedly said, the Elite Deletion match will be shot in Hardy’s North Carolina home if the company decides to book it.
In the vignette, which can be viewed on the AEW YouTube page, Hardy ran down Jericho and several members of his Inner Circle faction, calling his fellow in-ring legend “le hole of the a**” — a take on Jericho’s “Le Champion” sobriquet — and using multiple other insults consistent with the oddball gimmick he had in his most recent Impact and WWE stints. After a brief appearance from his drone, Vanguard-1, Hardy promised that he would turn The Inner Circle into a “dumpster fire” and “delete” them. He then invited Jericho to the “Hardy Compound,” dropping the name of the rumored match as he formally issued the challenge.
Since debuting on AEW in March, Hardy has aligned himself with The Elite, the promotion’s top babyface faction that counts the likes of Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) among its members. It was around that time that the company had scheduled a 10-man “Blood & Guts” match, with Hardy teaming up with Elite members Rhodes, Matt Jackson, Kenny Omega, and Hangman Page against Jericho and fellow Inner Circle stablemates Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana, and Ortiz. That contest, however, was postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and has yet to be rescheduled.
TUNE INTO #AEWDynamite NOW!!!
@AEWrestling @AEWonTNT @tntdrama pic.twitter.com/M3g46WqXQI— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) April 9, 2020
Should the Elite Deletion become a reality, this will mark the latest take on the original Final Deletion match that took place in 2016 between Matt and Jeff Hardy, back when the brothers were working for Impact Wrestling. While Matt initially was able to use his “Broken” gimmick upon rejoining WWE with Jeff in 2017, he did debut a tweaked, “Woken” version toward the end of the year, defeating Bray Wyatt in the Ultimate Deletion match in March 2018. Both matches were held at the Hardy Compound and featured multiple members of the wrestling veteran’s family, as well as various characters from his “Broken/Woken Universe.”
