GFW's President Has Moved On From The Broken Hardys And So Should We

Five months in professional wrestling is more akin to five years of the real world. Five months ago, it would have been laughable to think of Jinder Mahal as WWE champion. Five months ago, a dream match up between John Cena and Shinsuke Nakamura seemed far away on the horizon. Five months ago, Kurt Angle becoming General Manager of Raw was only a rumor. Five months ago was also the last time we saw the Broken Hardys on television.

What has ensued within that time is a drawn out legal drama over the rights to the Broken gimmick. We’ve seen expletive-laden twitter rants, accusations, and witty t-shirts in that time. What has also happened in that time is people have moved on. While that might not seem true when you hear the “Delete!” chants ring out through an arena on Raw, it is very true when you think of all that has happened since we last saw the Broken Hardys. The tag team division of Raw, Smackdown, and even GFW have all moved on. The Hardys have entered, and finished, a rivalry with Cesaro and Sheamus. They’ve since moved on take on The Revival.This transition, from tag team champions one moment to an almost gatekeeper of the tag team division role, is indicative of how far the excitement, both internally within the WWE and externally in the audience, has fallen. Although the legal battle has very much kept the gimmick in the forefront of the minds of many wrestling fans, what was once excitement for the gimmick has turned into disdain for having to hear the same tired tirades from the Hardys and GFW executives each and every week. It looks to be a battle that will stretch for an endless number of weeks more as well. By then, how much more time will have gone by in the professional wrestling world?

While it may seem like people will still enthusiastic chant “Delete!” along with the Hardys months from now, it is more likely that this legal deathmatch will have netted not much gain for Matt, Jeff, and Reby. WWE could very likely be gearing up for the Royal Rumble or Wrestlemania by time GFW and the Hardys reach a settlement and at that point, it’s unlikely they will receive a monster push to a main event or upper midcard stage that would allow the gimmick to shine in the same way that it did in Impact Wrestling. That’s to say that this saga ever has a clean cut conclusion. It’s entirely possible that this drama plays out in the court for so long that the Hardys would be much closer to retirement than a starring role on TV.

Recently, GFW’s President Ed Nordholm has tried to declare an end to this ongoing war stating that the company is “moving on” from the Broken Hardys’ drama. We, and the Hardys, should do the same. At this point, there’s very little to be gained from the Hardys getting back their gimmick. They will continue to be a popular tag team act with or without their Broken Universe. They’ve been making it along relatively well in the WWE with just mere allusions to their past. The Hardys are both exceptional talents and could assuredly tweak their current gimmicks to capitalize on both their past and present situations without having to take GFW to court. I for one know that I would be just as excited to see the Hardys move in a new direction as I would be to see them regain their Broken selves, and I suspect there are many more like me who feel the same. With that said, let’s hope for an end to the GFW versus Hardys saga and hope for a new future. That future may not be as broken, but I bet it would be just as fun.