Although there was plenty of excitement surrounding the return of Matt Hardy, there was still a little bit of disappointment regarding the fact that he didn’t bring his Broken gimmick with him.It’s been well-documented for months now that Anthem wasn’t going to give up this battle easily, as they believe they own the gimmick and were seeking royalties if any company decided to go ahead and use the gimmick.

BROKEN

It was either that or risk being sued.

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At first, it wasn’t clear which direction Matt was heading in as he showed mannerisms of his Broken character, but it also seemed as if he was suffering from an identity crisis as we saw glimpses of his ‘version one’ character as well.

However, it was reported last week that WWE is in talks with Anthem about paying one lump sum to acquire the rights for the gimmick rather than paying them royalties over a longer period of time, even though Vince McMahon didn’t have any plans to use the gimmick when bringing him back alongside Jeff at WrestleMania 33.

The reaction from fans obviously played a part in it and now that Vince has changed his mind, it looks like the company is moving full steam ahead with bringing the gimmick to television.

DEBUTING SOON?

According to a rumour from Cageside Seats, WWE may have already reached an agreement to purchase the Broken gimmick from Impact Wrestling, and it’s why we have seen Matt use his Broken catchphrases and mannerisms on programming a lot more than usual.

If this is the case, then this is a major breakthrough as the majority of fans have shown plenty of excitement about the gimmick being in WWE, and the potential it has based on who Matt could feud with and how much merchandise the company can sell.

It’s expected that something will trigger the Broken state, such as taking a big bump during a match or even when The Hardy Boyz drop the RAW tag team championships, so it’ll be worth keeping an eye on Matt in the coming weeks to see how he acts on television.

He’s already been teasing it enough on social media since his return and fans have enjoyed keeping up with his continual name changes.

Now, it seems like only a matter of time before Broken Matt is on Monday Night RAW, but it’ll be interesting to see whether they have Jeff in on the act too as a big singles push has also been rumoured for him.

What do you make of the claims that WWE may have acquired the Broken gimmick for Matt Hardy? Have YOUR say in the comments section below and the second episode of GiveMeSport’s WWE podcast is here! Check out the inside info from our coverage in Orlando. https://soundcloud.com/user-818579649/givemesport-inside-wrestlemania-33

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