Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
The ‘If Factor’ are a series of articles that takes a look at real scenarios in pro wrestling that at one point or another were suggested, planned, considered…but did not get the green light to continue. What would the landscape of professional wrestling look like if these ideas came to fruition?
The If: The Hardy Boyz Join D-Generation X
The Hardy Boyz of Jeff and Matt Hardy first came to prominence in the WWF in 1998. The young tag team impressed WWF management with their ability to make other teams look like a million bucks. They would be rewarded with their own WWF contracts. The promotion would try different ways to push the Hardys like align with Freebird Michael Hayes, compete and win a tournament to be awarded Terri Runnels and also reform the Brood with Gangrel.
There was another idea to help push the Hardy Boyz to the next level in 1998. Matt Hardy revealed that there was a plan in place to have the Hardys join the very popular heel faction of DX. Matt said the idea came from Vince Russo who started having the brothers throw up DX hand gestures after matches in a subtle way. The idea was to have Matt and Jeff start out as DX lackeys or followers and eventually join their ranks as members. This went on for a few weeks, until Russo approached the Hardys to tell them the weren’t going to do that anymore.
Of course, the Hardy Boyz got over big once they began feuding with both Edge and Christian and the Dudley Boys in a series of matches. One does wonder what would have been different if they would have joined DX instead. Would we see those insane ladder matches with the Dudleys and E and C? Would they be successful the same way that they ultimately ended up as?