Matt Hardy Shares Advice Stone Cold Steve Austin Gave Him During Their 2001 Feud

While Matt Hardy believes that the Hardy Boyz's feud against Steve Austin was something that elevated them, telling "Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy" that "beyond a shadow of a doubt it was good for us."

Hardy got to share the ring with the "Texas Rattlesnake" several times on "WWE Raw" at that time, and he believes that in the mind of casual fans, he was able to be seen as someone who could hang with the top guys. However, even though it was good from that perspective, Hardy revealed he "learned a lot of things even in chatting with Steve."

"Just to be more aggressive," Hardy said was the main takeaway. "He said, 'In your comebacks, instead of throwing a punch, you throw a pretty good punch, but I want you to just take someone's head off with a clothesline, it looks a lot more vicious, and I think the more vicious." 

For Austin, it was all about pushing the idea of being aggressive to get better reactions from the live audience. He wanted Hardy to make people think that he was so aggressive that fans wouldn't want to get into a legitimate fight with him. 

"Once again, he really emphasizes about working smart and being aggressive and physical," he said. "Like, 'people have to believe that you can really whip someone's ass, so your punches and your kicks and strikes, they need to look good it's not always about these high spots. You built in certain moments that are going to be remembered in a certain way, but your work needs to be really solid.'

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.