Matt Hardy Comments On WWE-UFC Merger, Not Sure It Will Lead To Much Fan Crossover

In the aftermath of the UFC-WWE merger, Matt Hardy had nothing but praise for Vince McMahon, admitting on "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" that his former boss contributed more to the state of modern-day wrestling than any other individual. Hardy also feels it's fitting that McMahon never handed over the reins of his company to any person before the merger.   

"Vince McMahon had a hell of a run," Hardy stressed. "You can't deny that. And, it's so appropriate knowing and working so closely as I did with Vince — the fact that he ended up selling the company and leaving on top, where no one will ever get the opportunity to make World Wrestling Entertainment, as far as a sole owner, better than him, was just apropos."

Hardy, like many wrestling fans, is admittedly "very excited" to see WWE possibly rebranding itself to be more in line with its new sister company UFC, suggesting that the promotion could make "interesting" changes to its presentation going forward. As for the possibility of athletes crossing over between UFC and WWE, Hardy does not put much weight into UFC executive Lawrence Epstein's comments about wanting to "turn every UFC fan into a WWE fan" and vice-versa. 

"I don't think you're gonna have a lot of UFC and shoot fighting fans really just jump over to wrestling just because it's owned by the same company," Hardy opined. "I also don't think people that enjoy the pageantry and fantastical world of pro wrestling are going to jump to UFC. Although I do think they're both such extreme sports and entertainment — I think there'll be some great promotion you can do with them together."

Previously, the likes of Derrick Lewis, Tai Tuivasa, and Conor McGregor have been floated as possible MMA fighters who could crossover into the world of sports entertainment.