Matt Hardy Addresses Getting To Work With New Age Outlaws In WWE

The late 1990s were an exciting time for WWE's tag team division, with company mainstays like Billy Gunn and "Road Dogg" Jesse James joined by newer talent such as The Hardy Boyz. Gunn and James were the focus on a recent episode of "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy," with Hardy describing what it was like to work with the team around this time.

"'Road Dogg' was always happy — he was always joking," Hardy said. "Billy was very moody. ... You didn't know which version you were gonna get. Were you gonna get grumpy Billy or happy Billy?"

According to Hardy, Gunn had that reputation among wrestlers for many years, though it has since changed. Additionally, he stated that Gunn has always been pleasant to himself and his brother Jeff, even when he isn't in the greatest of moods. Additionally, Hardy called James "the life of the party" in that era and stated that he and Jeff always liked spending time around both of the New Age Outlaws.

"We were excited to work with them because we liked them," Hardy continued. "Even going back to the very beginning, right when we started working there – one time, [someone] hid our bags. ... The person who smartened us up, and told us where they were, and also protected us by zipping our bags up tightly, was Road Dogg, because he gave a s**t about us."

They were never considered longtime rivals, but the Hardy Boyz and the New Age Outlaws did have a series of matches across several months in 1999 and 2000. Though they would later reunite in WWE and other promotions, the New Age Outlaws disbanded in 2000, while The Hardys have continued teaming on and off to this day.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.