On a recent edition of his “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” podcast, Matt Hardy discussed TNA Wrestling regaining momentum, Joe Hendry’s recent success, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Joe Hendry’s popularity: “We actually sat down. We were sitting in catering over the weekend and we were just talking about different things. And he was explaining to a couple of guys, a couple of the wrestlers about like, ‘If you’re gonna do YouTube, this is how it needs to be done. If you’re going to do TikTok, it needs to be done like this. And if you’re going to do Twitter, I would approach it like this.’ He had a different plan to be successful on each one of those platforms, which was pretty brilliant. And he was right in everything he was saying, I agree with the majority of it.
“But yeah, he really is. He knows what he’s doing, and he is a marketing genius. and I would almost guarantee you that was his idea. He got it approved through the powers that be, and he did it, and I loved that it was a thing. The fact that NXT did this three or four-minute package on Joe Hendry, a contracted TNA star, promoting him and building them up. And they used footage, like its the stuff he used so much. Because there are deals where he’ll take screenshots of just a sign in the crowd. Like, ‘I believe in Joe Hendry’ at WWE shows, and they posted those… I know Joe had, he definitely had input into this. Because it was very much from his mind and the way he thinks. And then he’s having a live concert next week on NXT and they’re promoting it. I love it, I love it so much.”
On TNA gaining momentum: “Something I can notice is TNA — their TV, the sprawl of their TV isn’t massive, right? It’s on AXS TV. And I actually talked to the guy who is one of the heads of Anthem, and we’re talking about stuff. And the TNA+ app has grown massively, exponentially over the last couple of years. And just recently it has a lot, like I know a couple of the shows I’ve done. Like me versus Moose there was a huge boost, a huge gain and viewership there and whatnot. So that’s kind of where they’re trying to focus the majority of their attention to, almost like when WWE had the Network. They try to drive everyone to the network. This is where you can see all the shows, you can see all the TV and this, that and the other thing.
“But still, TNA and their social media footprint of putting stuff out there. I can tell with me, you know how I said, which was a controversial statement, [I was] devalued in AEW or not used in the way I would have liked to have been used. Here at TNA. I have already gained value. It’s crazy like, the amount of Cameos I’ve been getting has increased. The signings we’ve been doing, the more people that are coming out, saying they’ve seen me on TNA and turning out and being excited and happy to see me in a slot where I’m thriving? That is increased as well. Everything kind of across the board has increased. And it’s TNA, and they don’t have a huge footprint on a television network, because they’re on AXS TV. But just because I’m in that spot, and I’m doing good and thriving, and I’m being used so well… and even this immersed package that was on just recently, like I got a lot of great feedback from that deal. And the fact of the matter is, it feels good to be in a position where you feel momentum again. And momentum is something that is helping us. I mean, something myself and my wife and kids that we’re working on is, we have a couple deals with like reality TV shows on. And that’s something we’re working with, and that would I would love to do that. Nothing would make me happier. And we have so many different irons in the fires.”
