Bray Wyatt and the WWE Universe met “Woken” Matt Hardy for the first time last week, and the newly reborn former Raw Tag Team Champion continued his war of words with The New Face of Fear, promising to illuminate the masses with his “Woken Wisdom” and “Broken Brilliance” and proclaiming that Wyatt’s very presence was the result of an “addiction” that had consumed the soul of Sister Abigail.

Hardy doubled down on his vow to “delete” Wyatt even as the former WWE Champion warned the Universe to choose their allegiances wisely. Despite Wyatt’s proclamation, it was Hardy’s demented cackle that once again got the last word.

Credit: WWE.com

Last week’s loss to Bray Wyatt seemed to have destroyed Matt Hardy. Not so. The former Raw Tag Team Champion deployed a message to interrupt Wyatt’s latest sermon, enlightening the WWE Universe as to what, exactly, had happened to him seven days prior.

The Eater of Worlds had warned the WWE Universe against trusting “the ramblings of a madman,” but Hardy countered that his true self had become “woken,” and that he had burst free of his mortal “vessel” as a result of his defeat. While Wyatt promised he would “burn” all those who opposed him, Hardy got the last word this time around, sentencing Wyatt to nothing less than “deletion.”

Credit: WWE.com

Matt Hardy claimed last week he was edging closer to his “breaking point.” Ironically, Bray Wyatt may have gotten there first and taken Matt with him. The Reaper of Souls addressed the WWE Universe for the first time in weeks, claiming they had failed to listen when he tried to show them the way and that they were all “dead” in their subsequent ignorance, cackling madly in the dark before Hardy emerged for their match.

As for Hardy, his gutsy effort against the former WWE Champion ended in a missed moonsault and a Sister Abigail. But his evening concluded on a far more ominous note, as he slumped over in the corner, slashed his fist through the air and screamed “Delete!” over and over again long after Wyatt had left the ring.

Credit: WWE.com

It’s not enough for Elias to defeat someone; he’s got to go and make a song about it. In this case, he penned a special tune for Matt Hardy, who he upended at Survivor Series Kickoff, about how “lost” Hardy is without his injured brother. Hardy himself wasn’t a fan of this musical tribute, and the former Raw Tag Team Champion made his displeasure known by interrupting the performance, landing some stinging haymakers and chasing Elias from the ring.

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Conspicuous by his absence from Raw’s opening gathering (and last week’s siege, for what it’s worth) was The Miz, who chose to arrive “fashionably late” and was placed into an Intercontinental Title defense by Kurt Angle for his troubles. The opponent? Matt Hardy, and while The A-Lister’s casual disrespect of Angle certainly landed him in more hot water than he would have liked, he put on an impressive show for the General Manager who called him nothing less than a coward.

Initially, it seemed the key to Miz’s victory would be the reunited Miztourage, who threatened to interfere early on and succeeded in doing so in the later goings of the match, landing cheap shots on the former Raw Tag Team Champion to slow him down. But The A-Lister sealed the deal without his cronies’ help, rolling under the ropes after a Twist of Fate, bouncing Hardy gullet-first off the ropes and closing the match with a devastating Skull-Crushing Finale.

Credit: WWE.com