How Matt Hardy Spent His Birthday (On The Road)
Matt Hardy celebrated his 27th birthday the same way he celebrated his 25th and 26th -- by traveling from town to town as a World Wrestling Federation Superstar. On Sunday, his "birthday party" was a Fatal Fourway for the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship.
Lita bought him a new computer bag, and he says he probably has a few other gifts waiting for him at home He also got a number of phone calls wishing him a happy birthday. But other than that ...
"My birthday present is being able to work with the World Wrestling Federation," Matt said. "I love what I do here. You kind of drop the importance of certain days - birthday and holidays. You're willing to sacrifice it if you love this business."
Just after midnight on Sunday, Matt was driving toward Pittsburgh - the site of Unforgiven - with Lita and his brother, Jeff, who noticed that it was officially Sept. 23, and was the first to wish him a happy birthday. But the only present Matt wanted at the time was sleep.
Last week, a camera crew from World Wrestling Federation Home Video was filming Matt and Jeff at their home for their soon-to-be-released tape, so Matt didn't get much rest. On Saturday, the Hardy Boyz battled in a non-televised Federation event in Reading, Pa. Their match was second-to-last, so by the time they left the building, the show was over, and traffic had built up. They didn't get to their hotel just outside Pittsburgh until just before 4 a.m. on Sunday.
After a few hours of sleep, he headed directly to the Mellon Arena - site of Unforgiven - and spent the entire day at the building. Last year, Unforgiven was the day after Matt's birthday, and the Hardy Boyz won the Federation Tag Team Championship for a second time. This year, there was no such luck, as the Dudley Boyz retained the titles.But on the plus side, Lita bought Matt dinner at Denny's after the show.