Former WWE champion blames "Vince-ism" and stigma for a particular division never taking off

A former WWE champion has blamed Vince McMahon for the failure of a particular division in the company.

The former champion is none other than Matt Hardy, who is one of the top names in All Elite Wrestling. However, Hardy made a name for himself in multiple promotions, including WWE.

During the Ruthless Aggression Era, Matt Hardy was a part of the Cruiserweight division, where he defeated Billy Kidman to capture his first Cruiserweight Championship.

Speaking on his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Hardy discussed the little faith Vince McMahon had in the WWE's Cruiserweight Division:

"It’s Vince-ism. He thinks what draws is having a big larger than life superstar that is either your world champion or trying to be the world champion, then when they walk through an airport that people recognize, 'Oh, my God, this guy’s a star', and in Vince’s mind, like small people who don’t stand out quite as much, aren’t as big of a deal."

The veteran further included:

"And I think that kind of the stigma from Vince is why the Cruiserweight Championship never got a ton of promotion, in many ways. He’s just like, 'okay, sure, these guys can go out and they can have these great matches, but nobody sees them as like, you know, household name, a larger than life star, they’re gonna recognise in an airport'. You know, that’s once again another one of Vince’s big attractions were big, tall, muscular, jacked up dudes, you know, he loved that because they’re gonna stand out at an airport."[H/T: InsideTheRopes]

Matt Hardy reflects on the night late former WWE star Droz's career ended

The night Droz's WWE career ended lives in the mind of many, including wrestling veteran Matt Hardy.

Darren "Droz" Drozdov sadly passed away last week at the age of 54. Droz was sadly known for his unfortunate career-ending injury in October 1999. In a match against D'Lo Brown, Droz broke his neck, which left him quadriplegic.

During his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Hardy reflected on the night the incident happened:

"It was terrible. I mean that's burnt in my mind... I was watching it from the TVO, the TV locker room. I remember seeing it live when it happened. I was like, 'Oh my God.' It was one of those things where you cringe but again, it didn't look terrible. I would not have expected him to be paralyzed from the bump that he took. But unfortunately, he was, and it changed the course of his life."

Do you agree with Matt Hardy's statement on WWE's Cruiserweight Division? Let us know in the comments section below.