Former WWE and AEW star Matt Hardy shared his recollection of the backstage atmosphere during the infamous Undertaker Vs. Goldberg match at WWE Super Showdown in 2019.
On an episode of his podcast, “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy,” Hardy vividly remembered the palpable worry surrounding the match’s execution and impact on the wrestlers. Hardy described the scene, mentioning that he watched the match alongside Randy Orton in a packed locker room, where the concern was evident among the talent.
I remember watching it beside Randy Orton, it was a locker room sell-out. I just remember that deal where Taker came down on his head, the looks in between people, [they] were pretty shocked by it. […] So yeah, [in] 99, it would have been a huge match, whatever. But, I think a lot of the talent were worried the match was going to be what it ended up being as opposed to like being able to kind of get through something that was solid but quick and impactful. And unfortunately, I think there were a lot of people that thought it might end up being like it was ended up being that way.
Reflecting on the match’s anticipation, Hardy emphasised that while disaster wasn’t expected, there was hope for a solid, impactful performance. He explained that the potential for the match to not meet expectations was acknowledged, which prompted many to closely monitor its progression.
I don’t think people were anticipating a disaster. I think everyone hoped they would go out and they would put in five good smart, well worked quality minutes of entertainment. So I think people knew it had the potential to not be great. So I think that’s why so many people were like watching. It happened to be in the locker room where we were all changing and getting ready, so it was on a monitor there. But I remember as the match went on and the deeper it got over those next few minutes everybody was watching it.
When questioned about any aftermath from the match, Hardy remarked that he personally witnessed no significant fallout but expressed relief that Undertaker emerged unscathed, acknowledging the challenges both wrestlers faced during the bout.
Nothing that I witnessed. I was just glad Taker was okay because a couple of those things were pretty bad. And I kind of felt bad for Bill too.
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