CLEVELAND – After the contest was unscrambled and the winner was clear, Matt Hardy stood victorious as the new ECW Champion in the opening Scramble Match at Unforgiven.
The first entrant in the bout, Hardy fell to former ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero to make the self-proclaimed “Mexican Warrior” the first interim champion in the match. He quickly rebounded to earn the second pin, returning the favor to Guerrero. Late in the match, Hardy dropped another pin to Finlay, only to pin The Miz seconds later with just over three minutes left. Playing defense to other attempted pinfalls, the new champion held on as time ticked out.
Hardy has been chasing the title for months. Just two days following Henry’s win to retain ECW’s most coveted prize against Tommy Dreamer at The Great American Bash, Hardy issued a challenge to the World’s Strongest Man. He had his opportunity at SummerSlam, but as a result of interference from WWE Hall of Famer Tony Atlas, Hardy was left wanting.
SummerSlam didn’t slow Matt down, but only made him stronger as he defeated former ECW Champion John Morrison to qualify for the Scramble Match.
Mark Henry has done everything in his power – and Atlas’ – to ensure he remains the title holder. The odds, however, proved to be too much for even the World’s Strongest Man to overcome.
After a passion-driven, career-long hunt to possess a World Title, the deliverer of the Twist of Fate has found himself atop the mountain in the Land of the Extreme.