Whether things like Michael Cole’s intro apology on the Mar. 19 Raw and not including it on the edited Hulu version of that episode were evidence of WWE hedging their bets with Matt Hardy’s ‘Ultimate Deletion’ or not, the notion the company/Vince McMahon doesn’t approve of the Woken/Broken Universe is being brought into the storyline by WWE.com and Hardy himself.
After fans and internet outlets wondered about Cole’s comments, Matt mentioned the announcer on Twitter, and had his drone Vanguard1 keep an eye on the voice of WWE:
SURVEILLANCE ORDER CONFIRMED:@MICHAELCOLE CURRENT LOCATION: DALLAS, TX
— Vanguard1 (@Vanguard1AAR) March 20, 2018
THE EYE IN THE SKY IS WATCHING https://t.co/DfQqSaRLrP
The company’s website picked up that “story”, meaning the beef between Matt (and Vanguard1) and Cole is now kayfabe-eligible. And in an interview with TMZ Sports, that website played Hardy some tape of Hall of Famer Mick Foley’s review of “Ultimate Deletion” which included the “Dude who loves Mankind” wondering whether McMahon loved or hated the segment:
Mick guesses that Vince thought it was great, but that doesn’t stop The Woken One from making some threats toward Meekmahan’s should his vote swing the other way:
“If McMahon has any issues with it, then I certainly have a spot here at the Hardy Compound where I can DELETE him yessss. Señor Benjamin would love to start digging a hole him yesssss...”
Fitting that Foley would help introduce this wrinkle - and on the day Daniel Bryan returned to the active roster, too - since both have been the protagonist in past “WWE doesn’t want this to succeed” meta-stories.
Now, who wants to see Vince show up in “Ultimate Deletion II”?