Matt Hardy has become a sensei of sorts in the TNA locker room, taking several rising stars under his wing.
A two-time TNA World Champion, Hardy has seen it all inside the squared circle.
From crashing through tables to winning championships, Hardy has experienced the full breadth of an in-ring career. He knows what it takes to be legendary and is mentoring rising TNA stars to write their own epic.
Speaking exclusively with Casino.org US, Matt Hardy said that he has fully embraced a mentor role with TNA.
“I love being able to work with younger talent and nurture them. It’s very enjoyable to me. As long as I can do that, I probably will.”
Hardy joked that he even views certain talent as his “kids.”
“I feel like Leon [Slater] is my son. I feel like Private Party, Isiah [Kassidy] and [Marq] Quen [of AEW], they’re my kids,” he quipped.
Hardy’s metaphorical youngest child, Leon Slater, is blazing a historic trail in TNA.
Leon Slater is Turning Heads in TNA
Slater, 22, cemented himself as the youngest TNA World Champion in history with a milestone victory over Nic Nemeth at Bound For Glory 2026.
Slater is the youngest World Champion ever across TNA, WWE and AEW.
“He is so far mentally ahead of the curve,” Hardy said of Leon Slater. “He thinks like he’s been doing this for 15 years. [Slater] gets what pro wrestling is at its essence, at its core. Not just going out and doing a whole bunch of moves and being as crazy as you can. He gets that you have to get people to care about you and your character and your persona, which is Leon Slater the character and Leon Slater the real person, to a degree.”
“You have to make them feel for you in some capacity. He is just so smart in the way he works and does things. And his promos have come so far. I’m so proud of him because of that too.”
Speaking exclusively with Casino.org US, Hardy shared that Slater recently asked him what it takes to become a draw.
“I know he asked me one time, he was a little nervous about the Bound for Glory tickets, because he was wrestling Nic Nemeth for the title. And he said, “Well, I know last year at Bound for Glory, it was you versus the Dudleys.” Obviously, we had a big backstory. There was a lot of nostalgia in that. It’s something that has been going on for decades. And he said, “How long do you think it was before you became a draw? What do you think it took to make you a draw?”
“And I said, “Well, for me, it’s a little more challenging to do it in TNA, but you definitely can do it in TNA,” because Broken Matt Hardy kind of proved that too, when I totally reinvented myself there. And that was through TNA, and that was at a point where they were about to go out of business.
“But I think for myself and Jeff, we won the tag team titles before, but that wasn’t the moment. It’s when we had the Terri Invitational Tournament and the tag team ladder match against Edge and Christian.
“That moment changed the reactions for all four of us, but especially myself and Jeff. Then it just led to the tag team tables match with the Dudleys at Royal Rumble 2000, and then TLC, or the first triple threat ladder match, and then TLC at SummerSlam. And all that stuff is ultimately what ended up making us draws and selling tickets. And I think Leon is well on his way now to becoming a draw, because he gets everything.”
WWE Legend Praises 22-Year-Old World Champion: “He’s Like My Son”