Matt Hardy Is 'Broken' and the Most Controversial Stories of the Week

The word of the week in WWE is "broken." 

This past week on SmackDown Live, the alliance between Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers was broken up. In that same broadcast, the alliance between Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder as the Hype Bros. was broken up. 

One night prior, Matt Hardy finally began showing signs of reprising his role as Broken Matt Hardy. 

Some things in life heal much better once they are broken. For all three of the case studies mentioned above—namely Rawley, Mahal and Hardy—this will hopefully be the case. 

Broken (or Woken) Matt Hardy on the Verge of a WWE Debut

Matt Hardy is finally on the verge of becoming either "broken" or "woken" following a telling post-match segment after Hardy suffered a loss to Bray Wyatt.

Hardy's deliberate "delete" chants sparked conversation all over Twitter on whether or not WWE would finally go all-in on the Broken brand.

Further facilitating Hardy's seemingly inevitable broken rebirth, Impact Wrestling President Ed Nordholm released a timely statement to Sports Illustrated (h/t WrestlingInc) saying Impact Wrestling will grant wrestlers, both past and present, rights to use their gimmicks outside of the organization.

With Jeff Hardy out and Matt Hardy in "No Man's Land," a new—and also familiar—gimmick is just what he needs. A word to the wise: lower your expectations. Almost nothing is better the second time around, so grade this run on a curve to make for a less bitter Twitter timeline.

Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon Continue Escalating Feud

Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon continued tensions this past Tuesday on SmackDown Live in a storyline that is almost guaranteed to end with the two at odds.

Bryan continues to be an apologist for Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, citing his ability to put personal issues aside for the betterment of business, much to the chagrin of the tandem's bitter rival, Shane McMahon.

McMahon continues to be gung-ho about punishing Zayn and Owens, and all signs point to Bryan eventually joining forces with the best friends to feud with Shane McMahon. Given the fact that Zayn and Owens are a heel duo that gets cheered by WWE's stubborn hardcore fanbase, adding Daniel Bryan will only add to these counterproductive, positive responses.

Raw and SmackDown Live Name All-Female Trios

WWE named its two all-female trios this past week, with Paige, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville being dubbed Absolution, while Ruby Riot, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan will be called the Riot Squad.

Both trios continued to run roughshod over the Raw and SmackDown rosters, with the Riot Squad even putting Naomi on a stretcher.

WWE will be limited as to how far it can go with three-woman stables on limited women's rosters, and though their debuts were fine, a future split could already be on the horizon. Perhaps these seeds will be planted at a possible women's Royal Rumble. 

Mojo Rawley, Jinder Mahal, Betray Longtime Allies

SmackDown Live was a show filled with betrayals as Mojo Rawley turned on Zack Ryder, while Jinder Mahal attacked his loyal sidekicks the Singh Brothers after the duo suffered another loss to AJ Styles.

The Singh Brothers might be a better fit for 205 Live or NXT moving forward. Mojo Rawley, however, could have a real future as a heel after putting an emphatic end to The Hype Bros.

In this current climate of professional wrestling, it's almost impossible to build a heel out of someone like Kevin Owens who was a fixture on the independent circuit.

WWE Network's immovable subscriber count of 1.5 million is evidence that WWE has a loyal, niche following that makes up a bigger percentage of its paying audience in 2017. These fans hardly vary in whom they like and what they'll cheer for and are more likely to be familiar with Owens' career outside of WWE. 

On the contrary, fans today are begging to boo homegrown WWE talent like Baron Corbin and Mojo Rawley, who are far superior in their roles as villains designed to antagonize WWE's current fanbase.

Mojo Rawley as a heel should be loads of fun.  

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.