When the WWE Universe convened in Houston, Texas on September 13th, 2001, for an episode of SmackDown, few knew what to expect. As Matt Hardy recalls it, the company was in a holding patern, his fellow Superstars were unease, and more than a few of them, including his brother Jeff, wanted to rent a car and drive back to North Carolina in order to be with their family and avoid the air.

How would the show work? Would the live event become a target? Would it be disrespectful to go live while people were at home hurting? On his The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Hardy recalled the event and everything around it.

“I remember we were waiting like, ‘What is going to happen?' because we have ‘SmackDown' [in Houston, Texas]. This happened at what 9 [or] 10 o'clock is when the planes hit the buildings, right? Early in the morning. Our call time is noon, 1 o'clock. I know we're on Central Time in Houston,” Matt Hardy said via TJR.

“We're just like, ‘What is going on about the show?' We were trying to find out, and then there was a company-wide email, and they were texting people, whatever. And they said, ‘We're not sure what we're going to do; just everybody stand by. Everybody stand by. We'll have you an answer by this afternoon.'

“So we don't know if the show was [going ahead], whatever. And then, obviously, everything shut down, so the show was not a go. And they said, ‘So we're going to get back with you.' I remember me and Jeff [Hardy], we just wanted to drive home. I just wanted to get home and be with my dad, be with my family, because we didn't know. And everybody was like that. Shane [Helms] was like that. Nobody knew what was happening or what was coming … Everybody wanted to go home.”

Turning his attention to Vince McMahon, who pushed the show forward, Hardy called the former Chairman of the Board “fearless,” as lesser men would have been so bullish on going live, pal.

“Vince is a fearless human being. He wasn't afraid of stuff,” Hardy noted. “There were so many people that were just worried, like, ‘If we're the first big public gathering, does that make us a target?' I felt like that. It was very strange. I was very concerned and worried during that day, but Vince had his mind made up. He was like, ‘Nobody stops me, nobody stops World Wrestling Entertainment, and we're going to do the show, d**nit.'”

Would anyone have faulted WWE for taking the rest of the week off 22 years ago? No way; events around the country were being canceled out of an abundance of caution, as were flights and other methods by which WWE Superstars would travel from place to place. Still, much like Saturday Night Live, which was the most famous live television show after 9/11, Mr. McMahon deemed that the show must go on and gave the world some much-needed escapism when fans needed it most.

Matt Hardy reveals he almost had a match at All Out.

Elsewhere on his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, “Big Money Matt” commented on the current state of AEW following the one-two-three punch of All In, CM Punk's firing, and All Out in Chicago.

While Hardy wasn't featured on either of the late-summer Premium Live Events – though, interestingly enough, he was on-hand for a potential match in Chicago – he's proud to report that, in his very experienced opinion, the promotion is in a very “healthy and positive place.”

“Very positive. [Wednesday] was extremely positive. I was at All Out because there were talks of us possibly having a match, possibly doing a couple of things,” Matt Hardy said via Fightful. “It ended up we weren't needed for it so we were able to get home on Sunday night. I watched the majority of the show, and I was so proud of everyone on the roster. They killed it. They busted their a** and went out there and worked so hard and were so entertaining. It was such a good show, even though it was put together in the last week, but it was still a killer show. What a fantastic pro wrestling show. The vibe was great there that day. The vibe at Dynamite and Rampage was great as well. AEW is very healthy and in a positive place.”

Welp, there you go, folk; AEW is in a good place, and fans should stop worrying about it. The case, as they say, is closed.