His first major feud as the champion was against Matt Hardy, whom he started claiming to be better than at everything, after defeating him at The Great American Bash. When MVP was legitimately diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, it was written into the storyline, with MVP blaming the condition for his losing an arm wrestling match against Hardy. When MVP was given an interview segment during "SmackDown!", the "VIP Lounge", it was used to bow out of a scheduled boxing match at "Saturday Night's Main Event XXXV"—with Evander Holyfield replacing him, and eventually punching out MVP during the bout. On the August 24 episode of "SmackDown!", MVP bragged to General Manager Theodore Long that he was so good, he could win the WWE Tag Team Championship with anybody, prompting Long to grant him a championship match alongside the next person who entered the room, who turned out to be Matt Hardy. The following week, MVP and Hardy won the WWE Tag Team Championship from Deuce 'n Domino, making MVP a double champion. MVP and Hardy's contentious relationship had them competing with each other in various ways while MVP proclaimed himself "Captain" of the team. In the months coming, MVP started getting along better with Hardy, including helping him defeat Finlay on the October 19 episode of "SmackDown!".