Matt Hardy shares his thoughts on Jeff Hardy‘s potential return.
Jeff was released by WWE in December 2021, and he subsequently landed in AEW. He subsequently debuted on the March 9 episode of AEW in 2022, where he reunited with Matt. The duo had a prominent run in AEW, and they also worked several independent shows, until Jeff was arrested for DUI on June 13. He was subsequently suspended indefinitely by AEW. At the time, AEW CEO Tony Khan stated that Jeff would only be able to return to AEW upon completing treatment and maintaining his sobriety.
Speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, Matt reflected on Jeff’s arrival in AEW and their run together on the independent scene. When asked whether he thought it may have been too much too soon for Jeff, the older Hardy brother stated that, in hindsight, he agreed.
“Yeah. Looking back in hindsight, it may have been too much for Jeff. Of course, once again, I wasn’t with him on a daily basis before then. I was with him on a daily basis during these weekends, and it probably was overwhelming for him. Looking back in hindsight, I probably wish I would have changed and done like two weekends a month, maybe. Because we went real hard and heavy. I thought he was in a real good state, and I thought he could handle it, but looking back in hindsight, I would have changed it, and I would have made it lighter.
Co-host Jon Alba pointed out that Jeff’s free agency opened the door for the brothers to work together on the independent scene for the first time in over five years. Matt responded by stating that they were planning on doing independent shows, even if Jeff didn’t come to AEW. He also noted that the plan had been to turn him babyface anyway, as veterans like him have a lot of value, given their equity.
“It was cool we were doing that, and even if he hadn’t shown up at AEW, we were still gonna be doing that regardless. Part of also the mindset, we were gonna turn me babyface anywhere. There’s so many people that don’t understand the value in guys like myself and Jericho, whoever it may be. Jericho’s really a top-leave guy when it comes to world champion and legend and icon. But every time I’d come out, even as a heel, once I did entertaining stuff as ‘Big Money’ Matt, I was always getting cheered, and I still do. Every single week I come out, there’s people in that building that grew up with me, and they cheer me, and they know me. I’ve been on TV almost 25 years straight, and a lot of that [is] major, global TV. There’s so many smart fans that are so critical, that are so entitled. ‘Can Matt Hardy move? Can Matt Hardy do all the same things he could 25 years ago?’ Of course not. Reality, Father Time changes all of us as we get older. But is Matt Hardy still someone who contributes to a wrestling brand, and someone who wrestling fans want to pay money to see or share and have an experience with? Of course. So I was going to turn babyface anyway.
Matt then emphasized the value that he and Jeff bring to the industry as a duo, as they are one of the most influential tag teams of all time. He emphasized his gratitude for their success and stated that there’s still a lot they can to do give back to the business.
“Then once we did determine Jeff was gonna come to AEW and was going to sign a AEW contract, which happened after his segment that night [when he debuted], dude, when you get the Hardy Boyz together, we’re very blessed to have been one of the most influential tag teams in history,” Matt said. “There is so much damn equity in Matt and Jeff Hardy together, it’s just unreal. There’s so much we can do to give back while still benefiting ourselves on a national level, like an AEW or a WWE or IMPACT or ROH or wherever, anywhere.
“We’re a big deal, and some people don’t understand that, but we are because we’ve been blessed, and we’ve been gifted with so many hours of television time, and we’re known all over the globe. So we’re really blessed. That’s why The Hardy Boyz are still around guys, and I’m sorry if you hate us and you don’t like seeing us on your TV screen, but that’s why we’re still around. Now that I feel like Jeff is in a good space and feels good about where he’s at in life, if he ends up coming back, I feel like there’s still a lot of positive things we can really, really do to make great contributions to the industry.”
When asked whether his gut says Jeff is going to come back, Matt stated that he thinks his brother wants to return and redeem himself. He made it clear that he believes Jeff will appear on AEW TV again, but he doesn’t know in what capacity that could potentially happen/
“My gut thinks he wants to,” Matt said. “My gut thinks he wants to redeem himself. It’s not gonna be instantaneous. Once again, we haven’t talked about stuff, and he’s taking care of some physical issues that he’s been dealing with right now.
“I don’t think we’ve seen Jeff appear on AEW television for the last time. I think we’ll see it again. In what capacity, I’m not sure of that right now, I can’t speak [to that]. But I do think he wants to redeem himself. I think that’s very important to him. He’s looking for redemption.”
In March, Jeff’s DUI case was marked closed. More information is available here.
Matt recently stated that Jeff has committed himself to getting better, and he’s ready to begin anew.
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