After months of speculation, Jeff Hardy has confirmed that he is headed to AEW.
Hardy was released by WWE back in December after a well-publicized incident at a house show where he exited a match early by leaving through the crowd. Due to his release from WWE, Hardy has a non-compete that is in effect until March 9th. At that point, he will be free to sign with another wrestling company.
Hardy has been rumored to be joining his brother Matt in AEW, though no reports have officially confirmed these rumors. Well, Jeff himself appears to have now confirmed the reports. Speaking with Jared Myers, Hardy declared recently at one of his concerts that he is “going to AEW.”
“I’m going to AEW,” Jeff Hardy said. “I’m so excited, until this morning I didn’t really know…. I’m so nervous and excited.”
Despite Hardy’s release from WWE in December, WWE recently offered Hardy the opportunity to return at be inducted into this year’s Hall of Fame class. However, Hardy declined the offer.
AEW Hinted at Jeff Hardy Arrival Previously
During the February 9th edition of AEW Dynamite, a pretty obvious nod was made in Hardy’s direction during the Keith Lee vs. Isiah Kassidy match. During the bout, Matt Hardy abandoned Kassidy by jumping the ringside guard rail and exiting through the crowd. The story was he was frustrated by another poor outing from one of his proteges.
However, the reference to Jeff came with how Matt exited the ringside area. This was exactly what Jeff Hardy did during his final match with WWE at a house show in Edinburg, Texas back in early December.
Tony Schiavone even overtly made reference to that incident on commentary during Dynamite, saying it was an “erratic” move. Reports at the time of Hardy’s WWE departure mentioned his behavior as being “erratic.” His brother Matt referenced this during a Twitch stream in January when he came to his brother’s defense, noting that WWE “may have jumped the gun” with Jeff’s release.
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