Jeff Hardy was arrested last weekend and charged with three felonies, including driving under the influence, and that’s Jeff’s responsibility alone.
Since Hardy’s arrest, his third DUI within ten years, there’s been a discussion about who bears responsibility for his actions and how this arrest could have been prevented.
Many have said that Jeff’s brother Matt and wife Reby should have worked to stop Jeff from drinking, but the latter has hit back at these claims.
Reby Fires Back
On TikTok, Reby argued that she and Matt have done more than enough to try and limit Jeff’s proximity to alcohol in a scathing response to critics (via eWrestlingNews.)
“Oh, so you were there when I booked the event, right? And when I told the promoters to make sure there was no alcohol there and he was not served alcohol? You were there? And you were there when I was trying to make sure all night through the handlers that that was not happening? You were there when we walked into his hotel room that night, right? You were there. You know, because you were there? Oh, you weren’t there.”
“Short of having him sleep in between me and Matt, there’s really not much more I could have personally done.”
Reby Hardy
Hardy added that she will not be speaking about Jeff Hardy’s situation any further and that her brother-in-law is a fully-grown adult and responsible for his own actions, not her or Matt.
What’s next for Jeff?
In a statement issued on Twitter, AEW President Tony Khan confirmed that Jeff has been suspended from the company without pay.
Jeff will have to complete courses and prove his sobriety before Khan allows him to return to the ring.
Outside of wrestling, Jeff is facing some serious consequences for his actions, as this marks his third DUI arrest within ten years.
If convicted, Jeff could face a maximum five years in prison.
Jeff Hardy and those closest to him have been left reeling after the “Charismatic Enigma’s” latest arrest.
Last weekend, Hardy was pulled over and arrested in Volusia County, Florida, and faces three charges, including driving under the influence.
When a breath test was administered, Jeff blew an 0.294 on his first and 0.291 on his second, both well over the legal limit to drive a vehicle 0.08.
Jeff was said to be unsteady on his feet and at one point, officers had to pull their firearms on Hardy to get him to comply.
There’s been plenty of talk since Jeff’s most recent arrest, and now someone extremely close to the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion has weighed in.
Matt’s Statement
Taking to Twitter, Jeff’s older brother Matt said it was “disheartening” to hear about his brother’s most recent arrest.
Matt added that he will continue doing what he can to support Jeff and that being healthy and well is the most important thing for them and their families at this time.
It was disheartening to hear the news about my brother yesterday. Recovery isn’t a linear process & I’ll continue doing whatever I can to help my brother be healthy. Being healthy & well is the most important thing for Jeff, his wife, his children & our family at this time.
This situation is unfortunately not Jeff Hardy’s first run-in with the law.
In 2009, shortly after his departure from WWE, Hardy was arrested on charges of trafficking in controlled prescription pills and pled guilty the following year.
In September 2011, Hardy was sentenced to ten days in jail, 30 months of probation, and a fine of $100,000.
Years later, after returning to WWE, Hardy was arrested in July 2019 for public intoxication and arrested again three months later for driving under the influence.
The scene of Jeff Hardy’s recent DUI arrest is more frightening than many even realized.
Early Monday morning, the AEW star was arrested in Volusia County, Florida. He was charged with Driving While License Canceled/Suspended/Revoked, Violation of Restrictions Placed on Driver’s License, and DUI Alcohol/Drugs, his third offense within 10 Years.
Hardy’s BAC was nearly four times the legal limit.
Scary Jeff Hardy DUI Arrest Video
TMZ has released footage of Jeff’s recent arrest and it’s quite terrifying. Jeff seemingly wasn’t cooperating with three police officers, prompting all of them to pull out their firearms.
As of now, there has been no word on what actions AEW will take against Hardy. The company did remove advertising for a planned ladder match involving Jeff.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer also reported that WarnerMedia has told AEW to pull any advertising featuring Jeff Hardy.
Jeff Hardy was arrested and charged with DUI for a third time on early Monday morning.
Pwinsider.com reports the AEW star was bonded out of jail in Volusia County, Florida this evening at 7:07 PM paying a $3,500 bond. He is slated to appear in court on Tuesday at 1:30 PM.
Hardy has been charged with Driving While License Canceled/Suspended/Revoked, Violation of Restrictions Placed on Drivers License, and DUI Alcohol/Drugs Third Offense within 10 Years.
ESPN’s Marc Raimondi was able to get more information on Hardy’s arrest as a police officer observed a white car “swerving” and “running off” the roadway on Monday around 12:30 am. An officer made the traffic stop and noticed Hardy seemed to be “in a stupor and confused.”
As Hardy left his car, he was unsteady and smelled of alcohol and through conversations, the officer learned that Hardy had been drinking. Hardy was not able to complete the sobriety exercises successfully and his blood alcohol level read 0.294. While the second sample read 0.291. The legal limit to drive in Florida is .08, which means that he was over 3-times the legal limit.
It appears Jeff has been pulled from Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite where he and his brother Matt were scheduled to face The Young Bucks and Tag Team Champions Jurassic Express in a 3-way Ladder Match.
Jeff Hardy was arrested once again early Monday morning in Volusia County, Florida.
According to Volusia County jail records, Hardy has been charged with Driving While License Canceled/Suspended/Revoked, Violation of Restrictions Placed on Drivers License, and DUI Alcohol/Drugs Third Offense within 10 Years.
The DUI is a third degree felony, while the canceled/suspended/revoked license charges are second degree misdemeanors.
Additional details on Jeff Hardy’s latest arrest can be find here at the “Inmate Information” section of the Volusia County corrections website.
Hardy is scheduled to appear in front of a judge for his first hearing tomorrow, June 14 at 1:30pm.
Jeff Hardy’s BAC Almost 4x the Legal Limit
According to the arrest report (per Marc Raimondi of ESPN), Hardy’s car was seen swerving and running off the road. Hardy was said to be confused and “in a stupor.” Once he got out of his car for the field sobriety test, the officer on the scene notes that Hardy unsteady on his feet and smelled of alcohol.
Hardy admitted to drinking alcohol prior to getting behind the wheel and was unable to complete any of the field sobriety tests that were administered.
Hardy took a breathalyzer test and blew a 0.294. A second reading showed 0.291. The legal limit to drive in Florida is .08.
Ill-Fated Ladder Match
Jeff Hardy is schduled to compete on Wednesday’s “Road Rager” edition of AEW Dynamite.. The Hardys will challenge The Young Bucks and Jurassic Express in a 3-team Ladder Match for the AEW World Tag Team titles.
We’ll post an update when the Hardys are inevitably pulled from the match.
AEW’s Jeff Hardy has opened up about his experiences with WWE prior to his release last year.
In December 2021, Hardy was cut from the company after refusing to enter rehab following a concerning performance at a WWE Live event.
The event saw Hardy flee through the crowd after being tagged into his match and he did not return for the rest of the show.
All tests carried out later determined that Hardy had no substances in his body that caused this behavior.
Three months prior to his release, Jeff was involved in a segment chasing the 24/7 Championship which led to a backlash among fans who thought he deserved better.
Speaking on Talk Is Jericho, Jeff discussed feeling “ashamed” when he was added to the chase for the 24/7 Championship.
“I was pretty crushed that day, I was like, ‘Okay, this is it, I don’t know why I am here, they’re really doing this to me,’” Jeff said. “That’s not an arrogant thing to say … I shouldn’t be doing that, but I did it and I was like, ‘Man, what does this mean?’”
Jeff Hardy
Jeff did not win the 24/7 Championship during his time in the division which only made fans angrier about the situation.
Despite feeling ashamed to be involved in the 24/7 title hunt, Jeff said that he still believes he is “easy to work with” and will “do pretty much whatever.”
Jeff joined AEW in March 2022 despite WWE’s best efforts to lure him back once his drug tests came back negative.
Hardy turned down an offer to return and WWE Hall of Fame induction, believing he should be inducted alongside his brother Matt.
Tony Khan is very different from any other promotor in the history of wrestling. There is no surprise in the fact that Jeff Hardy didn’t recognize him to be the owner of AEW when he first met him. This was before he decided to join the company.
The Hardy Boyz both recently appeared on an episode of Talk Is Jericho. They discussed things such as Jeff’s time in WWE, the manner of his release, and more.
Speaking of his AEW debut, Jericho asked the Charismatic Enigma about his first impression of Khan. Hardy said that it was an incredible experience:
It Was An Incredible Experience: Jeff Hardy
“I loved it from the first [meeting]. I actually met him at Ric Flair’s anniversary party like a long time ago. I had no idea who he was.” recalled Jeff Hardy, “But then when he said ‘Yeah, I own this company called AEW. [I was like] ‘Oh wow, it’s crazy.’
We had a great time and the first impression was an incredible experience. Just getting to know him and now actually working for him it’s just [incredible]. I mean it’s exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
Apart from this, the duo also talked about things such as their reunion after Jeff Hardy’s WWE departure, dream matches, and more.
Jeff Hardy has opened up on turning the WWE Hall Of Fame down.
Hardy was recently a guest on fellow All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Chris Jericho’s podcast, “Talk Is Jericho,” to discuss a plethora of professional wrestling topics.
One of those topics being Hardy turning down the WWE Hall of Fame.
The former WWE Champion explained that he doesn’t want to go into the Hall of Fame without his brother, Matt Hardy.
“Well, first of all, I don’t want to go in there without my brother and it’s not my time. This is too early. This is crazy. So yeah, it was very emotional.
“I was like, ‘What are they trying to do because naturally, I’m going to be reunited with my brother in AEW when I’m free of WWE.’
“I told my wife what had happened. I said, ‘I can’t believe what they just offered me.’ So it was very emotional, but I happily declined it.”
Jeff and Matt Hardy broke into the business together in 1998 when they were signed by WWE. They quickly emerged as fan favorites in the tag team division with their wild and unpredictable styles inside the ring.
Together, The Hardys have won nine Tag Team Titles under the WWE banner. They’re undoubtedly considered one of the greatest tag teams in professional wrestling history.
However, Jeff Hardy himself was able to accomplish quite a bit as a singles competitor as well. Under the WWE banner, Jeff captured three World Titles, five Intercontinental Titles, and a United States Title win as well.
Now, he’s signed with AEW, back alongside his brother Matt, and could potentially add even more accolades to their legacies with the young promotion.
The Hardy Boys took on The Young Bucks at DoN this past Sunday night and fans weren’t exactly left with an instant classic. In fact, many felt that Jeff look quite lethargic throughout the match.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer is reporting that Jeff Hardy was a “mess” going into that match. It’s been said that Jeff’s Owen Hart Cup quarterfinals match with Darby Allin really did a number on him.
At one point in the match with Darby, Jeff went for a Swanton Bomb but Darby got out of the way and Jeff’s back landed right on the stairs.
Many have grown concerned with Jeff Hardy’s use in AEW.
Approaching the age of 45 in late August, Jeff is still allowed to do high spots that many agree he should not be doing at this point in his career.
It’s become quite clear that The Hardy Boys have been pulling out their greatest hits collection since they know this is their final run.
Both Jeff Hardy and Adam Cole have been removed from a match they were previously supposed to take part in during the upcoming June 1 episode of Dynamite.
AEW had announced during last night’s Double Or Nothing PPV that The Undisputed Elite will be competing in a 10 men tag team match on Wednesday’s show.
They had confirmed that Jeff and Matt Hardy will be teaming up with Christian Cage and the AEW tag team champions Jurassic Express to face Adam Cole and company in this bout.
However, the company posted an updated graphic for the bout on Monday. In the tweet as seen below, both Hardy and Cole have been removed from the promotional image:
This match is now advertised as an 8-man tag
The team of Jeff and Matt Hardy took on The Young Bucks in a dream match during the Double Or Nothing PPV. The Hardys picked up the win in this tag team match.
Adam Cole on the other hand, competed in the finals of the Owen Hart Cup Tournament against Samoa Joe. He defeated the current ROH TV champion to win the tournament.
There is no word yet on why either of these names were removed from the match. It’s possible that one of them may not have been cleared to compete and the other was simply removed to balance things out.
Back in 2008, Jeff Hardy’s house burned down and his dog died as a result. Matt told reporters that he initially thought his brother was a goner but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
WWE decided to use this as a storyline on TV with Matt acting as if he started the fire.
“This Is In Poor Taste”
Speaking to Freddie Prinze Jr. on Wrestling With Freddie, Matt Hardy looked back on the uncomfortable angle (h/t WrestlingNews.co).
“That was an event that was so tragic and so sad. Literally, his house burned down. All the old tights and all his old gear were lost in the fire.
“His dog died. It was a really traumatic event for him. Just for them to put that in our storyline was almost like it was in bad taste. I’ll never forget them burning a dog collar and then I held the dog collar.
“I remember saying, ‘I don’t know. I mean, I’ll do it. If this is what you guys want me to do, I’ll do it. But like, this could be too much.’ I could just feel the air coming out of the crowd. It’s not that they were mad at me because I’m playing the bad guy in the story. They were mad at me because this is in poor taste. So that’s how it felt.”
Jeff chimed in and said that he was irate when WWE management tried getting him “fired up” over the angle. He was shown a video package featuring his dog and nearly burst into tears.
He felt there was a complete disregard for how he was feeling following the tragic event.
Jeff Hardy thinks there’s a story to be told between himself and CM Punk in All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Hardy and Punk feuded with one another over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship back in 2009. This was Hardy’s final feud before his contract expired, and he’d eventually sign with TNA.
Now, over a decade later, both Hardy and Punk find themselves competing on the same brand again. This time, with AEW. Hardy and Punk’s rivalry was an extremely entertaining one, and fans would surely love to see it continue over on AEW TV.
Speaking on a recent appearance on the “Wrestling With Freddie” podcast, Hardy talked about a “moment” between himself and Punk on AEW TV that is likely inevitable.
“[Winning the World Championship] was like a little boy’s dream come true, man. God, and then to do it over and over again. One of my favorite things, as far as being the World Champion, was working with CM Punk.
“It’s so crazy that we’re in the same company now and there’s a huge moment between me and Punk. It’s going to come, I’m sure.
“I think there’s a huge moment, just in the hallway, like me and Matt beat The Young Bucks or whatever at whatever pay-per-view is coming up, or whatever happens, but then we run into him, and me and punk just have a face-off.”
For now, Hardy and Punk are on different paths in their respective AEW journeys. Punk is actually gearing up to face Hangman Page for the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) World Championship.
They’ll go head-to-head at the Double Or Nothing pay-per-view (PPV) on May 29. Perhaps once Punk’s feud with Page comes to a close an opportunity to work against Hardy will present itself.
Matt Hardy doesn’t know how much time he and his brother have left in the ring.
The Hardys are one of the most iconic tag teams in the history of the business. Before The Young Bucks, Matt and Jeff took the wrestling world by storm as the brothers with tremendous in-ring chemistry.
The two also found singles success as well. They are back teaming together again but perhaps on borrowed time.
Time Running Out On The Hardys?
(via AEW)
During an edition of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, Matt told fans that if they want to see him and his brother perform live they should do so as soon as possible (h/t Wrestling Inc).
“Jeff loves it here in AEW and we think this is going to be where we end our in-ring careers, here in AEW. We do want to go around the indie scene and work as many things as we can.
“We want to cement our legacy as one of the greatest tag teams ever.
“That’s very important to us and when we say final run, we’re assuming as a tag team that we are going to wrestle out the rest of our careers here at AEW and also do some indies and stuff. I don’t know how long this is going to last.
“Hopefully, it lasts for a while, but it’s also motivation that if we’re going to be in your town at some local promotion, a territory, it’s a good opportunity to come out and see us because I don’t know how many more of these we’re going to do.
“We’re going to do as many as we can until we can’t do anymore.”
Matt made his AEW debut back in March 2020. At the time, Jeff was still under contract with WWE. After being released by WWE over a house show incident, Jeff made his way to AEW earlier this year.
Jeff made the save after Matt was attacked by the AFO. The two have been teaming ever since and many feel dream matches are being made as soon as possible given that time may be running out on the stellar careers of both men.
Matt Hardy has looked back at the time Michael Hayes pitched a cinematic match long before they were cool.
When Matt made the transition to his “Broken” character, it took on a life of its own. Matt made it cool to do cinematic-style matches. What’s interesting is, he was close to having a cinematic match long before he started the “Broken” gimmick.
Cinematic Match Pitched
During a recent edition of The Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy, Matt reflected on the time Michael Hayes pitched a cinematic match between The Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian (via Fightful).
“Michael was a very out-of-the-box thinker. He was trying to think of things that would be different and original and unique and he did pitch something that was very similar to that. I wonder how that would have turned out if we’d had done it at that stage in our career.
“Because we’re very different performers. We were definitely thinking more about work rate than the actual work of telling a story and being character performers, so I don’t know.
“It would have been an interesting scenario because Vince, he takes these things so seriously, and that’s why I took a different approach to The Final Deletion.
“I didn’t want this thing to be looked at as too serious because at the end of the day, wrestling, it’s these people that are amazing athletes, they get in a ring and go have a 15 or 20-minute match, especially with all these unique spots and whatnot. But still, it’s entertainment at the end of the day, and we can’t lose track of that.”
Matt and Jeff are currently on the AEW roster along with Christian. Edge works for the WWE banner after he had been retired for years due to an injury. Hayes remains behind the scenes in WWE.
Wrestling legend Gangrel spoke with SEScoops Ella Jay this week to promote his return to Major League Wrestling (MLW). The Attitude Era star competed on this week’s episode of MLW Fusion, which you can catch on YouTube.
During the half-hour conversation, Gangrel spoke about a wide variety of topics. In this installment of our write-up, we’re focusing on The Brood.
The Brood was a faction in WWE during the beloved Attitude Era. Led by Gangrel, the Brood helped introduce Edge and Christian to the WWE Universe. A later incarnation, The New Brood, saw Gangrel paired with Matt and Jeff Hardy.
The Brood remains popular to this day, as evidenced by Edge busting out the Brood entrance and “Brood Baths” in some of his recent feuds. Gangrel would have been down for a surprise Rumble appearance and a Brood reunion in WWE, but gave a surprising (and disappointing) reason why it never happened.
Here’s our half-hour interview with Gangrel, with some highlights below:
“People Won’t Remember The Brood”
Last year, Christian reunited with Edge at the Royal Rumble. This year, fans were hoping that Gangrel would make an appearance at the Rumble to continue the Brood nostalgia tour.
Gangrel says he’d speak to Edge about reuniting the Brood in WWE, but Edge didn’t think Vince McMahon would be on board.
“No, I would talk to Edge, he would tell me that he didn’t believe Vince McMahon believed people will remember The Brood, let alone myself.”
– Gangrel on a Brood reunion in WWE
Over the past year, Edge has paid homage the Brood several times, including for special entrances and for unleashing “Brood Baths” on his enemies.
Edge’s Brood entrances were always a hit with WWE fans, but he really had to work hard in order to convince Vince McMahon that it was worth doing.
“[Vince is] very set on certain things, so [Edge] told me he had to work like two and a half months to get the music to be able to do a ‘Broodbath,’ not a bloodbath because the networks wouldn’t have blood,” Gangrel continued.
“He did that for two and a half months and and he said he was trying to work it all out. He said he did it pay homage to The Brood and myself and all that he was super happy about it.”
Gangrel said he actually had an AEW appearance lined up at one point that would have included an elaborate entrance, but that got derailed.
“And then when I told [Edge] ‘Yeah well…’ He was like, so excited to tell me on that Monday, and I go ‘Well… I was supposed to do AEW that Wednesday, they were gonna do the whole entrance and everything.’ But it just trended so much that it was just like forget it. So that was a bummer one way, but in another way it was just great to see Adam, Edge come out to that and then it cut and go to his music. It was just really, really cool and I was super happy for him and honored and flattered.”
Watch Edge’s Brood entrance from WWE Day 1 (1.1.22)
Memories of Working with the Hardys, The New Brood
Gangrel spoke fondly about working with Matt and Jeff Hardy in the early years of their careers.
“Yeah, well, a lot of people ask me what was my favorite Brood, The New Brood or the old Brood. I always say older with Christian and Edge because for one, we’re the original. We were working the Hardys and we had a program with them. I always love wrestling the Hardys. I personally love wrestling Matt Hardy because he’s a thumper. He’ll get in there and he’ll mix it up. Matt Hardy is a bit harder and tougher than people think.
I remember Michael Hayes would drive those poor guys crazy. I hope that I didn’t drive Christian and Edge as crazy as Michael Hayes did with his old school banter like ‘It’s my dime and it’s my time’ and stuff like that.
They’re just great guys. I’ve known them since, I don’t know, like since they were 16-17? I think we were all floating around doing extra work and different stuff for WWF whenever they came to the South. So I’ve known them for a long time. They’re just tremendous guys. Jeff’s super laidback, Matt’s more always intense about the business stuff. I’m super super happy for them.”
Gangrel also revealed that he’s going to be wrestling against The Hardy Boyz somewhere in Virginia soon. It will be Gangrel and Joey Janela (the “The New New Brood”) against The Hardys (“The Old New Brood”).
Gangrel with The Hardys
Steve Austin’s Input on Theme Music
The Brood’s theme music is legendary (you can listen below) and really set the tone for the group’s image. Gangrel shared a cool story about “Stone Cold” Steve Austin giving him advice about the importance of entrance music.
“…One time Steve Austin asked me, ‘What do you like about you like your music?’ The music that I had with the Brood. I go, ‘I could walk to it.’ And he goes, ‘That’s the key thing, you really want to become one with your entrance music. You really want to get that groove and that vibe and be able to gel with that coming out to get a feel.’
MLW’s two next shows are scheduled for WrestleMania weekend, at Gilley’s in Dallas, TX. If you’re in town, visit MLWTix.com for ticket information.
Jeff Hardy wasn’t clued in on AEW lacking writers.
For some former WWE stars, the adjustment from the Vince McMahon-led empire to a promotion such as AEW can take some time getting used to. We’ve seen Bryan Danielson admit that he enjoyed working with the writers in WWE and had to get used to having more freedom in his segments and matches.
Jeff Hardy Didn’t Get The Memo
Matt Hardy spoke to Under The Ring and he said that Jeff had no idea that AEW didn’t have writers ahead of his promotional debut on the March 9 episode of Dynamite (h/t Wrestling Inc).
“AEW is on a higher platform than a Ring of Honor or TNA. Especially with their television deal, which is lovely and is fantastic to have, and here, just being able to have input and help control your own destiny, it’s just an amazing feeling.
“Like my brother when he came in yesterday, or last week and we were talking about the segment I was doing with Andrade, he was like ‘oh, you know, do the writers have it how they want this to go?’ ‘Dude, there’s no writers here. They don’t have writers in AEW, that doesn’t happen. Literally, there’s a segment and this is kind of outline of what they’re thinking, and then you put the meat on the bone. You and your crew.’ And that’s what we did.”
The Hardys are involved in a feud with the Andrade Family Office. This began when Andrade kicked Matt out of his own faction. Andrade, along with other members of the AFO attacked Matt before Darby Allin and Sting hit the ring.
The numbers game was too great until Jeff Hardy made a surprise appearance and cleaned house.
The Hardys, Matt and Jeff, shared memories of working with Hall on the latest episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast.
Matt Hardy began by saying it’s extremely sad how Scott Hall’s death seemingly came out of left field. It is difficult to make sense of things when somebody passes away unexpectedly, but Matt feels that it’s important to make the most of each day. The Hardys have always “lived for the moment” but Hall’s passing is a reminder that you never really know how much time you have left in life.
Matt told host Jon Alba that Scott Hall was good to the Hardys when they worked together in the early days of their WWE careers.
“Scott was very cool to us,” he said. “We had a lot of good fun stories with him. I’ll never forget the second day I was with WWE, obviously the first day Jeff wrestled him, he was 16 years old and it was under very strange circumstances where the match was very frustrating with Scott Hall because the guy he was supposed to wrestle said he couldn’t take his finish. He was a little frustrated wrestling with Jeff and that ended up working in Jeff’s favor because he formed a little bond with him after that.”
Matt continued, “The next night, I was wrestling with him and I remember he said, ‘When I’m in the corner, poke me in the eyes, give me three or four chops, I’ll turn around and give you some,’ and I got two really good ones in that rang out loud in the arena. I hit a second one and he stopped me right then and there and turned me around and said, ‘Easy kid, you had two really good ones, I couldn’t let you outshine me out there though.’”
Jeff Hardy Remembers Scott Hall
Jeff Hardy says Razor Ramon was a huge inspiration on their careers. However, that match against Hall had him reconsidering his love for pro wrestling.
Not only were the WWE rings “terrible” back then (very stiff to take bumps on), but Scott Hall also roughed him up a bit.
“Even that first match, and that hard-ass WWE ring back in the day, you had to be like Andre the Giant to make it move, it was terrible,” said Jeff. “Him being real stiff and roughing me up, I totally second-guessed my love for pro wrestling. ‘I don’t know if I’m cut out to do this.’ I didn’t like it, I didn’t like that match at all, it really hurt. It wasn’t fun.”
That first match against Razor was tough, but he remembers Scott Hall took him under his wing and looked out for him behind the scenes.
“Then moving forward Scott Hall was so kind because he thought I looked like Vanilla Ice, and the Kliq started calling me Ice and I’ll never forget one time he told Pat Patterson, I was like 16 or 17 too, ‘Let’s get this kid on the road, get him seasoned.’ I’m not even legal yet. There’s something very special to what he saw, he saw my future through whatever it was and he believed in us every step of the way, and that’s rare, man.”
Jeff Hardy is now All Elite and he and Darby Allin have already gotten to meet each other.
Hardy made his AEW debut on the March 9 episode of Dynamite. Jeff saved his brother, Matt, along with Darby and Sting from a beatdown at the hands of the Andrade Family Office. After Jeff cleaned house, he and Matt had a lengthy staredown with Darby and Sting.
“It was so cool meeting him. We talked about skateboarding, motocross, he showed me the thing he did for the video with the car, like this is so cool. We were talking about if a pro wrestler has ever backflipped a dirt bike and maybe you could be the first one.
“I think I could do it if I came into a foam pit and had some training. Yeah, we had a great conversation about extreme sports and he is one of the fastest guys I’ve ever seen. The way he does that suicide dive.
“Matt’s told me how it feels to take it, it’s like a bullet coming at you.”
On the March 23 episode of Dynamite, Matt and Jeff will team with Darby and Sting to take on The Blade, The Butcher, and Private Party.
Jeff Hardy wasn’t sure that his AEW debut will be happening on the post-Revolution Dynamite until last minute. This was because he leaked news of his AEW commitment.
Speaking of his debut, Jeff mentioned how he thought it would be delayed because of his viral video. He said that he didn’t even know his flight schedule the day before:
“I was crazy nervous that whole day. It was so bizarre, the night before, I had no idea what time my flight would be, if I was going. I kept telling myself, ‘they’re probably going to wait until next week because [of the video]'”
Jeff Hardy then revealed that he learned on the morning of March 9 that the plans were still on. Matt Hardy explained that Tony Khan couldn’t speak to Jeff in an official capacity until the day of his debut:
“Tony (Khan) wasn’t going to speak to him until his contract was totally done. We were planting the seeds of me turning babyface and being able to re-team with Jeff at some point in the future, there wasn’t a set time of when it would happen for sure.”
Matt Hardy noted last week that he has extended his contract with AEW. Later in the episode, he revealed that his brother was offered the same deal by Tony Khan.
Jeff Hardy’s high publicized exit from WWE made a lot of headlines last year. It started with Hardy walking out of a live event mid-match and being sent home as a result. The WWE officials then offered him rehab and the former world champion was released from his contract when he refused.
There was a lot of confusion about the incident at the time. Matt Hardy had said that his brother would explain his side of the story when the time comes. The charismatic enigma finally opened up about it on The Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy.
Hardy first claimed that certain things happen for a reason. He believes that he was guided by something higher than him:
“Certain things happen for a reason. Subconsciously, that was maybe the smartest thing I’ve ever done, guided by something higher than me, I’ll say. The best way I can describe my journey the last few months in WWE was like ‘glimmers of hope, maybe I still do have something.’”
Jeff Hardy explained that he had some glimmers of hope at times during his run in WWE. Though there were other times when he wondered why was he even with the company. Per Hardy, he didn’t feel important in the promotion anymore:
“That night in Edinburg, Texas, I finished my heat, I took the heat, and I said, ‘I’m ready to go’. Went over the rail, disappeared into the crowd. Naturally, they think I took something like drugs or whatever, but I didn’t. If I was that bad, I should have never went out there, that’s the way I see it.
I thought, ‘Just another unpredictable thing I can do and I’ll get away with it’. It was more serious than that. Again, it was one of the smartest things I’ve ever done because everything worked out so perfectly, mainly because my first day in AEW, I felt valuable for the first time.”
The former champion claimed that he gets chills thinking about the care and love he was shown in AEW. In WWE, he felt like they just wanted to keep him there to sell action figures. He also mentioned how he is excited about having his first action figure with face paint in AEW.
The Hardys will make their AEW in-ring debut as a team on tonight’s St. Patrick’s Slam edition of AEW Dynamite. They’ll battle Private Party’s Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen.
This will be Matt and Jeff’s first time teaming together on national television in three years. AEW President Tony Khan booked the match after Private Party’s shocking betrayal of Matt last week.
In a press release sent in to SEScoops, Khan was quoted saying:
“It was incredible to hear the huge pop from the crowd when the Hardys’ music hit, and to see Jeff Hardy reunited with Matt at AEW: Dynamite last week was an amazing moment for fans around the world.”
“Jeff Hardy transcends time and is associated with some of wrestling’s most iconic moments. Reuniting the Hardys and bringing their encyclopedia of experience to AEW will give fans another exciting chapter in Matt and Jeff’s storied legacy in wrestling. Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen turning on Matt Hardy, a wrestler they grew up idolizing, is a betrayal that cuts deep, and now Isiah and Marq will face the brothers who inspired their careers. This will be a battle of two of the most innovative tag teams today – Private Party vs. Matt and Jeff Hardy tonight on AEW: Dynamite.”
AEW St. Patrick’s Day Slam 2022 Preview
AEW is advertising the following items for AEW Dynamite:
Steel Cage Match: Britt Baker defends the AEW Women’s World Championship against Thunder Rosa
Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley vs. Chuck Taylor and Wheeler Yuta.
Hangman Page & Jurassic Express vs. Adam Cole and reDRagon
Wardlow challenges new TNT Champion Scorpio Sky
The Jericho Appreciation Society has their official “commencement”
Check out the latest AEW Control Center for an exclusive look at the two big title matches scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day Slam:
Wrestling legend Jeff Hardy made a big return to the national wrestling scene this past week. Months after being let go by WWE, the Mysterious Enigma made a shocking debut on Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite.
The Hardys are back together. Matt and Jeff, one of the most decorated tag teams in wrestling history, have embarked on a reunion tour.
Jeff Hardy did a virtual appearance this week on Facebook for Signed by Superstars and fielded a bunch of questions from fans. Hardy spoke about his favorite matches, his favorite feud and named his “Wrestling Mt. Rushmore.”
Here are some highlights of what Jeff Hardy said about:
Jeff Hardy’s Best Matches:
Matt and Jeff Hardy are known for many things, but they are probably best known for their legendary TLC matches in WWE. It should come as no surprise that these are among Jeff’s favorite matches.
“Probably all TLC matches,” Hardy said.
As for his solo career, his World title ladder match match against The Undertaker from 2002 sticks with him to this day.
“Solo wise, myself versus The Undertaker for the World Title,” he said.
His Wrestling Mt. Rushmore:
We always like to hear who popular wrestlers name as their personal “Mt. Rushmore.”
When asked about his personal Mt. Rushmore of professional wrestling, Jeff Hardy named Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan.
That’s a diverse group, with HBK & Mysterio representing the athletic, innovative style that Hardy became famous for, while Flair and Hogan are the larger-than-life figures from the era Hardy grew up watching.
His Favorite Feud:
Jeff Hardy has been wrestling on national television since the mid-1990’s, so he’s competed against multiple generations of wrestlers.
To be Jeff Hardy’s favorite feud is quite an honor. Jeff says his matches against the late Umaga hold a special place in his heart.
“Favorite feud of all time,” Hardy said about working with Umaga.
Sting and Darby Allin ran out to make the save, but they were out numbered. The former WWE star came out to the classic Hardy Boyz music to clear the ring and hit a Swanton Bomb.
Ever since he was released by WWE, AEW has been the most likely place where he would end up as it’s the second biggest promotion in the United States, and his brother, Matt, works for the company.
Last December, Hardy was released in December following a situation at a live event where he teamed with Drew McIntyre and King Xavier Woods where he looked sluggish before the match and left in the middle of the match through the crowd.
Once Hardy turned down WWE’s offer for help to go to rehab, the company released him. WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis called Hardy to get him back, which included an offer to put him in the 2022 Hall of Fame class. He turned down the offer and asked for the results from his drug test, which took six weeks to get back.
Hardy stated in an interview last month that he was headed to AEW and excited about it only to have to walk back those comments by stating on Twitter that nothing had been signed yet as Hardy was still under contract with WWE. If Hardy didn’t dismiss what he said then it could be viewed as proof of AEW tampering with a contracted WWE star as his non-compete clause didn’t expire until March 9th.
Jeff Hardy is now a free agent and able to work anywhere he wants. The former WWE Champion was released from the company back in December.
WWE recently tried luring Jeff Hardy back with the promise of a Hall of Fame induction. However, he declined that offer because it would have been a solo induction and he won’t go into the WWE Hall of Fame without his brother.
Over the weekend, Fightful noted that Jeff Hardy is scheduled to attend tonight’s AEW Dynamite. AEW has already begun dropping hints that Jeff Hardy is coming in, so it’s probably only a matter of time before “Jeff Hardy is All Elite.”
Jeff Hardy recently confirmed that he’s AEW bound, but later walked back those comments (“Nothing is official”), since he was legally prohibited from negotiating with AEW until his WWE non-compete clause expired.
Matt and Jeff Hardy will be reuniting as The Hardy Boyz at two live events this weekend:
This Saturday (3/12), The Hardy Boyz are wrestling in Webster, MA for Big Time Wrestling. They’ll face either The SAT or The Briscoes.
On Sunday (3/13), the Hardy Boyz come to Albany, NY. They’ll face Matt Cardona and Brian Myers for Big Time Wrestling.
Jeff Hardy has walked back his recent comments about his pro wrestling future as he says he’s not going to AEW, just yet.
On Wednesday, an interview with Hardy came out where he stated that he’s going to AEW and he’s excited about it. The former WWE star posted the following statement on Twitter where he claimed his comments were taken out of context and nothing is official yet:
“Nothing is official, http://SocialMedia.It can’t be right now. I’ve simply set a goal for myself & I will achieve it…eventually? The main thing is, Don’t get excited!”
Hardy’s “official” remark is in reference to his non-compete clause still being in play as he cannot sign anywhere else until the 90-day clause runs out on March 9 following his WWE release on December 9th.
It should be noted that POST Wrestling later reported that the interviewer, Jared Myers, told them that Hardy was very clear in stating he would be going to AEW when the non-compete expires, but not that he had signed a contract yet.
In recent weeks, Matt Hardy has addressed his brother’s status now that he’s no longer with WWE. Matt has stated you can “never say never” about seeing the Hardys back together in AEW. The brothers have already lined up several independent dates including at Big Time Wrestling’s live event on March 12.
