Arguably the most surprising storyline to come out of SummerSlam weekend wasn't WWE's decision to split up the Judgment Day, having Bron Breakker become the IC Champion in a relatively meh match against Sami Zayn, or even the return of Roman Reigns, but instead the return of the Hardy Boyz, Jeff and Matt Hardy, who were in Cleveland to do… something for the promotion during the “biggest party of the summer.”
But what was it? Did the brothers sign a new deal? Were they simply invited to the show as fans? Or was this the early conversations of a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame, which the Hardyz certainly deserve?
Well, on his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, “Big Money” Matt finally spilled the beans, and needless to say, the answer is very interesting indeed.
“As soon as we got to Cleveland, we were met by a WWE driver who picked us up, took us to the WWE TV Hotel where we went and we recorded some media, some digital for those guys, which is going to air on some other platforms coming up in the future. It was very cool. It was very cool to interact with a lot of the guys. We walked in. The first person we saw was Jey Uso, which was cool. I saw a couple of the other boys, saw a lot of the office, and interacted with them some, and we filmed this bit. We've got some really neat stuff that's going to be coming out on WWE digital here over the course of probably the next three, four, or five months,” Hardy revealed via WrestleZone.
“We spoke to people in production, and they said they would like to do more of this going forward. I said, ‘We would love to as well.' I think for Jeff, it was a real big deal to be there and talk to some of the people because he felt bad about the way he left, he felt bad about stuff he'd done at AEW when he got in trouble, and just to kind of clear the air and let them see where he's at in life right now.
“That was a big deal to him, I think, so that was really cool, and I was really happy that he got that. It was great. We had a great time there. We left on great terms, and everything was cool; we told them we would talk to them in the future, and we'll do something a little bit later down the road.”
Alright, so the Hardyz aren't heading to WWE for one final tag team run and aren't transitioning into the next chapter of their careers with a spot in the Hall of Fame but are instead doing some social media work and maybe some more interviews for something like an A&E Biography. Still, that doesn't mean the TLC legends aren't open to returning to WWE for actual in-ring work, as, considering the duo cut their teeth in the promotion, “Version 1” believes it'd be a good place to go out too.
Matt Hardy is open to the Hardy Boyz re-signing with WWE
Turning his attention from the present to the future, Hardy was asked if he could see a world where the Hardyz would return to WWE for one final run. Unsurprisingly, the answer *spoiler alert* was yes.
“WWE was our birthplace. Without the WWE, we wouldn't have become who we ultimately became, these tag team legends, however people view us or the worst tag team ever. You know, Matt and Jeff Hardy. Whatever you think our legacy is, that happened because of WWE giving us an opportunity, obviously, so that will always be viewed as our home. We've said this before, and I've said this on this podcast, ad nauseam, that I think we want to finish in WWE now because that is our home,” Hardy explained.
“That seems like the right way to do it. I mean, there was a time with AEW where I would have been cool doing it there and just finishing up there, but I think now to really come full circle and come back around to where we were and the people that first gave us our opportunity to become stars and achieve this dream that we aspired to do, I think we want to finish our deal at WWE, end our careers there and do a Hall of Fame thing. We'll see.”
Unfortunately for Hardy, a Hardy Boyz reunion in WWE isn't as simple as signing on the dotted line and setting up a few ladders, as the reason AEW stopped booking the duo consistently had more to do with Matt's diminished athleticism and Jeff's outside-the-ring issues than the popularity of their legacy act. With WWE as hot as it's ever been, would they really commit the time to an act that can barely get it done in the ring anymore at a high level? That remains to be seen.