When Matt Hardy shared the special QR code that flashed on Monday Night RAW hinting at the return of Uncle Howdy to the WWE Universe on social media, it immediately sent fans into a fever pitch.
Did the older Hardy Boy decide to leave his brother Jeff Hardy behind in AEW to pursue a spot in the Wyatt 6? Or was this a mere example of a veteran grappler sharing something cool he saw on television, with “Broken Matt” following it up with even more pieces of content related to his career from over the years, some with Wyatt, most without?
Well Hardy opted against keeping the mystery up for too long, as, on his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, he explained why he shared the post and how his free agent negotiations have been going.
“Yeah, I mean, full disclosure, I am doing what I should be doing as a free agent, creating hype around myself,” Matt Hardy explained via Cageside Seats. “Yes, I have been speaking with AEW constantly. I have been speaking with WWE. I have been speaking with several people across several different platforms. So I think the next couple weeks are gonna be fun, the next few weeks are gonna be fun. As I said before, I think we're getting to the point where we're gonna be doing some pretty cool stuff coming up. So yeah, I am doing what I should be doing. My job as a brand, and I have to look at myself as a brand, a lot of my social media stuff is Matt Hardy brand, my job as a brand is to promote myself and to create buzz around myself. I feel like I do a pretty decent job about that, pretty decent job with it, whenever I am just able to freelance and do whatever.”
Should Hardy have probably kept up the mystique for longer as he continues to pursue different opportunities in free agency? Yes, while it's never a good idea to intentionally “trick” fans, Hardy's actions made a ton of sense and were totally justified. While it's unclear if Hardy will be joining Howdy, Eric Rowan, and potentially other members of Wyatt's past in WWE any time soon, it's safe to say fans have opinions on the matter, which is better than being out of the news entirely.
Matt Hardy wants AEW to book the Hardy Boys like Sting.
So, if Matt Hardy is still a free agent, what is he looking for in his next employer, be that as a single in WWE or back in AEW partnered up with his brother, Jeff?
Discussing that matter in an interview with Bill Pritchard of WrestleZone, Hardy explained how he would like to be booked alongside his brother if he returned to AEW, noting that he would like Tony Khan to use the group much like he booked Sting on his way out of professional wrestling during his own farewell tour.
“I haven't left AEW, I'm still under contract. I love AEW. I think AEW is crucial. I think it is paramount for the health of the industry that AEW does well, and I want it to do well. I think for The Hardys do well…regardless of whether you love us or you hate us, once again, we've been very blessed to be looked upon as one of the greatest tag teams that have ever done it. We have done so many… the tag team ladder match, the tag team table match, the TLC stuff, we made that a staple of pro wrestling. We were involved in that. We were, Jeff more than me, the daredevils in those matches, and then we both had very good singles careers. We kept TNA alive whenever we did the whole Broken Universe and whatnot. We thrived in Ring of Honor. We've done a lot of different stuff. I think if you have a tag team of that magnitude, it's very important to keep them in a position where they are relevant and they look strong. They need to always look strong,” Matt Hardy explained via Fightful.
“I think Tony Khan did a perfect job with Sting. The way he came in, he was put in situations to succeed over and over again. That never minimized Sting in any way. He was always optimized to the best of his ability in any degree. I think for us, it's different because we can win a few matches, and then we can have a program with someone, and they can beat us, and that doesn't hurt us. It never has, and it never will. I don't mind that.But if you take The Hardys, and The Hardys don't win tag team match on TV for ten or eleven months, that is not a positive. I don't think that is a positive. That is a strong stance I'll take. Because still, to this day, whenever we do cons, whenever we do signings, we have one of the longest lines. We are popular. There's a ton of value in us. We're performers who are generational performers. We have people who aren't fans anymore that know who we are, that would tune in to see us if we're put in the right positions, and I will stand my ground on that. I will die on that hill. So what I want to do, I only have a couple years left to do this, I want to be optimized, wherever I'm at, and if I'm with Jeff, I want to be optimized as The Hardys. That is very, very important to me, and that is a fight I am willing to fight. If nothing else, I'll just keep my a** at home. I don't have to go back to work. I've worked really hard to put myself in this position.”
On one hand, Hardy is correct that his tag team is still incredibly over, with Jeff specifically getting massive reactions whenever his music hits, and he works matches against other high-flyers like Sammy Guevara and Darby Allin. Still, one has to wonder how many matches the duo have left in them, as between Matt's physical limitations and Jeff's outside issues, the duo went from favorites to win the AEW Tag Team Championship to seldom used over the course of a year. If they don't intend to retire in the next few months, could TK pull off a similar booking job to his run with Sting without a firm end date?
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