Though he hasn't been seen on AEW television since the now-infamous match between Sammy Guevara versus Jeff Hardy, where the former member of the Inner Circle was suspended for hitting a GTH on the “Charismatic Enigma” despite being soft-diagnosed with a concussion, Matt Hardy was still in the news this past week for making a non-televised appearance at RAW, watching the show near his home in Raleigh, North Carolina, with his wife Reby.
Was this Hardy making a statement about his usage of AEW? Or did he simply want to support his friends who still work for WWE? Fortunately, Hardy fans got some insight into the situation from a first-party source, as “Big Money Matt” provided fans an update on what went down on his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast.
“Literally, myself and my wife, which we try and do once, maybe twice a week if we can, we had a date night where it was just me and her without kids. And we were eating in Raleigh, we were having a great dinner in Raleigh. And she was contacted by one of her friends that she does a spa with inside of Raleigh. And Raleigh is just a few miles from the Hardy Compound, everyone knows that. And they had a suite, which they always have, over at the PNC which is the arena in Raleigh. And they invited Reby over to the deal, said, ‘Hey, you want to come hang out? There's free food, there's this, whatever, we'd like to see you,'” Matt Hardy explained on Extreme Life via F4W.
“Reby was like, ‘Oh, we should go by there. I'd like to see my friend.' I said, ‘Ugh, I really wouldn't want to go by there.' She said, ‘Well they're in a skybox, so it's like closed off and whatever. We wouldn't be getting there until 8:45, 9:00 p.m.' So we actually went. Reby hung out with her friends for a little bit. And while I was there, the skybox, the suite, was pretty open in the front. And yes, I did get recognized. And people started forming a line to like take photos with me and whatnot. And we cut out of there at about 10:30 p.m. I was there probably 80 or 90 minutes altogether and I probably took 200 photos, which once word got out that I was there, it was like crazy. There was literally at one point a line and security came and like had to make them move against the wall so I could take photos with them.
“But anyway, my wife went to go hang out and I was there. It was a very innocent thing at the end of the day. But it was wild. It was wild being in the PNC Arena, where we had SummerSlam 2000. And that's where the first TLC match went down. And just seeing WWE there running again, it was wild. It was fun just to sit back as a spectator and watch wrestling. At the end of the day, I'm pro wrestling's biggest fan, too. I love watching pro wrestling if I get the opportunity to. So, really interesting. And I knew as soon as I started taking pictures, like, ‘Oh my god, this is gonna get blown out of – this is going to go nuts.' And it is what it is. And actually, in reality, I'm ok with that.”
Interesting stuff, right? Well, wait, it gets even better, as, despite his visit being totally innocent, Hardy believes it does point out an interesting dynamic present in his forthcoming contract negotiations with AEW.
Reby Hardy posted this video of her and Matt Hardy at PNC Arena, where Raw is tonight. pic.twitter.com/6gucRODqij
— Wrestling News (@WrestlingNewsCo) March 19, 2024
Matt Hardy believes his visit earned attention because of his contract.
Continuing his conversation with Jon Alba on the Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, “Version 1” noted that, while he was at RAW for pleasure, not business, the story was notable because of his on-going contract negotiations with AEW, as he could be a free agent in the not-too-distant future unless Tony Khan locks him up on a new deal moving forward.
“The reason it got even more buzz is because people know my contract is coming up. You know, I'm in the midst of contract negotiations. And I think, if you are trying to secure me under contract, I'm a guy you want. Because whenever I work for your company, nobody waves the flag harder than I do. Whether it's promote the company on social media, whether, you know, promote the h*ll out of all the positives the company offers. And I do love AEW. There's some things I would like to change about my personal career there, and some of the things that we're doing, but I do say overall I love AEW because it is very important for the pro wrestling industry. AEW needs to do well just because the pro wrestling industry doesn't need just one huge company that is in control of everything. They need competition. Competition is what makes it thrive, it is what makes it better. For all the young kids that are coming up, competition needs to exist. So yes, I want AEW to do well and I want AEW to thrive. But I want to be in a satisfactory position in what I'm doing in AEW,” Matt Hardy noted.
“And that's kind of where we're at, you know, still negotiating and figuring things out. And, once again, Tony Khan is taking great care of me. He has been a good boss. I think Tony Khan is a great human being. But at the end of the day when it comes for me making the decision about what I do next, it also comes down to making sure that I'm happy and that I'm comfortable with what I'm doing too – in all capacities across the board.”
Is there a world where Hardy could leave AEW and return to WWE for the first time since 2020? Sure, while it would be a tad weird for the older Hardy to leave while his younger brother remains employed by AEW, there is some appetite for a Hardy Boyz reunion in WWE if they're looking to go on a retirement tour after over two decades in the business. The prospects of that happening, however, remain to be seen, as Matt Hardy may still have enough value for AEW to keep him contracted moving forward.
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