Last week, The Hardy Boys, one of the most popular tag teams in the history of the industry, made their return to WWE television with their surprise appearance on the NXT program. The concept itself isn't exactly too surprising since the partnership with Total Nonstop Action that was announced last year had mentioned a crossover with talent on the NXT brand, but the appearance has prompted questions about if a full-fledged Hardys return could be in the cards for the iconic duo?
As we know, the Hardys, both individually and collectively, had rough patches during their careers, both inside and outside of the ring. Thankfully, Matt cleaned his life up several years ago, and while Jeff had some slips over the years, it appears that he's in a good place now. It should be noted, and this is one of the many complex issues that go along with stars that struggle with substances, Jeff is unanimously praised as a great guy, and you don't hear anyone say anything negative about him as a person, which is extremely rare for the pro wrestling business. Unfortunately, the only person that Jeff hurt over the years was himself, and despite some very unwise driving choices, you never get the impression that he wanted to put anyone at risk, but rather had a disregard for himself.
It's definitely frustrating to see someone with so much talent, who undoubtedly achieved a lot, still fall short of their true potential. Again, it's great to see Jeff in a better place today and hopefully, he can stay on the right path toward the latter stages of his in-ring career.
The last time we saw the Hardys return to the WWE fold, and there was a lot of water under the bridge before that, too much water to paddle through in this article without it becoming too lengthy for readers, was in 2017 when they made a shocking return at Wrestlemania. It was truly one of the most memorable moments of the modern era and the reaction that they received from the stadium crowd was incredible. The reason that the return was so surprising was that in the social media age, when everyone thinks they know everything, the comeback was kept secret, and not just by those in the office, but rather the circumstances at the time allowed for an organic reveal. At a time when Ring Of Honor was drawing some of the best crowds in its history with basically what became the foundation for the eventual launch of All Elite Wrestling, the Hardys worked a ladder match against The Young Bucks at an ROH event the night before Wrestlemania. The usual approach would be that an arriving talent wouldn't work such a match even remotely close to their return to the WWE because a fluke injury on a much smaller stage could ruin the chance for a moment on global television.
When the Hardys worked a ladder match and didn't mail it in the night before, nobody thought it was possible that they'd risk the injury and thus the possibility of a fresh run in the WWE so when their music hit, it was a major moment, which ultimately elevated their level of star power.
That being said, the Hardys have somehow had a 30-year career, despite the immense amount of risks they took for the bulk of their careers, including the revolutionary series of ladder matches in the early-2000s, and the majority of those three decades were spent under the WWE banner. There were debuts, firings, re-hirings, releases, comebacks, and returns along the way for the team in terms of their involvement with WWE.
Their 2017 tenure probably didn't sustain itself as much as they would've probably initially hoped for, but again, considering everything that they had already accomplished, a nostalgia run was going to have limited options. Sure, Matt was eventually repackaged as the "Woken" gimmick, a spinoff of the broken gimmick that became a cult favorite years earlier in TNA, and was also paired with Bray Wyatt for a period of time as a tag team, but the harsh reality is that the WWE is constantly in the mode of building for the future, and quite simply, a tag team from the late-90s wasn't going to have as much priority from management in the modern era, especially when the tag team division is still secondary in the company.
After Jeff suffered a shoulder injury that put him on the shelf for about six months, it wasn't surprising that Matt wanted to test the waters of All Elite Wrestling when he signed with the organization in early-2020, particularly because of the enthusiasm that there was around an alternative product at the time. Despite a few scary moments, including when Matt suffered a concussion from a fall to the concentrate and then when he got hard way cut by a flying chair from Sammy Guevara, Matt was able to build some momentum again in the new promotion.
Similar to Matt in the latter portion of his WWE tenure, Jeff Hardy fizzled out toward the end of his run, which resulted in his release in late-2021. This wasn't so much a knock against Jeff's talent or popularity, but again, the WWE priority is often designed to build toward the future, and there just wasn't much for the aging star to do among the WWE landscape. So, he joined Matt in All Elite Wrestling in early-2022 for another reunion as a tag team. Unfortunately, the reason for why this stint didn't get off the ground was two-fold, as far as the specifics of All Elite Wrestling. As trivial as it might sound, it just wasn't long enough since the previous Hardy Boys reunion for there to be a level of anticipation for the fans to want to see them as a team again. Instead, it was a stale retread of something that was used several times prior in several other companies. The second and much bigger issue is that The Hardys couldn't avoid the pitfall that the vast majority of the talent that get signed to the company endure after they ink a contract, they get spotlighted for a few weeks until Tony gets distracted with the next acquisition to the organization.
Despite their popularity, and theoretically a chance to use their star power to sell tickets for television tapings, The Hardy Boys were completely lost in the shuffle and were forced to settle into a secondary role for the duration of their run in AEW. Obviously, it didn't help matters when just a few months into his All Elite stint, Jeff was arrested for DUI again in June 2022, which led to his suspension from the company. At that point, you can't really blame Tony for not investing TV time or promotional dollars into The Hardys because Jeff was still a liability and if you can't count on a star to be in condition to perform then it's too much of a risk for a national promotion to invest stock in their position on the card.
As mentioned, Jeff seems to be on the right path since that time, and the Hardys as a team have done well since they resurfaced in TNA in mid-2024. Granted, they are big fish in a relatively smaller pond, but there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it makes the most of their star power and allows the organization to get a boost in the process so it's a win-win situation. For example, with a TNA event, the Hardys are more or less the biggest stars on the show, which has been very valuable for the company with their expanded touring schedule. The Hardys help sell tickets in those mid-size venues, and it's often reported that the post-show meet and greet lines for the team are impressive as an example of how popular they still are today.
On the flip side, with John Cena, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and Seth Rollins on the roster, The Hardys would be just another name on the card at a WWE show, which is probably why they were brought back to NXT, as it was a smaller platform that gave them the opportunity to maximize their star power.
Ultimately, that's why that outside of the well-deserved WWE Hall Of Fame induction, there's not really anything left for the Hardys to do in the WWE, and they have a much bigger impact in TNA. Plus, at 50 and 47 respectively, Matt and Jeff have to be end the conclusion of their in-ring careers so it's doubtful that it would be wise for them to attempt to work the even reduced WWE schedule that their is today when there's considerably less travel involved with TNA because of the promotion's TV taping schedule. However, it should be noted that the eventual HOF induction will bring with it a new line of WWE merchandise and another renewed spotlight on the Hardy's legacy.
