News

Matt Hardy Addresses Jeff Hardy’s AEW Return

By John Canton • Published 14th April 2023
aew matt hardy jeff hardy hug

The Hardy Boys are back together on AEW programming with Matt Hardy opening up about what led to Jeff’s return and how Jeff is feeling.

There was a big surprise on the April 12th edition of AEW Dynamite when Jeff Hardy returned to the company to save brother Matt Hardy, Hook & Isiah Kassidy from an attack by Ethan Page’s group known as The Firm.

For Jeff Hardy, it was his first time on AEW TV since he was arrested on June 13th, 2022 for driving without a license and being three times over the legal DUI limit. In February, Jeff’s court case was closed while his driver’s license was revoked for up to ten years, he served 38 days in jail, and paid $4586 in fines and court fees.

Jeff also spent a long time in rehab to try to be clear of the drug and alcohol problems that he has dealt with for most of the last two decades.

On his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Jeff’s older brother Matt Hardy talked about his brother’s return as well as a tease about what’s coming on Rampage tonight.

“This literally came together the last few days. We’ve been talking about this for a while. Jeff’s eye will take a while — I kept making jokes, ‘How did you fly here today, did you take a red eye? Ahahaha.’ — He still has blood in his eye. They said that would probably take six to eight weeks. I put it out there, ‘In six to eight weeks, he should be good.’ His vision is fine, his eyes are stable, they’re working in sync now. He got cleared at the end of last week to do stuff physically.”

“We had an idea of bringing him in and interjecting him into this scenario. The segment cut a little short, but here’s a great spoiler, watch Rampage on Friday and you’ll find out where this match is going to be and who the official competitors are. Jeff will be involved, HOOK will be involved, Isiah (Kassidy) will be involved. You’ll find out who from The Firm we’ll face on Rampage.”

When Matt Hardy was asked about if Jeff Hardy has changed, he expressed optimism about how Jeff will do moving forward.

“This is the most work I’ve ever seen him do on himself. He had ten months. He seems different. He seems different. I don’t want to sit here and vouch for him, I don’t want you to take my word for it or take anyone else’s word for it. Watch him and follow his actions. He’ll make you a believer. I am confident that his actions, conduct, and behavior will make people a believer. He’s made me a believer.”

“I’ve seen a lot of him and gotten to follow his journey and I know the work he’s put in and how dedicated he’s been to legitimately changing and trying to get his shit together once and for all. I’m so extraordinarily proud of him. He’s done great. Everyone was happy to see him. He’s happy to be there. It was so adorable, right before we went out, he was so nervous and so worried because he hasn’t been in a ring, at all.”

To prepare for his return to Dynamite, Matt Hardy revealed that Jeff went to Matt’s house to take some bumps and get used to being in the ring again.

“He came out to my house on Monday, got in the ring, ran the ropes, took a few bumps. He was worried how the people were going to react to him. Jeff is one of the few individuals who has ‘it’ and people are connected to him. When he came out and the people went nuts and were cheering and chanting, it was great, a magical moment. Really glad we got to this point and very excited to see where we go forward from here.”

While he continued to preach optimism, Matt Hardy also admitted that Jeff has to prove to people that he’s doing the right thing now.

“Coming off his past, he has stuff to prove to people. I’m the ultimate optimist. My mentality doesn’t work for everybody, but I say, people change, give them a chance, especially if they’ve legitimately put the work in and have tried. I do that with everybody. Either he’ll prove you wrong or prove you right. I have a very good feeling about this point Jeff is at in his life.”

As mentioned above, The Hardys will be on the taped Rampage episode that airs tonight.

H/T Fightful