Multiple Ex-AEW Stars Make Surprise Returns To TNA Wrestling

Two former AEW stars have returned to TNA Wrestling.

On April 20th, TNA Rebellion came live from the Palms Casino Resort in Paradise, Nevada. In the main event, Moose put the TNA World Championship on the line against Nic Nemeth, and while the champion retained the gold that was only half of the story.

With Moose standing tall, The System made their way out to celebrate only for the lights to go out. When they came back on, Moose was hit by a Twist of Fate from the returning Broken Matt Hardy. As the show went off the air the building erupted into “DELETE!” chants as the crowd welcomed back their hero.

However, Hardy wasn’t the only man to make his return to the company at Rebellion. Earlier in the night, Stave Maclin stood in the ring and told fans that TNA had agreed to his demands and he had a new contract, and furthermore, those demands included a match on the show.

This brought out Santino Marella who said another star had also been signed to a new contract and arrived ready for a match. At this, Mike Santana entered through the crowd and promptly defeated the former World Champion. The appearance was Santana’s first for TNA since 2019.

Matt Hardy Remains A Free Agent Following AEW Exit

Responding to a fan on social media, Matt Hardy denied he’s signed a deal with TNA, writing “I will appear when I want to appear.”

The surprise return came after Matt Hardy said he’d been in discussions with both WWE and AEW about his next move.

On April 8th it was reported that Matt Hardy was officially a free agent after his AEW contract expired. The original belief was that Hardy’s contract expired in March, but it was extended for “a few weeks” to take it through WrestleMania.

Hardy has enjoyed two previous spells in TNA, first in 2011 and then between 2014 and 2017 when he created the “Broken Matt” character.