Matt and Jeff Hardy returned to WWE back in 2017 and they spent a lot of time working as a team. However, Matt was paired with Bray Wyatt for a period of time and they found success together when they captured the Raw Tag Team Titles.
As Matt’s contract with WWE was expiring in 2020 he did an angle with Randy Orton on his way out, but it sounds like there were more ideas on the table that Matt could have participated in if he stayed. During a recent episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast the former ECW World Champion explained that there was a pitch for him and Jeff to form an alliance with The Fiend.
“There was a pitch to get me to try and re-sign my contract, or whenever I was doing that angle with with with Randy. They were also going to do something besides the angle with Randy Orton. They said a big match with Bray at WrestleMania and they said, ‘What if we did something now where Bray is doing something as “The Fiend”, and people are trying to stop them. Then all of a sudden, there’s an appearance of a very hardcore Matt Hardy that shows up and then like this Willow The Wisp or just a hardcore Jeff Hardy this shows up. Then they like squash these guys out and run them off whatever, like save “The Fiend”, but they’re very serious characters.
But then we see the talk show where Bray is the Mr. Rogers character and he’s talking to all the kids and he’s having the show. Then you see ‘Broken Matt,’ he shows up, and then Willow The Wisp shows up and they’re part of the show as well. So you guys are like him. But you work as a tag team, you have like a Fiend type of character versions of yourself. Then you have a ‘Broken Matt’ and a Willow and then you’re also doing the deal,’ which sounded very cool and awesome, but I also knew at the time, that would probably last six or seven weeks, and then it would be done. So I was already mentally checked out and AEW-bound.”
Ultimately Matt decided not to sign a new deal with WWE and he made his debut with AEW shortly after. Jeff Hardy has since joined Matt in AEW.
H/T Fightful
