12 Upcoming Wrestling Stories That Are Already Doomed

8. The Hardys' WWE Return

Brock Lesnar John Cena
WWE

Matt and Jeff Hardy weren't the first ex-WWE stars to use the market leader's relationship with TNA to potentially work their way back into a full time job there, but their two-match run on NXT served as a particularly strange audition.

In almost direct opposition to how the rest of the deal between the two sides has gone so far, Matt and Jeff arrived as TNA Tag Team Champions, got a win over regulars No Quarter Catch Crew, defeated then-undefeated NXT Tag Team Champions Fraxiom in a bout where only the TNA straps were on the line, and promptly exited stage left back to the Impact Zone.

The programme was weirdly one-sided, perhaps in some sort of concession to Total Nonstop Action ahead of both Trick Williams and Jacy Jayne winning gold and Joe Hendry and Mike Santana featuring prominently on Tuesday nights. It might be that The Hardyz were hoping that at some point they could rock up on SmackDown and return the favour, but no such booking has been forthcoming - there's been no mention of the veterans on the developmental brand or main roster since they snuck back in through the side door, and though the business relationship continues, the multiple roster overlaps haven't featured the WWE greats. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett