Jeff Hardy Breaks Silence On WWE Release, Denies Wrestling While Impaired

Jeff Hardy has finally told his side of the story regarding his December 2021 WWE release, which came after a much-discussed incident on a house show in Edinburg, Texas.

Speaking on his brother's Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Jeff said the following of his decision to walk out on a six-man tag pitting Drew McIntyre, King Woods, and himself against Roman Reigns and The Usos on 4 December (h/t Fightful):-

“Certain things happen for a reason. Subconsciously, that was maybe the smartest thing I’ve ever done, guided by something higher than me, I’ll say."

Continuing, the 44-year-old explained how his personal moments of hope were fleeting during his WWE run's final stages. The last of these came at Survivor Series 2021, where he was the final competitor to be eliminated in the titular men's match, with the feeling not returning before his release:-

“The best way I can describe my journey the last few months in WWE was like ‘glimmers of hope, maybe I still do have something.' The last glimmer of hope was Survivor Series, which was really good. It came down to me and Seth Rollins, I was killing it, almost won and the crowd was so behind me. I felt like one of the most popular babyfaces in WWE because the crowd was so with me. Then there were other times where I felt like a ghost, roaming the halls like, ‘Why am I even here? I don’t feel important’. I kept doing my deal and would show up and do whatever they wanted me to do. I’ve never been a politicker so I don’t go out of my way to try and get a certain spot or achieve a certain status."

Jeff then unpacked the Edinburg incident. Reportedly pulled from the road after what was described as a "rough night" on 4 December, Hardy was let go by WWE five days later. Following this, it was reported that Jeff was "impaired" while competing and turned down the company's offer to attend rehab, leading to his dismissal.

Speaking with brother Matt and host Jon Alba, Jeff denied this. Although WWE assumed Hardy had "took something like drugs or whatever", the AEW newcomer claimed this wasn't the case, having seen the walk-out as something he could get away with:-

“That night in Edinburg, Texas, I finished my heat, I took the heat, and I said, ‘I’m ready to go’. Went over the rail, disappeared into the crowd. Naturally, they think I took something like drugs or whatever, but I didn’t. If I was that bad, I should have never went out there, that’s the way I see it. I thought, ‘Just another unpredictable thing I can do and I’ll get away with it’. It was more serious than that."

Fightful reported earlier this month that Jeff passed a breathalyzer and drug test following the incident, backing up Matt's claims from December.

Now that The Hardys have been reunited in AEW, Jeff sees the situation as one of the smartest things he has ever done:-

“Again, it was one of the smartest things I’ve ever done because everything worked out so perfectly, mainly because my first day in AEW, I felt valuable for the first time. The care and love I was shown, I got chills thinking about it. In WWE, it felt like they just wanted to keep me there to sell action figures. I put so much love and joy in painting my face, when I see it come out and immortalized in an action figure, I’m like, ‘That’s why it do this, it’s so cool’. That’s one thing I’m super excited about in AEW, my first action figure with the face paint.”

The younger Hardy debuted for Tony Khan's promotion on the 9 March episode of Dynamite, saving his elder sibling from a beatdown at Andrade El Idolo, Private Party, and The Butcher and The Blade's hands. January had brought the revelation that WWE had attempted to entice Jeff back with a Hall of Fame induction, but Hardy spurned their advances.

Matt and Jeff wrestled their first televised match together since April 2019 on this week's Dynamite, defeating Private Party.