Matt Hardy Explains Why Jeff Hardy Turned Down WWE Hall Of Fame

Big Money Matt gives an update on his brother's decision to turn down the WWE HOF.

by Andrew Pollard
The Hardy Boyz
WWE.com

Following his release from the company on 9 December, WWE reportedly reached out to Jeff Hardy to offer him a return to the fold at this year's Royal Rumble premium live event. As part of that offer, the belief is that WWE dangled the carrot of a 2022 Hall of Fame induction for the Charismatic Enigma.

Speaking on Twitch (via Wrestling Inc.), Matt Hardy has now shone a little more light on this situation and explained why his brother declined WWE's HOF offer.

"Jeff asked, 'So you want to induct me into the Hall of Fame?'. And he said, 'Well let me ask you, I know you guys have spoke to AEW, is this going to be the Hardy Boyz? Is this myself and my brother Matt?. And they go, 'Oh, no, no, no, no. We can't get Matt, he's under contract at AEW. You know, it would just be you'. And Jeff said, 'Well, that's a hard no'. He definitely stood up for the team of the Hardy Boyz."

During this Twitch stream, Matt also reiterated how Jeff "passed every drug test he's had" during his most recent WWE run. The Broken One would state how WWE "jumped the gun a little bit" when they released his younger brother late last year.

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For those who missed it, Jeff was released from the company shortly after being sent home for what was described a "rough night" at a live event. Competing in a six-man match at said show, fan footage emerged of Hardy walking out on the match mid-way through.

As it stands, Jeff Hardy is due to become a free agent as of 9 March. Of course, there has been plentiful speculation in recent weeks that the two-time WWE World Champion will soon join his brother in AEW - with some fans even believing that Jeff could be the major free agent signing Tony Khan is teasing for this week's AEW Dynamite.

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Unless Hardy has come to an agreement with WWE to end his 90-day non-compete early, don't be expecting to see the 44-year-old becoming #AllElite for at least another month.

Senior Writer
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.