Matt Hardy details his return to TNA.
"Broken" Matt Hardy returned to TNA Wrestling at TNA Rebellion, coming out at the end of the show to lay out TNA World Champion Moose. Hardy became a free agent after his AEW contract expired at the beginning of April. The Broken Universe was created by Hardy in TNA in 2016.
Appearing on Busted Open Radio, Hardy provided insight into his return.
"I spoke with AEW, and I will start and preface this by saying that I love AEW. I love working with Tony Khan, he's a great guy. My contract ended up expiring and we hadn't reached a deal yet. We're still in the midst of talking. I have literally, in the last week, I have talked to every promoter from every promotion that there is. [TNA Rebellion] was me showing that pro wrestling can still be unpredictable. This was done in a couple day's notice. We kind of started talking about this on Wednesday and this is when it kind of materialized. There were a couple of days doing some shots for TNA and a little story arc. Pro wrestling is at its best when it's unpredictable," he said.
Hardy noted that the only people who knew of his return was his wife and kids, and TNA tried to keep him hidden upon arrival, even in the backstage area.
Hardy went on to praise the TNA locker room and how they utilize the roster.
"This thing that I'm going to do with Moose and The System coming up over the next few weeks, I think it's going to be a very interesting series. They also really lured me in when they offered doing Broken Matt Hardy again. They said, 'We'd love to do that,' and using House Hardy. My wife, she is in great shape right now, she'd be up for wrestling a match. King Maxel, Gotchic Baby, and I feel my wife couple utilize some TNA stuff, she's a social media influencer, huge on TikTok right now. I think she can help boost the status and rep of TNA. Selling my family and talking about a Hardy Compound appearance, that's what sold me on these dates," he said.
Asked for clarification on TNA pitching the idea of "Broken" Matt, Hardy replied, "We talked about it and kind of came together on it. I feel like Broken Matt was the way to go because TNA is in my DNA when it comes to Broken Matt. That is the genesis of Broken Matt. They gave me that opportunity. They allowed me to think outside the box and really go crazy and do something special. They have a fanbase that is very accepting of off the normal course of pro wrestling. It's very different from the die-hard base of AEW. They are more sports-centric and wrestling-based. TNA is very fun for me to do. I don't have a lot of time left to do this, a couple more years, we'll see. I feel good, I'm taking care of myself and had time off. I don't want to squander the time I have left. I want to contribute as much as I can and I want to cement my legacy and hopefully myself and my brother's legacy, is my goal. I want to land somewhere where I'm able to contribute as much as possible, that's my goal. Where I can go, I want to go, and I want to make an impact in pro wrestling and I want to help the next generation and the younger guys too. That is definitely a goal of mine. Upon talking to TNA, Tommy Dreamer reached out to me and we started talking about things. We started talking about Broken Matt, I reached out to some of the writers, they were talking about ideas for the Hardy Compound, stuff to do with The System. It was really fulfilling for me. 'This will be fun, especially during my off time.' I'm not locked in anywhere. I'm not under contract. I am not the type of individual to sit at home waiting for the phone to ring. I'm going to go out and get it, that's what I'm going to do. I go out and seize opportunities. That's what makes Matt Hardy, Matt Hardy."
Hardy said he wanted to keep surprising fans in wrestling.
Fightful Select has more details regarding Jeff Hardy's contract with AEW.
Fans can find Fightful's results from TNA Rebellion by clicking here. Check out the post-show podcast for a full review by clicking here.
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