Jeff Hardy Confirms Why He and Matt Went Back to TNA

Jeff Hardy spoke about what caused him to leave All Elite Wrestling and choose TNA instead

Jeff Hardy during an appearance at TNA Emergence | TNAwrestling.com

Jeff and his brother Matt Hardy have been working in TNA for the last couple of years after parting ways with All Elite Wrestling. Matt would make his TNA return in April of 2024, with Jeff following suit in June that year.

In this return run, The Hardys captured the TNA World Tag Team Championships for their third and fourth reigns and even made a return to WWE for a couple of matches in the developmental brand, NXT.

Why Jeff left AEW

Matt Hardy had already been with AEW for a couple of years before Jeff signed with the promotion, as Jeff stuck with WWE for a bit longer after their 2017 return. Their work in AEW was up and down, with neither man able to find championship success or the same mainstream popularity they had in other promotions.

Matt and Jeff Hardy came out during the Sept. 19 episode of TNA Wrestling. | TNAWrestling.com

Both Matt and Jeff appeared on the I Love Wrestling podcast and spoke about the feeling of being back in TNA, with Jeff discussing how he almost decided to take a deal with AEW and stay in the promotion for a bit longer.

"Even when my AEW deal kind of ran out, there was a part of me that said 'what if I just take this deal from AEW and try to build myself up to this amazing superhero wrestler and stay there for a year and see how things go."

Jeff Hardy

Hardy goes on to say that watching a certain AEW performer was what made him decide he wasn't needed there, and instead wanted to go and help TNA.

"I was watching a Will Ospreay match and I was like 'no I need to go back to TNA, I need to go to TNA and tag with my brother and do The Hardys thing, help them evolve."

Jeff Hardy

How their TNA run has been going

As mentioned, The Hardys very quickly re-captured the TNA World Tag Team Championships for their third and fourth reigns. They also had a touching moment when they retired Team 3D (Bully Ray and Devon) in a tables match back at Bound for Glory.

The Dudley Boyz and The Hardys hugging after their match at Bound for Glory 2025 | TNAwrestling.com

The brothers have also been present on the independent scene, working shows like Westside Gunn's 4th Rope Wrestling and House of Glory, where they won the HOG Tag Team Championships late last year.

The championship success didn't stop there, though, as that short run in NXT saw The Hardys capture WWE gold once again as they held the NXT Tag Team Championships for the first time in their careers before dropping the belts back to Darkstate at NXT Halloween Havoc.

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