WWE News: Matt Hardy Discusses Incident That Made Him Feel ‘Red Hot’ Prior To Joining AEW
Before Matt Hardy left WWE to join All Elite Wrestling, he took part in the storyline between Edge and Randy Orton. Despite only featuring on a couple of shows, it was the most airtime the company had given him in over a year at the time. However, Hardy believes that the company was just trying to convince him to sign a new contract to prevent him from joining the competition.
In an interview with the New York Post to promote this Saturday’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view, Hardy revealed that he felt the company felt this would have been enough to convince him to stay.
“Once I didn’t re-sign, I feel like they’re like, ‘Well, bring him to TV and have him put over some people. That will make him re-sign.'”
Hardy went on to say that he appreciated being given some promo time as he feels confident in his ability on the microphone. He also wasn’t worried about coming out on the losing side during his confrontations with Orton, as he’s a veteran performer who the fans know has accomplished a lot in the business. According to Hardy, he’s “indestructible.”
Hardy also believes that WWE’s last-ditch attempt to make him stay ended up giving him more momentum for joining AEW. He ultimately gained more sympathy and support from the fans, but his mind was made up on leaving because WWE didn’t view him as an important superstar.
Horror on #Raw.
What has @RandyOrton done?! pic.twitter.com/73tDU6FgEU
— WWE (@WWE) February 18, 2020
The veteran superstar discussed how the company wanted him to accept a mentoring role, but Hardy wants to make the most of his remaining years as an in-ring competitor before he hangs up his boots.
“They wanted to have me and they wanted me around to help other people and eventually work backstage, but I still wanted to contribute while I can contribute. But that gave me great momentum. It made me red hot before coming to AEW.”
As The Inquisitr previously reported, Hardy also left WWE because he wanted more creative freedom with his character. He didn’t have that in WWE, but since moving to AEW, he’s reprised his “Broken” gimmick and is now involved in a main event feud with Chris Jericho and his Inner Circle faction.
WWE has been more open to releasing superstars in recent months, but losing a veteran like Hardy probably came as a blow to the company. He’s a future Hall of Famer who has always been popular among the fans. Now that he’s succeeding in AEW, WWE might wish they used him more prominently before he left.
