Matt and Jeff Hardy’s WWE return is inevitable , at least according to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline (subscription required).
According to Meltzer, the Hardys are indeed returning and “soon,” the only question is whether they’ll be on the Raw or SmackDown Live brands. Meltzer also noted that Matt Hardy is claiming ownership of the “Broken” gimmick, despite Impact Wrestling managing to prevent the duo from doing it during their upcoming Ring of Honor match against the Young Bucks at Supercard of Honor on Saturday.
NEVAH STAY DOWN. pic.twitter.com/RMdfz7k932
— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) March 21, 2017
The Hardys are also scheduled for morning activities in downtown Orlando, including a tailgate party minutes away from Camping World Stadium, so they’ll be in the area of the WrestleMania event. The only question remaining is the legal aspect of the gimmick and where that stands, according to Meltzer.
For weeks, many speculated that the Hardys would make their inevitable WWE return after leaving Impact Wrestling. On Sunday, WWE Network’s official Twitter shared a video of the Hardys’ WrestleMania 25 match against the Dudley Boyz, featuring a subtle reference to the “Broken” gimmick the brothers used during their final run in Impact Wrestling.
You better believe tables were BROKEN in the battle between The #HardyBoyz at the 25th Anniversary of #WrestleMania ! #WWENetwork pic.twitter.com/Bvtg4fmGWo
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) March 26, 2017
On Tuesday, WWE reportedly offered new contracts to the Hardys, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet . While the details of the rumored deals haven’t been revealed, the website speculated that “all signs point to an inevitable return.”
Though the Hardys will participate at ROH’s SuperCard of Honor on Saturday, it’s only part of a short-term deal according to Jeff Hardy, who claimed their deals could be up at any time.
Former rivals Edge and Christian discussed a potential Hardys comeback during the debut episode of their podcast , Edge and Christian’s Pod of Awesomeness this week.
“Crazier things have worked on that mainstream of scale… wrestling is all about reinvention, and if you don’t reinvent yourself, you’re going to get stagnant and people are going to get bored. I think back to when I came back from my first neck surgery and I came back as the babyface that I was when I left. I went into my hometown of Toronto with the IC title against Jericho and Batista and got booed.”
Both superstars credited the Hardys for the risk they took reinventing themselves with the “Broken” gimmick in TNA.
“It’s all about reinventing yourself. You could probably be The Hardy Boyz, stick your two fingers up, make that ride from town to town and hope that people follow along with that nostalgia. Instead, they’ve taken the bull by the horns and reinvented themselves and stayed current, stayed fresh and keep people talking, and that’s what it’s all about.”
“Matt and Jeff are smart enough, particularly Matt — who is very hands-on with all of the incarnations of his character — to try stuff. I haven’t seen a whole lot of it, I’ve seen a couple of things and I thought it was hilarious and awesome.”
Which leads us to the final speculation of what a potential Hardys comeback means. Will the brothers be a nostalgia act using their former WWE personas, or will the company allow them to return using their current “Broken” and “Obsolete” gimmicks?
That’s at least an option now with Matt Hardy having won the rights to all the “Broken” related trademarks.
Well, you are accurate. #BROKEN Matt Hardy is officially @RebyHardy & myself’s licensed trademark, as stated by the US Patent Department. https://t.co/hwWCeAIAew
— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) March 25, 2017
With all the necessary factors aligning, it does seem like a Hardys WWE return is not only inevitable but likely to take place very soon.
[Featured Image by Paparazzo Presents | Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and resized | CC BY-SA 3.0 ]