Matt Hardy left WWE twice, once in 2011 and then again in 2020. Matt disclosed that he owed a lot to the company and leaving the organization on a stale note did not sit right. He rejoined WWE to leave on a brighter note than before.
Matt Hardy recently appeared in AEW Unrestricted where he revealed the end of his WWE career. He stated the reason why he re-signed the company. He greatly acknowledged Vince and co. who were the reason behind his fame.
“It was really important for me to go there and leave on a good note. Because when I left in 2011, I just wasn’t in a good place. I wanted to go back because I do owe all those guys. I have a great appreciation for WWE and Vince McMahon and all those people. I wouldn’t be who I am without him and I very openly acknowledge that and I am grateful for it.”
Matt Hardy detailed how Vince wanted him to stay. He also spoke about his relationship with The Young Bucks. Matt and Vince discussed different ideas when they were trying to get him to re-sign. This was around the time AEW had started up. Matt met The Bucks back in Impact and worked with them in Ring Of Honor.
WWE offered him some good deals and money. He highlighted the fact that it’s important to him to be treated appropriately as a wrestler. But Vince feels that old wrestlers are better suited backstage as producers. Even if there’s room to utilize their skills, Vince never explores that region.
Matt praises AEW’s Tony Khan for his open-mindedness. He thinks Tony Khan does a masterful job of putting older guys into certain positions where they can succeed and they can optimize their efforts and their talents.
After talking to Vince, Matt found that Vince saw his as a future producer. Matt didn’t acknowledge his decision to be left backstage. Matt Hardy then spoke about how WWE then made a last-ditch attempt to keep him. The company offered him big money, but that wasn’t enough.
“At the very end, they did a big hail Mary where I was going to work with Randy Orton and they had some things they were promising. And they had a big-money contract, which was really, really huge and would have been a great deal. I was appreciative of it, but I was like, I know Vince had seen me already transition into a producer role.”
Finally Matt appreciated Tony Khan’s vision and signed for AEW. He continues to live his passion in the current company.
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