While speaking on the latest edition of his The Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy podcast, Hardy talked about his surprise return to TNA Wrestling at the Rebellion PPV. Here are the highlights:
On who know about it:
“I left everybody in the dark, Jon. You know who knew I was actually going to Las Vegas to appear? Just my wife. Maxwell too, but it would’ve been hard for him to stooge to anyone because he doesn’t have a phone. I didn’t even fill in Jeff, no one knew. I was trying to ensure that the word didn’t get out.”
On the appearance:
“It started on Tuesday, getting a text from Tommy Dreamer. He just said, ‘TNA has been asking me about you, you know, if you’re free now. They’d be interested. I got some dates I could run by you.’ He said, ‘It would be great to work with you again.’ I ended up speaking to him and he shot me some of the dates, and it was wild, the dates that they shot fell on the weekends that I wasn’t already booked to signings or a con or whatever. I said, ‘I think this could be cool.’ We worked out some stuff on Wednesday and Thursday creatively, I talked to some of the creative people. We got everything up and running, they got me a flight, they got me set up. There’s gonna be a big secret kayfabe, come in at the end of the show as I did. It materialized very quickly just over a couple of days.”
On his contract status:
“No, I’m just doing a per shot, per appearance deal. We’re just playing it by ear to see how long this lasts. This is while I’m still speaking to entities at AEW, still speaking to other entities in other places. I feel like, and this is one of the reasons I say this. Towards the end of AEW, myself and Jeff, I feel like we had cooled off so much. I wanted to put that Matt fact in that I’m in no rush to sign a contract because I think I can do TNA television for a few weeks, be in a good angle, be in a good story, and I think it will help heat me back up a little bit. I think that’s important, especially when you’ve cooled down, to heat yourself back up and get some buzz on you and surrounding you as far as the business goes. Once again, I think there’s some other places that I could pop up and make appearances or whatever. So, as far as the contract thing goes, when you sign a contract, you are locked in, you have to be there. That takes away a little bit of your freedom of creativity and whatnot, it kind of tightens the knot of you being able to like pop up and show up whenever you want to. TNA, they were great, they were open to everything, they really rolled out the red carpet for me, which was amazing. It was great to be back there, it was a great locker room, it was great to see the people I hadn’t seen in a while. I was very happy with the weekend, it felt like a very productive weekend and it should lead to a couple very fun weeks of TV coming up.”
Matt Hardy Makes Surprise Return to TNA Wrestling at Rebellion PPV
In a recent episode of The Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy podcast, professional wrestler Matt Hardy discussed his unexpected return to TNA Wrestling at the Rebellion pay-per-view event. Hardy revealed some interesting details about the process leading up to his appearance.
Hardy began by explaining that he kept his return a secret from everyone except his wife and son. He wanted to ensure that the news didn’t leak out before the event. Even his brother Jeff Hardy, who is also a professional wrestler, was left in the dark.
The idea of returning to TNA Wrestling came about when Hardy received a text from fellow wrestler Tommy Dreamer. Dreamer informed him that TNA had expressed interest in having him back and suggested some potential dates. Hardy saw that the dates coincided with weekends when he didn’t have any prior commitments, so he decided to explore the opportunity further.
After discussing the details with Dreamer and TNA’s creative team, everything fell into place quickly. Flights were arranged, and Hardy was set up for his surprise appearance at the end of the show. The whole process took just a couple of days.
Regarding his contract status, Hardy clarified that he is currently working on a per-shot, per-appearance deal with TNA. He explained that he is in no rush to sign a long-term contract because he believes he can benefit from appearing on TNA television for a few weeks. Hardy feels that this will help reignite interest in him and generate buzz within the wrestling industry.
While he is open to other opportunities, including discussions with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and other wrestling promotions, Hardy appreciates the freedom and flexibility that comes with not being tied down to a contract. He believes that signing a contract limits creativity and spontaneity, whereas working on a per-appearance basis allows him to pop up and make surprise appearances whenever he wants.
Hardy expressed his gratitude towards TNA Wrestling for their warm reception and support. He praised the locker room atmosphere and the opportunity to reconnect with old colleagues. Overall, he described the weekend as productive and anticipates several exciting weeks of television ahead.
Fans of Matt Hardy and TNA Wrestling can look forward to seeing him in action in the coming weeks as he continues to make appearances on TNA television.