On April 12, Jeff Hardy shockingly returned to AEW on an episode of Dynamite. The crowd roared with approval, as it was the first time Hardy had been seen in AEW since last June, when he was arrested for a DUI and stepped away to go to rehab. On the June 21 Dynamite, The Hardys took on The Gunns. After the match, Matt and Jeff Hardy were attacked by Bullet Club Gold, leading to CM Punk, FTR, and Ricky Starks running down the ramp to make the save. It turned out the angle was done for one very specific reason, to write Jeff Hardy off.
To hear that Jeff Hardy is stepping away from AEW, your first reaction might be fear that he has suffered a relapse. Fortunately, that's not the case, though it is related to his arrest history. According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, with his past legal issues, Jeff Hardy is banned from traveling to Canada. For the next several weeks, however, AEW has several shows scheduled in Canada. This weekend's Rampage and Collision will emanate from Hamilton, and Sunday's Forbidden Door is in Toronto. After that there are shows in Saskatoon, Regina, and Calgary. It won't be until after mid-July that AEW's tour of Canada is complete. It should be soon after that Jeff Hardy makes his AEW return.
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Does Jeff Hardy Have One More Run Left In Him?
Two days after making his AEW comeback in April, Jeff Hardy delivered a promo on Rampage where he addressed his absence, saying, "I'm trying really hard to love myself again, and with that said, I think the smartest thing for me to do is retire from screwing up. I'm here in AEW to end my career on an extremely high note instead of a depressing low."
Though he hasn't given an interview talking about his time away, Matt Hardy addressed it briefly on his The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, saying "I think part of his journey to sobriety over the last year, he has probably learned a lot and he has put his foot down some in terms of being a people pleaser, much like he doesn't wrestle on the indie scene right now. He's open to doing signings and cons and stuff like that, but he only wants to do two a month. He's really put his foot down with that, and I respect that, and I'm cool with that.” (h/t WrestlingNews.co)
At 45, this looks to be Jeff Hardy's last run in wrestling. He and Matt have been talking about the AEW Tag Team Championship of late, so could Tony Khan be eyeing giving the brothers one last title before they say goodbye? It would be great to see Jeff and Matt both go out on a high note together.
