Jeff Hardy being released by the WWE on December 9, 2021 made headlines, and over the last month more has come out and it appears the WWE released Jeff despite his drug test being clean.
The question then becomes on of why, and it’s something Matt Hardy addressed on his Twitch channel.
According to Matt, Jeff was feeling stressed working in the WWE and he just had the urge to jump the barricade and leave, knowing it would cost him his job.
From the sound of it, Jeff sounded burned out.
Clearing the air
It’s best to let Matt explain it. Special thanks to Inside the Ropes for the transcript.
“Whenever my brother ended up being released, he had taken a drug test. Usually, these drug tests come back in 10 to 14 days. Those 10 to 14 days had been up and he never got a test and he was curious as to where his result was.
“He knew he had passed his drug test because he knew he hadn’t been doing any drugs and he has been clean; he’s been clean the whole while he’s been there. There was an issue where they said, ‘Jeff Hardy had this erratic behaviour’ and he ‘jumped over the guardrail’ or whatever. Hello, he’s Jeff Hardy, he’s a weird dude. That’s kind of what he does. The erratic behaviour is why they gave him a drug test and sent him home.
“He addressed it with me and, as he was saying, he knew at that point…working for WWE is a very stressful job. I am not going here to bury WWE, I love WWE, Vince McMahon, everyone who is there. I wouldn’t be who I am and I wouldn’t have this life right now. I have great appreciation and I’m very grateful for everything I’ve done for them and every opportunity they’ve given me. It’s all good, but it’s also a very stressful environment. Anyone who has worked there knows that.
“I feel Jeff was stressed out in many ways about several things and he confessed to me that when he went over that guardrail, he knew he was done. He was literally done with the match and he felt done.”
Matt went on to say he didn’t think Jeff leaped the barricade to get fired and it was just the type of thing he does.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kMFWOjAAsQ
Moving forward
Reports at the time claimed Jeff was moving sluggishly and had missed some signing appearances, so it falls into line with what Matt said.
There is a chance the WWE thought Jeff’s attitude change meant he was under the influence since Matt also explained that WWE gave Jeff a choice to go to rehab or be released.
Jeff knew he hadn’t failed since he was clean, so he told the WWE they may as well release him since he didn’t need to go to rehab.
Since then, the WWE has realized their mistake and made several attempt to bring Jeff back, even going so far as to offer Jeff a 2022 induction into the Hall of Fame if he returned.
Matt confirmed the offer was made and jeff turned it down.
In the end, we hope Jeff goes to AEW as seeing him and Matt reunited will be so awesome.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
Remember to stay up to date with the latest news on TheOvertimer. Don’t forget to visit ScreenJuicer for great videos, news, and gameplay!
