Matt Hardy's contract with AEW has expired. According to Fightful Select, the veteran Hardy was officially a free agent at midnight on Sunday. He will now be free to discuss terms with any promotion. The former WWE standout has been with AEW since signing in March 2020.
"Word within the company was that his contract had actually been extended for a few weeks through WrestleMania," Fightful reported via its Fightful Select platform. "We weren’t given a reason why, and don’t know of any injury time that Matt Hardy missed, as he still appeared on TV after his concussion years ago on AEW PPV. However, we’ve learned that Hardy and AEW had talks and Hardy had told those close to him that he was allowing his deal to lapse after not signing a deal offered to him."
Despite his reputation and talent, Hardy never held a championship belt for Tony Khan's company. His best run was during his "broken" gimmick and his feud with Sammy Guevara. Hardy had recently discussed his contract situation with AEW during a recent episode of his "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" podcast.
"I have an AEW contract sitting in front of me for a few years. I'm looking through it; I'm deciding what I want to do going forward," Hardy said. "There's obviously still some options. I've got to make sure I'm aware of the ins and outs of the contract, and I wanna make sure everything is up to par as far as what I want it to be."
Hardy may be past his best, but he is one of the most recognizable names in professional wrestling. Losing him will likely mean Jeff Hardy leaves the company at the end of his deal, too.
The Hardy Boys could return to WWE for one final push before calling time on their careers. Or, they could head to TNA or another smaller promotion for a bigger role.
One of AEW's biggest issues is its bloated roster. There are too many mouths to feed, and oftentimes, storylines go stale or are never seen through to a conclusion. Hardy joined AEW when it was emerging as a challenger brand. He never got the push his faith in the company deserved.
Hardy will unlikely be the last big name to leave AEW in the coming months. There is a strong push for younger talent and recent free-agent signings.
As such, some of the veteran names may be forced to look elsewhere. Nevertheless, Hardy will undoubtedly be one of the biggest names to leave the company this year. If he ends up back with WWE, that will be another blow to AEW as they continue to search for a genuine identity.