Matt Hardy Says AEW Run Left Him Questioning His Career

Matt Hardy is getting brutally honest about the rough patch he and Jeff Hardy hit in AEW—and why their return to TNA Wrestling may have saved their love for pro wrestling.

Speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, the veteran tag team legend opened up about the emotional fallout from Jeff Hardy’s past mistake in AEW and how it impacted both of them.

“Jeff is locked in. He’s locked in. He’s hyperfocused. But it was still a new concept to him, like, say, a year and a half ago when he first came to TNA. He felt like he was part of the reason our downfall happened in AEW—and to a degree, he was. And you know, that is deserved to a degree. He made a mistake.”

Matt didn’t dodge the truth. He admitted that in tag team wrestling, one partner’s mistake often drags down the other.

“It affects me—if you have a tag team partner in pro wrestling, it often affects you if your tag team partner makes a mistake. And Jeff felt really, really terrible about that. I mean, he had so much regret about it.”

But it was TNA Wrestling that gave them both a second wind—and most importantly, gave Jeff a shot at redemption.

“To see him come to TNA and get an opportunity, being utilized to his utmost value, being put in a position to succeed… He is just so happy, and he feels so rewarded. We are both exactly where we need to be.”

Before that, Matt and Jeff walked away from WWE after years of success to take on a new challenge in AEW. At first, it felt like the perfect move—fresh opponents, creative freedom, and a chance to keep evolving as a team. But over time, things changed. Injuries, inconsistent booking, and outside issues left both brothers feeling disconnected from the passion that made them fall in love with wrestling in the first place.

“There were moments where both myself and Jeff—especially me, when I was there and not really doing anything—it just made me question, like, ‘Ah, why am I still doing this? Like, I love this, but this doesn’t feel like something I love right now.’”

The fix? Walking away from AEW entirely.

“I knew if we could get into a groove of doing something good and be where we need to be—and ultimately, what we needed to do was leave and go to TNA—then we’d find that again. And we did. I am as much in love with the business as I have ever been this year.”

It’s a full-circle moment for the Hardy Boyz, finding passion, peace, and purpose again under the TNA banner. Matt and Jeff Hardy didn’t just walk away from AEW—they walked into something that reignited everything they thought they lost. After years of setbacks, doubts, and regret, the brothers are finally thriving in a place that actually values what they bring to the table. And if you thought the Hardys were finished, think again—they’re just getting started all over again, this time on their own terms.