Real Story Behind Planning The Hardys vs Team 3D Retirement Match at TNA Bound for Glory

Bubba Ray is taking fans behind the scenes of one of wrestling’s most emotional matches in recent memory — and according to him, the dream clash between The Hardys and Team 3D at Bound For Glory 2025 was his idea from the start.

During an appearance on Busted Open Radio, Bubba revealed that he was the one who pitched the concept to TNA Wrestling, carefully crafting the story from the ground up to give fans one last ride with two of wrestling’s most iconic tag teams.

“To quote Hannibal from The A-Team, ‘I love it when a plan comes together.’ This was a plan. A plan the wrestling Gods gave to me months ago. A plan that I worked on and cultivated and I presented to TNA. I say that without ego. It’s just fact and it’s important that wrestling fans know how things happen.”

Bubba said the inspiration came from multiple angles — the Hardys’ momentum in TNA, the 25-year anniversary of their classic Tables Match at Madison Square Garden, and D-Von’s physical condition.

“It came to me a while ago and I knew that the Hardys were doing such a great job in TNA. I knew it was the 25-year anniversary of the tables match in MSG. I knew the clock was ticking on D-Von.”

Despite D-Von’s physical setbacks, Bubba praised him for delivering at Bound For Glory and correcting what he felt was a disappointing showing during TNA 1000.

“Bravo to D-Von for getting in there and doing considerably better than he did at TNA 1000. He wasn’t happy with that last appearance and he wanted to get rid of that bad memory. Great job, D-Von. Proud of you, brother.”

Bubba also shared that he pushed for a different kind of build to the bout, rejecting TNA’s original idea for a typical contract signing in favor of a more dramatic negotiation segment.

“TNA said to me, ‘We want you guys in Minneapolis to do a contract signing.’ I said, ‘I don’t want to do a contract signing. Contract signings are done to death and are boring. I don’t want to get into a fight with the Hardys because that’s been done. I want to do something different.’”

“‘What do you want to do?’ ‘I want to do a final negotiation.’ ‘We love that.’ Let’s negotiate the terms of the match and why the match is going to go down this way.”

The match, which took place on October 12 at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts, saw Matt and Jeff Hardy defeat Team 3D in a Tables Match to win both the TNA and NXT Tag Team Titles. Brother Runt (Spike Dudley) was in Team 3D’s corner, and after the final bell, the Dudleys left their boots in the ring, officially retiring as a team.

This moment was years in the making, but as Bubba made clear — it all started with a plan to give fans one final unforgettable moment in tag team history.