Besides WWE’s Fastlane pay-per-view, the big news of the weekend was Matt and Jeff Hardy popping up at a Ring of Honor New York City show to capture some gold and announce that they’ve signed with the company. They were rumored as being likely to sign with WWE, and when Matt Hardy said on Saturday they would be with Ring of Honor up until WrestleMania weekend, fans assumed the deal might end there.
But it seems that may not be the case, and the Hardys may now be expected to be on a long-term deal with ROH.
On late Saturday/early Sunday’s episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer provided some clarification about the Hardys in ROH. He says that going to WWE was a serious consideration, but overall, it just made more sense — personally and professionally — for them to sign with Ring of Honor.
“I knew it was serious that they might leave and go to WWE, but I always had the feeling in my gut that they really don’t want that schedule. Although I do know that Jeff has talked about wanting one more run there, but he hasn’t talked about that lately. And I know they were very happy doing the [Broken] gimmick together and everything.
“The reason I didn’t think they would go to Ring of Honor after the TNA thing fell through, was Ring of Honor is not a place where they spend big money on talent. I mean, they’re spending more now than before, but the Hardys is a different level. [With] the Young Bucks, yeah, they gave the Young Bucks a great deal, but the Young Bucks are like Ring of Honor-style wrestlers, and it’s being augmented with New Japan money, and it makes sense for the Young Bucks, with their situation, to be doing this deal. But with the Hardys, you’re talking about a different level of money than [ROH] has ever offered anyone.”
As far as how long they’ll be in ROH, although Matt Hardy only mentioned appearances up through WrestleMania weekend, don’t get your hopes up too much about a surprise WrestleMania 33 appearance. According to Meltzer, they’re in ROH for the foreseeable future.
“From what I gather, this is a long-term deal. I don’t know how long, but they said they weren’t going to WWE. They made that clear last night. The other thing is they are back on the indie scene. Everyone’s been told that they are taking indie dates. Anyone who meets the price and [has] a free date, they’re back taking indie dates. So they’re not going to WWE any time soon.
“I don’t know the length of the deal, but it’s not a two-month deal, and it’s past May now [that they will be taking indie dates]. They’re [in ROH] now. They’re there, and creative control was a big part of it. They’re going to get to do what they want with [head booker Delirious] and everything, but they’re in control of their own programs. And [the other factor] is, unlike the rest of the guys there, they’ve got the deal that Cody Rhodes has, that they can work [other] dates if they want, there’s no restrictions, and they’re in control. They don’t have to pay a percentage to the promotion [like TNA wanted] as a booking fee or anything like that.
“They are very happy with this deal, they’re very excited about Ring of Honor, from what I understand, and … I almost got the impression that this was a deal [made based on] happiness and wanting to have control over your thing, and Ring of Honor was really the only place to go.”
As always, take this report with a grain of salt, but if Matt and Jeff have indeed signed “contracts” with ROH, as they stated and as everyone has reported, it doesn’t make much sense for either party that they would sign a one-month deal. Or a two-month deal. The dream of the Hardys to WWE in 2017 is definitely wounded. We can just hope that it isn’t #BROKEN.
UPDATE: On the very next episode of WOR, Meltzer walked back his comments and said he’s been unable to get a straight answer as to the length of the ROH contract, and that it could very well be a short-term deal. Co-host Bryan Alvarez also said he had talked to two people who told him it was a short-term deal. The plot thickens! You can listen to that clip of the new information by clicking here.
