Matt Hardy Offers Several Interesting Details On Jeff Hardy’s WWE Release

It certainly was unique. There have been all kinds of wrestlers leaving WWE over the last year and a half, though move of them have not gone voluntarily. The vast majority of them have been released from the company, though there have been some who have walked away on their own. That was the case with a high profile exit late last year, and now things have gotten more interesting.

Back in December 2021, Jeff Hardy literally walked out of a match at a live event and was released from WWE a few days later. Jeff’s brother Matt Hardy discussed the release on his latest Twitch stream where he attributed Jeff deciding to leave WWE due to being under stress. He also spoke about the drug test that Jeff was forced to take before being sent home, which came back completely clean with no evidence of drugs in Jeff’s system. Finally, while Jeff was fighting to get the results of his drug test, WWE actually offered him a spot in the 2022 Hall of Fame class, which Jeff declined.

Here are some highlights, with transcription courtesy of Fightful.com:

On How Jeff Got Released

“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 rest 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 behavior’ 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 behavior 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.”

On Jeff Fighting For His Drug Test Results

“He took this drug test, he ended up being released a few days later. He never got the results of this drug test, he obviously passed all his drug tests. He was drug tested quite often when he worked there. It also leaked out that, he thought this was going to be a private conversation, they said with go to rehab or be released. They gave him an ultimatum. He said, ‘Okay, you can release me then, I don’t need to go to rehab.’ That was his mentality at the time. Three weeks later, he hadn’t got his drug test and he asked to see it and got it. He was fighting, scratching, clawing to get the drug test and he got the run around…

“After my brother and his wife spoke to WWE a bit, they spoke to a lawyer to have him help them out. A couple of days ago, he got his drug test and it was compliant, Everything was negative, he passed on all levels. The main reason he was so adamant about getting those is because he wanted to clear his name.”

On The Hall Of Fame Offer

“He got a call from John Laurinaitis and they offered to induct him into the Hall of Fame. That’s not made up. That’s a real thing that happened. He just asked for his drug test at the end of the conversation. He said, ‘No, I just want my drug test,’ kind of to clear his name.”

Opinion: While I would be curious to hear WWE’s side of the story, this is a rather interesting set of claims. If Jeff’s test was clean, and it would be a bit hard to lie about the results, it does change the situation a bit. At the same time though, Jeff walking out on the match and the fans is not exactly a great look. I’m not sure what the situation is, but ultimately it does not exactly paint him in the best light.

What do you think of Jeff’s action? Where will he go next? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 60,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 6,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books

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