AEW star wouldn't have left WWE if Triple H was in charge, says he received offer to join NXT
A veteran AEW star has admitted that they were given the chance to join NXT before they left WWE and that they might not have left at all had Triple H been in charge of creative at the time.
The star in question is Matt Hardy, who was one of the earliest examples of a WWE Superstar jumping ship to All Elite Wrestling when the company still hadn't reached a full calendar year of live events.
During a recent interview with the Daily Mail, Matt Hardy opened up about his departure from WWE in 2020 and admitted that before he became 'All Elite,' he was given the chance by Triple H to explore his 'Broken' persona in NXT.
"I love this. You know me doing this, I feel like a little kid in a candy store, because pro wrestling is what I always wanted to do, and for the last few years that I can physically do it I want to do it to the best of my ability. So that opportunity opened up at AEW to be able to do it, and also Triple. H gave me a very generous offer to wrestle in NXT and do some my Broken Matt. Maybe give me a little bit of a stable, and then still be able to supplement that by being a backstage producer with WWE." (H/T Daily Mail)
3 years ago today, Matt Hardy also made his AEW debut on the first ever empty arena Dynamite show. https://t.co/g7OzyohVgp
Furthermore, Hardy elaborated by stating that he feels it was the right call to join AEW at the time, although had Triple H been in charge of Stamford's creative at the time, things might have been different.
"If it would have been the era where a Triple H was in charge, I could have ended up saying then, maybe. But it was the right call for me to leave and step out to AEW." (H/T Daily Mail)
Matt Hardy recently opened up about witnessing a life-altering botch in WWE
On June 30th, 2023, the wrestling world lost Darren Drozdov, who passed away at the age of 54. WWE fans will know him better as Droz, a man who only wrestled for the company for under two years after a botched powerbomb changed the course of his life.
Droz suffered fractured vertebrae in his neck after landing on his head, which after hours of surgery, left him paralyzed from the neck down. The match was never broadcast to the public, but Matt Hardy witnessed it live.
Very sad to hear about the passing of Darren Drozdov. This one hit me hard. RIP Droz ❤️ https://t.co/ywS8hmwkL2
Hardy explained on his "Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" podcast that the accident is burned into his memory, and even though the move didn't look bad at face value, he cringes every time he recalls it happening.
What are your favorite memories of Darren "Droz" Drozdov? Let us know in the comments section below!