AEW star Matt Hardy introduces The Hardy Boyz' "newest brother"
Wrestling veteran and AEW star Matt Hardy has introduced the newest sibling of the Hardy Boyz. Matt and Jeff Hardy are among the most respected tag team competitors of all time, and it seems like they have added a third member to their team.
In a post on X displaying the card for the January 12, 2024 episode of AEW Rampage, Matt Hardy revealed that the audience will hear from the Hardys as well as their new brother, former ROH World Tag Team Champion Mark Briscoe.
The Hardys share a long history with the Sussex County Chicken and with his brother, the late great Jay Briscoe. The two illustrious teams had squared off in OMEGA and in ROH. The Hardys defeated Dem Boyz to retain their ROH World Tag Team titles in a very competitive bout.
More recently, Mark Briscoe teamed with the Hardys to defeat the team of the Butcher, the Blade, and Kip Sabian on the first Rampage of 2024. After the match, the commentary team advised AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn to keep an eye on the new team.
The Brethren, as the team is evidently being called, seem to be succeeding as a unit and are poised to address the trios division on Rampage.
Matt Hardy comments on AEW ratings amid rumors of unhappiness with booking
Matt Hardy shared his comments on the subject of ratings drawn by recent AEW shows, even amid conjecture on the Hardys' alleged unhappiness with their recent booking.
The Hardys teamed with Mark Briscoe to beat the Butcher, the Blade, and Kip Sabian in a trios match on the first Rampage of 2024. It was reported afterwards by Wrestlenomics that the episode, which aired on January 5, saw a boost in TV ratings, drawing a number of 406,000.
The show notably outdrew the subsequent January 6 episode of AEW Collision, which clocked 402,000 in numbers. Speaking on the Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the former ECW Heavyweight Champion praised Rampage for outperforming Collision in the ratings.
"I am going to point this out. So Jeff made that comment whenever we did that bit that ended up having Private Party in it. Jeff said, Someone needs to put us on Dynamite so we can boost the ratings. And there were so many insider fans that were upset about that. [They said] Are you kidding me?! So that Rampage, it outperformed Collision on all levels. And that’s a Matt fact, not Matt fiction. It did more viewership and did a better demo in the 18 to 25 and 18 to 49, it defeated Collision across the board. And yes, Collision is on Saturday, and it had tough competition, no doubt."
Matt also pointed out the significance of Rampage outdrawing Collision in the context of the former being a pre-taped show lacking the thrill of anticipation involved in a live show.
"But it’s a live show, where no one knows what’s going to be on it, there’s a lot of anticipation to watch it. Rampage was a pre-recorded show that aired at 10 pm on a Friday night, which is also not a fantastic time to have wrestling on but it did really, really well." [H/T: Inside The Ropes]
The Hardys have recently expressed some frustrations with their utilization in Tony Khan's promotion. They are set to address the trios division alongside their partner, Mark Briscoe, on the upcoming episode of Rampage.
Can The Hardys and Mark Briscoe win the AEW Trios Championships? Let us know in the comments below!