"I cried a little bit" - AEW star Jeff Hardy gives insight into WWE reaching out to him for Hall of Fame induction this year
AEW star Jeff Hardy recently divulged his emotions when WWE offered him a place in the Hall of Fame class of 2022.
The 44-year-old's third stint with WWE, which lasted from 2017 to 2021, ended on a sour note. The company released Hardy after he stumbled away from a match at a live event, subsequently refusing to go to rehab.
The Enigmatic Soul, who had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, was asked to take a drug test, the results of which came back negative. Realizing they'd jumped the gun, John Laurinaitis reached out to Jeff Hardy for a WWE return. He offered the multi-time world champion an induction into the Hall of Fame, which Hardy immediately turned down.
Speaking on the Talk Is Jericho podcast, Jeff opened up about the Hall of Fame induction, declaring that it was not the right time. He also stated that he didn't want to go in without his brother Matt:
"I couldn't help but think about it. I cried a little bit because I was like, well, first of all, I don't want to go in there without my brother [Matt Hardy], and it's not my time. This is too early. This is crazy. So yeah, it was very emotional man. I was like, what are they trying to do? Because naturally I'm going to be reuniting with my brother in AEW, now that when I'm free of WWE, so yeah, I just went there, and I told my wife what had happened. I can't believe what they just offered me. So, it's very emotional man, but I happily declined it," Jeff Hardy said. [25:32 onwards]
Jeff Hardy was pulled from AEW Dynamite this week
At Double or Nothing 2022, Jeff and Matt Hardy defeated The Young Bucks in a dramatic clash. After the pay-per-view, Dave Meltzer reported that The Charismatic Enigma was a "mess" heading into the match.
The wrestling journalist added that the veteran had likely suffered injuries during his battle against Darby Allin a few weeks ago.
While Jeff was able to compete at the pay-per-view, the company pulled him from the fallout episode of Dynamite this week.
The former WWE Champion was originally scheduled to join forces with his Matt Hardy, Jurassic Express and Christian Cage to face The Undisputed Elite. In order to give him a break and a chance to recover, the company announced Darby Allin as his replacement.
The Undisputed Elite went on to defeat the babyfaces in a hard-hitting contest.
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