"It was very lackluster" - Former WWE writer criticizes Jeff Hardy's AEW debut
Jeff Hardy made his AEW debut on last week's Dynamite, ending three months of speculation after his WWE release. He emerged to the signature Hardy Boyz theme to save his brother Matt, who was being beaten by his former AHFO stablemates.
Jeff's triumphant debut turned the tide and the babyfaces emerged victorious. His arrival in All Elite Wrestling broke the internet as fans celebrated the return of not only the Charismatic Enigma but also the legendary Hardy Boyz tag team.
Former WWE writer Vince Russo, on the other hand, didn't share that enthusiasm, as he explained on The Brand. Russo said he was underwhelmed at what he thought was a lack of appropriate build, adding that there were too many present in the segment:
"I just felt it was very lackluster. I'm a big believer in when you know a new talent is coming in, when you know somebody's coming back from injury, you set the table. You start telling a story in advance so that when he does return or when he does come in, you get the maximum capacity out of it. You blow the roof off of the joint. And I gotta tell you, man, I did not feel that with the intro of Jeff Hardy," said Russo (04:59)
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Russo furthur stated that with Sting, Darby, and the entire AHFO in the ring, Jeff Hardy's debut was not personal enough:
"First of all, there were way too many people out there. The angle was really not personal enough. It was very generic, and I just felt a lot more could have been done with the debut of Jeff Hardy in AEW." (05:46)
Vince Russo is concerned Jeff Hardy's arrival in AEW will push others down the card
Vince Russo has previously aired his concerns following Jeff Hardy's debut on his The Brand show. He noted in this argument that another veteran in the company makes it harder for those on the come-up to make their mark.
Not all the blame was placed on Jeff Hardy's AEW arrival, however. Russo also declared his surprise at the sheer size of the roster and questioned how Tony Khan is going to book them:
''There are so many people signing with this company. I pulled up an AEW roster page yesterday there may have been 150 people on this thing. I don't know what Tony Khan is going to do with all these people. But Jeff Hardy, another veteran added to the roster and my concern is if you keep putting these veterans on top how are these young wrestlers going to get an opportunity if they can't get on the show." (06:58)
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(If you use quotes from this article, please give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription)