Despite being a legend in the ring and a WWE Hall of Famer in the future, Jeff Hardy left the WWE in disgrace.
His last match in 2021 will go down in infamy, both for his bizarre behaviour and the behaviour of the WWE following it.
The former WWE Champion should be revered among the all-time greats, but personal issues and drug battles have soured him in the eyes of all involved.
Jeff Hardy’s last match in WWE ended in insane, classic Jeff Hardy fashion, paving the way for his debut in AEW just three months later.
Jeff Hardy’s Last WWE Match
Jeff Hardy’s last match in WWE took place at a house show in Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas, on December 4th, 2021.
The bout was a six-man tag team match, at an event that was dubbed a “Super Show”, featuring talent from both Raw and Smackdown.
The match was the main event of the show, albeit an untelevised one. It saw Jeff Hardy teaming with Drew McIntyre & Xavier Woods, in a match against The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso).
The match itself has not been made available to watch by the WWE, due to it being a house show.
However, it is known (and footage has been revealed) of Jeff Hardy’s antics during his last match that saw him released by the WWE.
During the match, he was beat down until he hit the “hot tag” on Drew McIntyre. With his part of the match over, he wandered out of the ring and into the crowd, before exiting the arena.
This was bizarre, and something the WWE were very concerned about. Thinking he had been taking substances (Jeff Hardy has a history of drug issues), they demanded he take a drug test, or be fired.
Jeff Hardy did take a drug test, and according to himself and his brother Matt Hardy, it came back negative.
Not deterred, the WWE demanded that Jeff Hardy attend rehab. He declined, denying being on drugs at the time. WWE fired Jeff Hardy for refusing to go to rehab, despite no evidence of his drug use.
Hardy was fired on the spot, and three months later he signed with AEW, making his debut with the company to a huge pop from the crowd.
Jeff Hardy Rejected A WWE Hall of Fame Induction
After leaving the WWE, Jeff Hardy turned down the chance to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Famer.
This was a way for WWE to offer him his job back, realisign they’d made a mistake being so rash in his firing.
They offered Jeff Hardy the chance to go into the WWE Hall of Famer, honoring an incredible career that began when he was just 16-years-old.
Jeff turned the offer down, only wanting to go in if it was alongside his brother, Matt Hardy.
according to his brother Matt Hardy, the former WWE Champion only wanted to be inducted alongside his brother as part of the legendary Hardy Boyz tag team.
On his Twitch Livestream, Matt Hardy stated;
“Jeff asked [WWE], ‘So you want to induct me into the Hall of Fame?’ And he said, ‘Well let me ask you, I know you guys have spoken with AEW. Is this going to be the Hardy Boyz? Is this myself and my brother Matt?’”
“And they go, ‘Oh, no no, no, no. We can’t get Matt. He’s under contract at AEW. You know, it would just be you.’ And Jeff said, ‘Well, that’s a hard no.’”
“Matt said, “He definitely stood up for the team of the Hardy Boyz.”
Jeff Hardy was a sure thing to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. As a singles wrestler, he won both the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship and had a number of incredible moments and matches in the WWE.
Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy have since left the WWE, and now wrestle as a tag team in AEW.