Matt Hardy has revealed that Triple H offered him a role in NXT, before signing for AEW.
The WWE legend had a mixed run in his return to the WWE. He and his brother Jeff made an incredible return at WrestleMania 33, appearing as surprise opponents in the tag team ladder match.
They won the WWE Tag Team Championships on their first night, but injuries and poor booking (endless matches with The Bar) stunted their momentum.
Matt Hardy also teamed with Bray Wyatt for a time, in another partnership that went nowhere. His “Broken” gimmick was underutilized in WWE, failing to capture the same magic it had in TNA.
He left WWE in March 2020, signing for AEW soon after. He debuted on the first pandemic-era Dynamite, bringing his “Broken” character to AEW for the first time.
However, prior to his departure, Triple H offered Matt Hardy the chance to wrestled as “Broken” Matt Hardy in NXT, while working as a backstage producer.
Speaking with The Daily Mail, Matt Hardy revealed that he turned down the chance to wrestle in NXT, instead signing with AEW.
“[Triple] H gave me a very generous offer to wrestle in NXT and do some [of] my Broken Matt. Maybe give me a little bit of a stable, and then [I would] still be able to supplement that by being a backstage producer with WWE.”
“If it would have been the era where 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.”
Matt Hardy also revealed the reasons why he left WWE to sign for AEW, claiming that Vince McMahon didn’t see him as a wrestler he could rely on anymore.
“I think Vince had already made up his mind. He wanted me to make the transition into being a producer and that’s where he saw me at. So, I knew as long as he was in charge he’s ultimately going to get you there, because that’s just how this is. “
“If Vince sees you in a certain light or certain way, and that’s where he wants he’s gonna get you there. You know they threw some big offers on the table saying myself and Jeff, we can do something with Bray, and they, you know they were trying to appease me in different ways and whatnot, and give me something that would be satisfying.”
“But I knew Vince was ultimately going to move me off being a wrestler and move me backstage, and I just wasn’t ready to do that yet.”
In an interview last year, Hardy revealed that Triple H wanted him to lead his own faction, adding 3 or 4 NXT stars to his “Broken Universe”.
“Triple H, he called me afterward. He tried to work out deals with me doing stuff in NXT and it’s so funny, because this shows how much Vince wanted me as a producer.
“He said, ‘Well, we can pay you X amount of money if you do this NXT thing. But we can like double this almost if you do NXT, and I’ll put you with a group of guys.”
“So you don’t have to do all the work, being an older guy, you’re like the leader of the group, and then you can also still go to TVs, you know, Raw and SmackDown, and then you can still do those and start being a coach because that’s really what Vince wants to see you as, is a producer.’”
“Someone who helps teach other talents and helps construct matches and whatnot. So Vince really wanted to see me in that when it was all said and done. I have a lot of appreciation, Triple H still tried to do what he could just to keep me in the WWE system.”
“He didn’t say any specific names. He said he had three or four guys they had in mind that you know don’t have a great role, ‘But I think if I could put them with like a ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy, if that’s what you’re wanting to do now, I know you can do that because you own all the copyrights and trademarks of the Broken Universe, we could do that.’