Following Matt and Jeff Hardy's TNA departure, it appeared as if The Hardy Boys would return to WWE. However, things took an unexpected turn this weekend when they appeared at a Ring of Honor show in New York, won the Tag Team Championships, and announced that they'd signed with the company.
However, Matt's mention of them being with ROH until WrestleMania appeared to leave the door open to a WWE return, but on a new episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer confirmed that the duo decided for a number of reasons they'll be sticking with the independent scene.
"From what I gather, this is a long-term deal. I don’t know how long, but they said they weren’t going to WWE. They made that clear last night. The other thing is they are back on the indie scene. Everyone’s been told that they are taking indie dates. Anyone who meets the price and [has] a free date, they’re back taking indie dates. So they’re not going to WWE any time soon.
I don’t know the length of the deal, but it’s not a two-month deal, and it’s past May now [that they will be taking indie dates]. They’re [in ROH] now. They’re there, and creative control was a big part of it. They’re going to get to do what they want with [head booker Delirious] and everything, but they’re in control of their own programs. And [the other factor] is, unlike the rest of the guys there, they’ve got the deal that Cody Rhodes has, that they can work [other] dates if they want, there’s no restrictions, and they’re in control. They don’t have to pay a percentage to the promotion [like TNA wanted] as a booking fee or anything like that.
They are very happy with this deal, they’re very excited about Ring of Honor, from what I understand, and I almost got the impression that this was a deal [made based on] happiness and wanting to have control over your thing, and Ring of Honor was really the only place to go."
There's literally no chance that Matt and Jeff would have been given any sort of creative control in WWE and that would have likely been problematic for them considering the fact that the #BROKEN gimmick has very much been their brainchild. Vince McMahon and company also probably wanted the original Hardy Boyz back rather than something so closely associated with TNA!
Strange things have been known to happen in wrestling, of course, and it's entirely possible that we'll see Matt and Jeff back "home" before 2017 is over. For now, though, that doesn't seem to be in the works, but them making their presence felt in Ring ofHonor is certainly no bad thing!