Jeff Hardy still has ‘so much guilt and shame’ over personal issues ruining AEW opportunity
Jeff Hardy is looking to make things right after his personal issues impacted The Hardy Boyz’s run with AEW.
In June 2022, Hardy was arrested for DUI in Florida. Hardy — who has battled substance abuse issues throughout his life — submitted a plea of nolo contendere and did not receive jail time in his sentence. His license was suspended for 10 years.
The Hardys were supposed to win the AEW Tag Team titles in 2022, but it never happened due to Jeff’s arrest. They were with AEW until departing the company earlier this year. Now, the legendary duo is back teaming together in TNA Wrestling.
Jeff told Busted Open Radio today that his goal in TNA is to win the Tag Team titles. He still feels “so much guilt and shame” over breaking peoples’ trust in AEW and wants to make things up to his brother Matt.
“Definitely to win the TNA Tag Team titles,” Jeff said. “Basically because I have so much guilt and shame within me still, just from AEW giving me an opportunity — and even Matt — to me breaking trust with my personal issues in real life. And so, I just want to make that up to Matt. And I can say right here that I will not break TNA’s trust. That is in my past, and it feels good to have somewhat of a clean slate with all that stuff and kind of start fresh instead of having that guilt and shame about what I did in a certain world of pro wrestling.”
Jeff said sobriety, recovery, and staying on the straight and narrow are what’s important. Having the support of his family means everything to him.
“So many things have happened since my last run-in with the law that have been really beautiful,” he said. “It’s like an enlightenment connection I have with everything around me, mainly nature. The force of nature is a huge drive with my internal love.”
ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) are the current TNA Tag Team Champions.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.