WWE News: Matt Hardy To Address ‘Online Rumors’ About Jeff Hardy’s Injury On This Week’s ‘SmackDown Live’
Matt Hardy shared a new video on his Twitter account on Monday night, as he promised to appear on Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live and comment on the “online rumors” that have surrounded his younger brother, Jeff Hardy, in recent days.
As noted by WrestlingNews.co, the rumors Matt Hardy was referring to are likely related to the injury Jeff suffered little more than a week ago, which forced Matt to work singles matches at live events instead of teaming up with his brother as he has done in recent months. The Hardy Boyz, who reunited earlier this year after Matt and Jeff spent several months on Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live respectively, are the current holders of the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
At the moment, it’s not clear how serious Jeff Hardy’s injury is, and, as WrestlingNews.co pointed out, WWE has yet to officially confirm that the 41-year-old wrestler is hurt. However, the outlet added that backstage rumors have suggested that he is specifically dealing with recurring knee issues. These issues are largely related to a torn posterior cruciate ligament Jeff suffered in 2015 after he was involved in a dirt bike accident.
Per Sportskeeda, it was originally reported that Jeff might have gone down with a knee injury during The Hardy Boyz’s last match, where the brothers defeated The Usos at a Madison, Wisconsin, live event on April 20. The publication cited Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, who said that there are two separate rumors circulating about the issue — one suggesting that Jeff would need surgery and another hinting that he was simply “banged up.”
Jeff Hardy Reportedly Injured At Weekend WWE Live Event https://t.co/ksgFjLapbL pic.twitter.com/qg0kbPPUIc
— WrestlingINC.com (@WrestlingInc) April 23, 2019
Should Jeff Hardy require major surgery and need to take a substantial amount of time off from the ring, this could force The Hardy Boyz to vacate their SmackDown Tag Team Championships and open things up for the blue brand’s other tag teams to fight for the vacant titles, WrestlingNews.co speculated. As noted by ProWrestling, SmackDown Live’s tag team division also features Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura, The B-Team, Heavy Machinery, and The Colons, with The New Day currently unavailable for tag team competition due to Big E’s injury and Kofi Kingston’s status as reigning WWE Champion.
Much like his younger brother, Matt Hardy has also dealt with injuries since he and Jeff returned to WWE at WrestleMania 33 in 2017. Matt, who turns 45 in September, was originally thought to be retiring from pro wrestling when he said in September 2018 that it was “time for [him] to go home,” but announced his plans to return to the ring in October, two months after he wrestled his last match on Monday Night Raw as part of the “Deleters of Worlds” tag team with Bray Wyatt.
