WWE News: Jeff Hardy Not Returning To Company, Signs With TNA Instead

In WWE news, Jeff Hardy has decided to not make his much-anticipated return to the company and has instead decided to sign a new contract extension with TNA, according to Wrestling Inc.

Back when Jeff Hardy did a podcast interview with Ric Flair on his WHOOOOO! Nation show, the North Carolina native told the wrestling world that he was seriously considering one final run with WWE before hanging up the boots forever, which stirred up a good amount of excitement from fans who have been waiting for him to be back on the big stage.

Even though Jeff Hardy has been gone from World Wrestling Entertainment since 2009, the former world heavyweight champion is still one of the most popular performers in the entire business, as evidenced by the fact that TNA wanted so badly to keep him around and draw in his still sizable fan base.

With his TNA contract expiring during the early part of 2016, Jeff Hardy was in a really prime position when it comes to negotiation leverage because WWE was desperately trying to find as much star power as they possibly can to help alleviate the losses that they have experienced on their main roster over the past couple of months.

Another thing that helped Jeff Hardy gain bargaining power over WWE is the fact that Vince McMahon is desperately wanting to drum up as much excitement as possible for Wrestlemania 32, which is being held in the gigantic AT&T Stadium in Dallas, because he really wants to boast that he finally beat the attendance record set back at Wrestlemania 3.

After looking at all of his options and talking things over with his family, Jeff Hardy decided that TNA would be his wrestling home for at least another year, so the internet wrestling community’s dream of seeing him back with WWE will have to wait a little bit longer.

There are those who will probably say that Jeff Hardy decided to stick with TNA because their schedule is much looser and more flexible, but with the recent changes taking place in the front office of WWE, Vince McMahon is less resistant to allowing his top name performers work part-time schedules.

WWE is already allowing Brock Lesnar and Chris Jericho to work part-time schedules, and there are rumors floating around that they would offer Rey Mysterio and Batista similar deals if they were inclined to return to the promotion, so it should not come as a shock that Vince McMahon would dole out a favorable schedule to Jeff Hardy, one of his best merchandise movers of all time.

By staying with TNA, Jeff Hardy now has the opportunity to work a main event level program with his older brother, Matt Hardy, something that sounds appealing to the two of them because they know that they are now closer to the end of their careers than the beginning.

All throughout the past year, TNA had been heavily criticized for losing performers due to an allegedly shaky financial situation, but Dixie Carter appears to be turning things around now by reaching out and locking down performers who she feels can help her reestablish her brand of professional wrestling.

There’s a long road ahead of TNA in their rebuilding process, especially in their efforts to convince the internet wrestling community that things are not nearly as bad as the uninformed critics are making it seem. However, signing Jeff Hardy to a contract extension and ensuring that the promotion has a big name to pitch to advertisers and network executives is a huge step in the right direction.

[Photo by Impact Wrestling]