"He needs to retire in the WWE" - Twitter reacts after 29-year veteran seemingly teases retiring in Tony Khan's AEW

Former WWE Champion Jeff Hardy delivered a promo on the latest edition of AEW Rampage. Addressing the crowd, The Charismatic Enigma fooled fans into believing he was retiring before pulling off an excellent swerve to a thunderous reaction.

Hardy was absent from the promotion for 10 months after his third DUI arrest in June last year. Additionally, the multi-time tag champion underwent eye surgery during his time away.

This led many to believe that Jeff was done with wrestling for good. That was until his surprise return on a recent episode of AEW Dynamite.

"I think the smartest thing for me to do is retire... from screwing up. I'm here in AEW to end my career on an extremely high note instead of a depressing low. I love each and every one of you. We'll see and time will tell. The future's waiting for us to prevail," Hardy said on this week's Rampage.

Check out Jeff Hardy's promo here.

The retirement tease has garnered mixed reactions from wrestling fans. One Twitter user insisted that Hardy should finish his career in WWE, not AEW:

Another user saw this as an opportunity for Hardy and Sting to rectify their shambolic match at TNA Victory Road in 2011, given that the two are once again working in the same company.

Some fans are skeptical of Hardy's statements because of his history of substance abuse:

Despite this, other fans are just happy to see one of their favorites back on TV:

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Former WWE star comments on Jeff Hardy's return

Despite being a divisive figure for many reasons, it is hard to argue that Jeff Hardy has made his mark in the wrestling industry. One wrestler who has known the extreme high-flyer for years is EC3, who recently commented on the AEW star's return.

During an appearance on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws, EC3 proposed that AEW's schedule may suit Hardy better than WWE's more demanding program:

"I think of it as a full-time WWE schedule, it might be different, but maybe being not as rigorous a schedule and one TV [event] a week. That maybe that’s the best thing for him too, but I understand that feeling and hopefully, that’s not the case and hopefully, he’s got the right people around him," said EC3. [From 02:57 onward]

Hardy's next match will be alongside his brother Matt, HOOK, and Isiah Kassidy as the quartet will look to "delete" The Firm (Ethan Page, Big Bill, Lee Moriarty, and Stokely Hathaway). While it is known that the bout will take place at the Hardy Compound, the date has not yet been revealed.