What’s the story?
Cagesideseats is speculating in its rumour roundup that the legal saga between The Hardy Boyz and Impact Wrestling is far from over.
Matt’s wife Reby Sky has launched a number of Twitter tirades against her husband’s former employers, and a settlement between the two sides is yet to be on the table, let alone reached.
WWE fans hoping to see Matt and Jeff in WWE anytime soon may well have to hold their breaths a little longer.
In case you didn’t know
The Hardy Boyz and Impact Wrestling parted ways on February 27 this year when negotiations over a new contract broke down.
Jeff and Matt, in particular, had been instrumental in keeping interest in TNA alive throughout 2016 with the Broken gimmick, and many fans were surprised that Impact’s new owners decided against moving the Earth to keep its most prized assets.
The situation quickly took a turn for the worse when Impact Wrestling successfully attempted to legally block Matt and Jeff from using the Broken gimmick outside of the promotion, claiming that it had legal ownership of the intellectual property.
This blockade, implemented at the last moment before a Ring of Honor pay-per-view that caused many issues for ROH, has been hotly disputed from all sides.
The heart of the matter
Long before The Hardyz left Impact, they have been rumoured to be on their way back to WWE, but the legal complications stemming from their TNA departure may well stop this return from happening in the foreseeable future.
Whilst it is unlikely that Matt and Jeff will return to WWE using the Broken gimmick, those personas still have a lot of life left in them on the independent scene.
Also read: Impact Wrestling News: Reby Hardy on what happened with Hardys and Impact Wrestling
WWE is almost certainly going to be unwilling to enter negotiations with the duo whilst this legal cloud continues to linger overhead, so the future of The Hardyz may well be in limbo until the two sides can reach an agreement.
The current stalemate does never side any favours, with The Hardyz having to revert back to previous gimmicks and Impact quickly removing any goodwill it may have had in the post-Dixie Carter landscape.
What’s next?
Until a settlement is reached by the two sides, a whole lot of nothing will happen.
It is entirely likely that both sides will want an agreement sooner rather than later, but stubbornness could get in the way, with Impact looking to dig its heels into what it legally considers its own but morally have no claim to.
The anger of Reby Sky helps neither side, however, and could well lead to compromises being forced rather than agreed.
Author’s take
The Matt and Jeff Hardy saga with Impact has been dragging on for far too long.
Regardless of whether they end up back in WWE sooner or later, the duo will continue to find good work in the professional wrestling world, and the longer this issue drags on, the more harmful it will be for Impact Wrestling.
The struggling promotion needs all the goodwill it can get right now, and it can’t afford to throw that away because of obsolete (pun intended) arguments.
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