Is WWE teasing the return of Matt and Jeff Hardy or expertly trolling?
You can generally expect WWE to roll out a few major surprises at WrestleMania, and the night after on Monday Night Raw, which is generally considered the must-watch Raw of each and every year. With WrestleMania in the rear view mirror and the die-hard, international crowd still in town for the weekend, WWE sets the table for the year to come.
This year, many fans are hoping to see the debut of Shinsuke Nakamura and the returns of Finn Balor and Kurt Angle - but the stars may be aligning for a monumental comeback of two of professional wrestling's biggest stars currently outside WWE.
Broken Matt Hardy and his brother Jeff Hardy recently endured an ugly split from TNA and have been appearing in Ring of Honor and on independent shows over the last few weeks, but rumors have been swirling that the Hardy family hasn't yet committed long-term and could potentially re-appear in WWE.
The Hardy Boyz, surefire future WWE Hall of Famers, are one of the best tag teams in the history of the company - but the family has found new life since reinventing themselves as Broken Matt Hardy and Brother Nero in 2016. Their Final Deletion special was one of the most talked-about shows in wrestling all year, and was popular enough that WWE essentially copied the idea during a New Day-Wyatt Family feud.
It isn't entirely unusual for WWE to feature footage of the Hardys on social media, but a series of interestingly worded tweets has many fans wondering if the Hardys are on the verge of a WWE comeback. Last Sunday, with a week until WrestleMania 33, @WWENetwork made reference to Matt Hardy's Broken character, which Hardy shared.
https://twitter.com/WWENetwork/status/846059341962620928
https://twitter.com/MATTHARDYBRAND/status/846192783417380864
A few days later, a separate official WWE account dropped another choice Hardy word.
https://twitter.com/wweuniverse/status/847141308619800576
https://twitter.com/MATTHARDYBRAND/status/847172508017135616
Now, this could simply be a WWE employee having a bit of fun on social media - but WWE knows exactly what they're doing here, and teasing an association with the Hardys when nothing is in the works wouldn't go over very well with the hardcore fanbase.
There are plenty of potential complications standing in the way of an immediate reunion. Reby Hardy made it clear in an interview with Fox Sports earlier this month that the Hardy family is hesitant to return to a grueling, full-time schedule once again - Matt and Reby are expecting a second child soon. The Hardys also hold multiple tag team championship titles from a number of different promotions. The team will face The Young Bucks at Ring of Honor's Supercard of Honor on Saturday in Florida, and have a tailgate party to meet with fans scheduled for Sunday prior to WrestleMania 33 in Orlando.
If WWE and the Hardys have something in store, however, it could be an unforgettable WrestleMania moment.
