Jeff and Matt Hardy, the iconic wrestling brothers known as The Hardy Boyz, currently hold the TNA World Tag Team Championships, marking their fourth reign with the titles following their victory at 2025’s Slammiversary. They triumphed over several formidable teams, including The Rascalz, First Class, and former champions Ryan and Nic Nemeth. As they continue their dominance in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, speculation builds regarding their potential return to <a href="https://cynicaltimes.org/category/wrestling-news/wwe/”>WWE, the organization where they gained legendary status.
A Unified Front: TNA Champions Stand Ready for Battle
Recently on TNA IMPACT, The Hardy Boyz appeared alongside fellow TNA titleholders Leon Slater, the X Division Champion, and Steve Maclin, the International Champion, preparing for potential conflicts. Recognizing the threat posed by outside forces such as Trick Williams and Jacy Jayne of Fatal Influence, Maclin vowed to protect their promotion with the help of other champions. Reflecting this shared resolve, Matt Hardy declared,
“That’s a war that TNA will refuse to lose.”
—Matt Hardy
Looking Ahead: The Hardy Boyz and Their Future Plans
The Hardys are expected to return to WWE before retiring from active wrestling, where they are likely to face a new generation of tag team competitors. Despite this eventual transition, Jeff Hardy recently indicated their competitive spirit remains strong, stating,
“will keep choo-choo and chuggin’ chuggin’ until the wheels fall off.”
—Jeff Hardy
During their third stint as TNA World Tag Team Champions earlier this year, The Hardy Boyz successfully defended their titles against Fraxiom at the NXT Roadblock event and defeated No Quarter Catch Crew’s Myles Borne and Tavion Heights in a non-title match on NXT. Their ongoing engagement with WWE raises questions about what creative direction their career might take should they return in 2025.
The Hardy Boyz and Their Deep TLC Legacy
Few teams are as closely linked to the TLC (Tables, Ladders, and Chairs) match format as The Hardy Boyz. The North Carolina siblings participated in the very first-ever TLC match against The Dudley Boyz and the team of Edge and Christian at SummerSlam 2000. Their rivalry with these teams continued with a classic three-way TLC tag match at WrestleMania X-Seven, cementing their place in wrestling history.
Potential Shock Inclusion in WWE’s Six-Pack TLC Ladder Match
On the July 25 episode of SmackDown, General Manager Nick Aldis introduced the first-ever Six-Pack TLC ladder match to contend for the WWE Tag Team Championship. However, there is speculation that WWE parent company TKO Group Holdings might invite The Hardy Boyz as a surprise seventh team. Such an unanticipated entry would echo their dramatic return to WWE at WrestleMania 33 in 2017, where they unexpectedly joined a multi-competitor ladder match and captured the RAW Tag Team Titles.
The Hardy Brothers’ Proximity to SummerSlam 2025
During the SummerSlam weekend, both Matt and Jeff Hardy are scheduled for autograph signings in New Jersey, close to the event’s venue, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. The 2025 SummerSlam event will be unprecedented, spanning two nights at this large venue. Fans attending the show would undoubtedly react enthusiastically if the legendary duo appeared in the multi-team TLC match.
If one of the originally scheduled six teams were removed before the contest, The Hardy Boyz would be a natural and fitting replacement. Should they win, The Hardys could hold the tag team championships of WWE’s SmackDown brand as well as the TNA World Tag Titles, making them dual champions across two wrestling companies.
Current WWE Tag Team Champions and Possible Rivals
The Wyatt Sicks, comprised of Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy, currently hold the WWE Tag Team Titles and will defend them in the multi-team TLC battle on the second night of SummerSlam 2025. Even if The Hardys do not participate in this match, they might soon face The Wyatt Sicks’ faction led by “Uncle Howdy,” potentially igniting a storyline conflict.
The Hardy Boyz and WWE’s Use of Cinematic Matches
A feud involving The Hardy Boyz and The Judgment Day’s horror-themed faction could lead to a revival of WWE’s Cinematic Match style. This format was notably used for The Undertaker’s final match at WrestleMania 36 and was pioneered earlier by The Broken Hardys during their TNA tenure with segments like Delete or Decay and The Final Deletion. Matt Hardy’s 2018 rivalry with Bray Wyatt on RAW, known as The Ultimate Deletion, similarly showcased cinematic storytelling methods.
The clash between The Hardy Boyz and Uncle Howdy’s group could extend beyond the ring to locations like The Hardy Compound and The Wyatt Sicks’ “house of horrors,” creating a deeply immersive narrative intensity.
New Day’s Tag Team Dominance and a Potential Clash with The Hardys
The New Day has amassed a record 13 tag team championship reigns across WWE’s RAW, SmackDown, and NXT brands, making them one of the most decorated teams in company history. However, with SmackDown General Manager Adam Pearce showing hesitance in granting Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston a title opportunity against The Judgment Day’s World Tag Team Champions, New Day may seek championship gold in alternative wrestling promotions.
Matt Hardy once advocated for a match between The Hardys and New Day, calling it
“a match we would definitely like to have at some point in our careers.”
—Matt Hardy
Xavier Woods has publicly praised The Hardys as “an INCREDIBLE tag team,” but ended his statement with a challenge:
“We would delete these two faster than Matt could say it.”
—Xavier Woods
A potential rivalry could run across WWE’s RAW and TNA IMPACT! brands, where New Day’s experience as former TNA champions—with Woods winning the TNA World Tag Team title as Consequences Creed—could add historical weight. A crossover feud here might make New Day the first active WWE wrestlers to hold TNA tag team gold in decades.
The Possibility of a Dream Match: The Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Hardy Boyz
Interestingly, The Hardy Boyz and the acclaimed team known as The Motor City Machine Guns (MCMG) have yet to face off in a tag team match, though both sides have expressed the desire for such a contest. Earlier this year, The Charismatic Enigma mentioned The Hardys’ interest in battling MCMG during a podcast interview.
Matt Hardy echoed this sentiment, suggesting that it would “be cool” to face The Motor City Machine Guns. MCMG’s members Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley, both former three-time TNA World Tag Team Champions, also indicated during a 2025 conversation with British media that it’s time for the teams to compete.
Should this dream match come to fruition, it would likely feature a respectful rivalry built on mutual competition, as both teams are currently babyface duos.
Opportunities for WWE’s Top Tag Teams to Challenge The Hardys
If WWE seeks to provide meaningful challengers for Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh, the current WWE Tag Team Champions, a partnership with the Nashville-based promotion could see these stars cross over to TNA to challenge The Hardys. This scenario could precipitate a title invasion storyline, where Bálor and McDonagh attempt to capture the TNA World Tag Team Titles from the Broken brothers.
Potential Rivalries with The Judgment Day and Broader WWE Storylines
A feud between The Hardy Boyz and The Judgment Day faction may escalate beyond tag team ambitions, involving members from the red brand such as Dominik Mysterio, Roxanne Perez, and Raquel Rodriguez. This storyline could develop both in TNA IMPACT and WWE’s Monday Night RAW, with segments set at The Hardy Compound as well as inside the ring.
Almost every person in The Judgment Day holds a WWE championship, except for Perez and Rodriguez, who recently lost the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles at the first night of SummerSlam 2025. None of these members have secured belt victories in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. A champions vs. champions clash could change this circumstance, potentially featuring title exchanges between WWE and TNA across both brands.
