AEW can’t seem to escape controversy these days. This time, two of their talents have voiced frustration due to the lack of creative direction for their characters. On The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, the former WWE Tag Team Champions voiced their displeasure over their current position in the company, as the AEW tag team feels that they still have value in the division. Jeff notably stated on the podcast that he “feels like a ghost” currently in AEW:

“When I first came back, it was pretty exciting. I didn;t know what was going to be happening in the near future, but I think the last I was in this extreme dimension of y’all’s podcast, I said that in WWE, I felt like I was a ghost, just walking around backstage. Honestly, man, I kind of still feel like that at AEW, just because of not being involved in something cool. I feel like there’s something so special that we (Jeff and Matt) have within us to really bring out.”

AEW has a HUGE roster. In fact, the promotion has over 150 active wrestlers on their current roster. This means Jeff and Matt aren’t the only ones not properly used in the company. But the edge that these two have is they’re former WWE stars who are certainly bound for the WWE Hall of Fame. Jeff and Matt’s concerns are valiant as these two are barely featured on Dynamite or Collision, but in this case, Tony Khan may not be to blame as Jeff Hardy’s latest stint involving the law may be a big component on why he’s currently not being featured prominently. 

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Tony Khan Was Actually Pushing The Hardys Before Jeff’s Latest Incident In 2022

When Jeff Hardy came into AEW in 2022, Tony Khan saw the value in the legendary tag team. Unfortunately, the AEW President ignored the strange circumstances of Hardy’s release from WWE. In December 2021, Jeff Hardy randomly walked out of a tag team match at a live event. Five days after that weird incident, the former WWE Champion was released from his contract. It was reported that WWE asked for Hardy to go to rehab, but the 46-year-old refused. 

That, in turn, prompted his release from the company. Instead of properly vetting Jeff, Tony Khan brought him in and skyrocketed the Hardys into a prominent position. The duo even got a big victory over The Young Bucks at Double or Nothing 2021. The Hardys seemed prime for a tag team title run as they were originally scheduled for a triple threat ladder match for the AEW World Tag Team titles.

That’s when the DUI incident took place. The thing is, The Hardys are correct in their assessment, these two are an iconic duo who still have name value in the world of professional wrestling. But Jeff Hardy killed any sort of push coming their way. Tony Khan blindly put his trust and faith into the duo and sadly, Hardy got in trouble with the law once again. I’m not trying to be mean as I understand that addiction can be hard. But there’s a strong possibility that Tony Khan isn’t giving the Hardys a huge push because his faith in Jeff just hasn’t been restored yet.

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AEW Has An Extremely Bloated Roster

Another major issue is that AEW has too many names on its roster. I don’t want to say that Tony needs to release some talents because these men and women rely on his checks to pay bills and eat. But there’s no denying that there just isn’t enough time to feature nearly 200 talents in five hours of AEW programming. 

A big part is that Tony Khan doesn’t diversify his talent pool very much. You have the regulars like Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, and The Young Bucks. But he doesn’t switch out talents all too often to truly take advantage of his incredible talent pool. Names like Lance Archer, Hook, Keith Lee, Mike Satana, and Ortiz are being severely sidelined. Whereas some names like Johnny TV, Colt Cabana, Anthony Ogogo, and Shawn Spears have all but disappeared and seem to be collecting a paycheck at home. 

No offense to the Hardys, but they just aren’t the spring chickens that they used to be in the early 2000s. Add to the fact that Tony is likely hesitant to give them any sort of push right now, it’s not a surprise that they’re barely being used in AEW. Tony Khan’s misuse of talent is indeed a problem that needs to be fixed. 

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Should The Hardys Leave AEW?

This is all speculation on my end as there’s been no reason given on why The Hardys are on the lower card of AEW’s roster. But the value of the Hardy name seems to be tainted currently. Even when Jeff was gone, there wasn’t much direction with Matt Hardy. Once Hardy’s Broken gimmick was killed, Matt didn’t reinvent himself in a meaningful manner. 

This is why Christian Cage is excelling in AEW. The guy has always been a tremendous heel, but he’s arguably doing some of the best work of his career by delivering fantastic segments in AEW. Matt was given a decent solo push before Jeff came, but nothing much came out of it. 

The Hardys have the right to be disgruntled over their position in AEW and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they left the company once their contracts expire. But these guys just aren’t at the level that they once were. Matt and Jeff are notably slower, and the latter will always be a liability due to his past drug issues. Perhaps the Hardys will get some type of resurgence in the coming months, but as it stands, Tony Khan isn’t entirely to blame when it comes to the booking of the WWE legends.