Matt Hardy explains attending WWE Raw, gives AEW contract update

On his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, AEW wrestler Matt Hardy explained why he was in attendance at WWE Raw this week.

Hardy and his wife Reby were in a skybox during this Monday's Raw episode from the PNC Arena in their home state of North Carolina. Reby posted a TikTok video of Matt at the show and taking pictures with fans.

Hardy said on his podcast that he was at Raw for about 80 or 90 minutes. While he and Reby were having a date night, one of Reby's friends invited them to come to their suite at Raw. Hardy initially didn't want to go, but Reby said the skybox would be closed off. The suite ended up being "pretty open" in the front and Hardy was recognized by fans.

Hardy said that, at the end of the day, him attending the show was an "innocent thing."

Literally, myself and my wife, which we try and do once, maybe twice a week if we can, we had a date night where it was just me and her without kids. And we were eating in Raleigh, we were having a great dinner in Raleigh. And she was contacted by one of her friends that she does a spa with inside of Raleigh. And Raleigh is just a few miles from the Hardy Compound, everyone knows that. And they had a suite, which they always have, over at the PNC which is the arena in Raleigh. And they invited Reby over to the deal, said, 'Hey, you want to come hang out? There's free food, there's this, whatever, we'd like to see you.'

... Reby was like, 'Oh, we should go by there. I'd like to see my friend.' I said, 'Ugh, I really wouldn't want to go by there.' She said, 'Well they're in a skybox, so it's like closed off and whatever. We wouldn't be getting there until 8:45, 9:00 p.m.' So we actually went. Reby hung out with her friends for a little bit. And while I was there, the skybox, the suite, was pretty open in the front. And yes, I did get recognized. And people started forming a line to like take photos with me and whatnot. And we cut out of there at about 10:30 p.m. I was there probably 80 or 90 minutes altogether and I probably took 200 photos, which once word got out that I was there, it was like crazy. There was literally at one point a line and security came and like had to make them move against the wall so I could take photos with them.

But anyway, my wife went to go hang out and I was there. It was a very innocent thing at the end of the day. But it was wild. It was wild being in the PNC Arena where we had SummerSlam 2000. And that's where the first TLC match went down. And just seeing WWE there running again, it was wild. It was fun just to sit back as a spectator and watch wrestling. At the end of the day, I'm pro wrestling's biggest fan, too. I love watching pro wrestling if I get the opportunity to.

So, really interesting. And I knew as soon as I started taking pictures, like, 'Oh my god, this is gonna get blown out of - this is going to go nuts.' And it is what it is. And actually, in reality, I'm ok with that.

During Raw, Matt and Jeff Hardy were referenced on commentary when Michael Cole listed past brother vs. brother matchups that took place at WrestleMania. Jey and Jimmy Uso are facing off against each other at WrestleMania 40. Hardy said Cole made the reference before he and Reby even got to PNC Arena.

Hardy being at Raw got increased attention online because his AEW contract is set to expire this month (March). Hardy noted on his podcast that he's in negotiations with AEW and is still figuring things out regarding his contract. Part of Hardy's decision will come down to making sure that he's happy and in a satisfactory position in his role in AEW.

The reason it got even more buzz is because people know my contract is coming up. You know, I'm in the midst of contract negotiations. And I think, if you are trying to secure me under contract, I'm a guy you want. Because whenever I work for your company, nobody waves the flag harder than I do. Whether it's promote the company on social media, whether, you know, promote the hell out of all the positives the company offers. And I do love AEW. There's some things I would like to change about my personal career there, and some of the things that we're doing, but I do say overall I love AEW because it is very important for the pro wrestling industry. AEW needs to do well just because the pro wrestling industry doesn't need just one huge company that is in control of everything. They need competition. Competition is what makes it thrive, it is what makes it better. For all the young kids that are coming up, competition needs to exist. So yes, I want AEW to do well and I want AEW to thrive. But I want to be in a satisfactory position in what I'm doing in AEW.

And that's kind of where we're at, you know, still negotiating and figuring things out. And, once again, Tony Khan is taking great care of me. He has been a good boss. I think Tony Khan is a great human being. But at the end of the day when it comes for me making the decision about what I do next, it also comes down to making sure that I'm happy and that I'm comfortable with what I'm doing too - in all capacities across the board.

Hardy believes there's a ton of value in both him and his brother Jeff - and The Hardys together especially - because of how recognizable they are. Hardy said he wants to be used to the best of his ability and get the most out of that value.