Matt Hardy Once Tried To Murder Jeff Hardy

Fans tuning into weekly AEW programming will have seen Darby Allin fall victim to a pyrotechnics sabotage, with his rival using it to try and cause irreparable damage. This harkens back to a moment all the way back in late 2000s WWE when Jeff Hardy was also on the receiving end of misbehaving fireworks which came shooting at him on the entrance ramp. Jeff Hardy’s incident came during a storyline in which brother Matt Hardy had become jealous of his success and sought to end Jeff’s career by any means necessary… even if it meant ending his life. In one of the most bizarre WWE storylines ever, sibling murder was almost committed.

Jeff Hardy Was Nearly Killed By A Mystery Attacker In WWE

• Jeff Hardy’s house was burned down.
• A mystery attacker caused an automobile accident involving Jeff Hardy.
• A pyrotechnics “malfunction” disrupted Jeff Hardy’s SmackDown entrance.

Throughout the back end of 2008 and the start of 2009, Jeff Hardy’s main event momentum was being dealt with several hurdles and setbacks. For instance, he was attacked in a stairwell before his scheduled Survivor Series WWE Championship match in 2008, ruling him out of the contest in the process. Later, after finally winning the WWE Title, he made his entrance on Friday Night SmackDown to confront Edge, only to have his pyro misfire and shower him with sparks, causing damage in what was presented to be an unfortunate accident. However, other scary and life-threatening incidents suggested that none of these were simply “accidents”, and a mystery assailant was at large.

Throughout the previous year, Jeff Hardy’s trailer had been burned down and he was also run off the road during a hit-and-run, both incidents posing a threat to life. Although the initial incident was a real life fire and tragic scenario, WWE used this in the storyline to raise the stakes to suggest that this mystery attack was trying to do the unthinkable; not just injure Jeff, but potentially end his life too. There have certainly been a whole bunch of far-fetched storylines in WWE, this being one of them, but things escalated further when it was revealed the attacker was none other than Jeff’s very own brother, Matt Hardy.

Matt Hardy Turned Heel And Was Revealed To Be His Attacker

• Matt betrayed Jeff at the 2009 Royal Rumble event.
• Matt admitted to killing Jeff’s dog in a fire.
• The two brothers fought at WWE’s WrestleMania 25 event.

During Jeff Hardy’s WWE Championship defense against Edge at the 2009 Royal Rumble PPV, Matt Hardy arrived to level the playing field due to Vickie Guerrero’s attempts to interfere. However, in a shocking twist, Matt struck Jeff with a brutal steel chair shot to the head. It emerged that Matt was the man behind all of these attacks, even implying that he was the one who started the fire which burned Jeff’s trailer down and killed his dog. Yep, Matt more or less admitted to both killing a pet and attempting to kill his very own brother. WWE under Vince McMahon could get bizarre at times.

In the proceeding weeks, Matt continued to prod at his brother and coax him into fighting, with Jeff eventually breaking and going after him. This led to an Extreme Rules match at WrestleMania 25 between the pair, which was won by Matt, though Jeff would hit back the following month at the 2009 Backlash PPV, making his brother say “I Quit”.

Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy Eventually Reunited Despite The Murder Storyline

• Jeff defeated Matt during their feud.
• The Hardy Boyz reunited in TNA.
• WWE didn’t reference their murderous rivalry during their 2017 comeback.

Despite the heinous attacks and blood feud between Matt & Jeff Hardy, professional wrestling logic saw the pair eventually make amends, teaming up again on SmackDown just a few months removed from their rivalry. Both men soon left WWE, finding themselves both in TNA where they’d also have various reunions with one another (and more feuds too, leading to their infamous Final Deletion match). The brothers ended up WWE in 2017, returning at WrestleMania 33 and reuniting properly for the first time in the company since their murderous rivalry.

Of course, there was no reference made to Matt Hardy’s legit attempts to permanently maim his brother, and they would remain on good terms over the next few years in the company, and in the various years beyond when they’d compete in the likes of AEW and later in TNA again. This remains as one of the craziest WWE storylines of all time.