Matt Hardy Reveals Vince McMahon Wanted Him To Stop Wrestling Before WWE Exit

bibonsinhaSat, August 8, 2026 at 1:09 AM UTC

0

Photo credit: TNA Wrestling

Matt Hardy has revealed that Vince McMahon wanted him to stop wrestling full-time for another role. McMahon wanted Matt Hardy to take on a backstage role before his WWE exit in 2020. However, Hardy had a different plan.

The former WWE Tag Team Champion wanted to keep wrestling for as long as his body allowed him to. While he understood McMahon’s reasoning for why he could help WWE backstage, Hardy was not ready to give up his in-ring career.

Matt Hardy says Vince McMahon wanted him to become a WWE producer before his 2020 departure

Hardy, who is still wrestling years after leaving WWE, recently recalled McMahon encouraging him to become a full-time producer, coach or agent during the final part of his second WWE run.

Speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy Podcast, Hardy explained his mindset at the time.

“I think both myself and Christian had that, just because we knew Vince saw the bigger money in both Adam and in Jeff. He liked both of us, too, don’t get me wrong. He still took great care of us. But at the end of the day, when we worked for Vince and he saw something a certain way, I knew that was going to happen,” Hardy said.

He felt that if he had signed another contract, he probably would have moved into a backstage role sooner or later, even if he was allowed to wrestle for a short time.

Advertisement

“Much like at the very end before I left WWE at my contract, they were trying to get me to re-sign. But Vince was really trying to get me just to be a full-time producer or coach or whatever, agent. I said, ‘Dude, I want to wrestle while I can. If I can still wrestle, that’s what I would like to do.’ I could just see how he saw me in that role,” Hardy said.

He believes he could have worked on a storyline with Bray Wyatt and his brother Jeff Hardy. However, he expected McMahon would eventually move him back into a producer or coaching position.

“And I know if I re-signed there, I might for a couple months do this cool angle with me and Windham as The Fiend and Jeff as Willow. But then he is going to put me back into that role because that is how he sees me and that is what he wants, and Vince always got what he wants,” Hardy admitted.

Hardy’s comments show why he decided not to extend his WWE run. His second WWE stint began when he and Jeff Hardy made their surprise return at WrestleMania 33.

The Hardy Boyz became a major part of WWE’s tag team division again. However, Matt’s time with the company ended in 2020. He then moved on to AEW and stayed with the company for around four years. He eventually returned to TNA later.

Read More: Liv Morgan & Becky Lynch React to Netflix’s Controversial Dominik Mysterio Edit

The post Matt Hardy Reveals Vince McMahon Wanted Him To Stop Wrestling Before WWE Exit appeared first on Wrestlezone.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”