After months of speculation, we now know the fate of Jeff Hardy and his WWE career. At last night’s SmackDown taping, for this Friday, Jeff Hardy lost a steel cage match to CM Punk, in a loser leaves WWE stipulation.
After the match concluded, Jeff Hardy then bid farewell to the fans in attendance and said, “When the time is right, I‘ll see you again.†Leaving the door open for a return, Hardy is expected to take an extended hiatus from the wrestling world to pursue other career opportunities and to take a break.
According to several reports, Hardy spoke to wrestlers backstage, citing being burnt out as a key factor to his decision to take a break.
There were also reports of Hardy shopping a new reality TV series to a number of networks
, including MTV. Details of the reality series never leaked online.
Those within the WWE believe Hardy will come back, but a timetable for his return was never revealed.
And here's an update they posted later.
Source - LOP.comAs reported earlier, Jeff Hardy finished up with WWE last night as he lost a "Loser Leaves Town" match to World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk at the SmackDown taping, which will air this Friday night.
Officials told Hardy the door will always be open for him to return whenever he wanted and that WWE would be more than happy to promote any of his outside projects. He is planning on performing with his band, Peroxwhy?gen and working on a potential reality series.
Hardy told management he wasn't departing because he unhappy, but rather, he wanted time off from the road in order to do things at his own pace.
Almost everyone feels it is only a matter of when, not if, Hardy would return to WWE. Many wrestlers were comparing his departure from WWE to that of Chris Jericho a few years ago, who went to work on several acting and musical gigs before returning to the company with a prime position.
Many have praised Hardy's last several months of work in WWE as they felt he helped bring CM Punk up to a higher level where he could be seen as a legitimate threat going into his next feud with Undertaker.
I'm honestly sad to see him go. Whether you were a fan or not, I believe that you have to admit that Jeff put on one hell of an entertaining last main event run before he left.