As we noted earlier this week, Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com reported WWE is in the process of working something out with Impact Wrestling which will allow The Hardy Boyz to use the “Broken” gimmick on WWE TV.
According to Billi Bhatti of Sportskeeda, despite reports of WWE not using the “Broken” gimmick on TV due to potential legal ramifications from Impact Wrestling, the main reason why The Hardys did not return to WWE as “Broken” is because Vince McMahon was not a fan of the gimmick. McMahon originally wanted the brothers to return as their previous Hardy Boyz characters, however, once he heard the way the crowd reacted to them at WrestleMania 33 and on Raw the next night, with the WWE Universe chanting “delete” and referencing the Broken gimmick, McMahon warmed up to the idea of The Hardys being “Broken” in WWE.
Vince is now open to The Hardys using the gimmick in WWE once the current incarnation of The Hardy Boyz characters runs it course. Vince has reportedly instructed the creative team to begin coming up with ideas for The Broken Hardys on TV.
In related news, Jeff Hardy returning to WWE was something that was reportedly planned about 12 months before Jeff’s Impact Wrestling contract ended, and there were big plans in place for Jeff to receive a huge singles push upon returning to WWE. There were no plans to sign Matt Hardy at the time. However, when the Broken gimmick came along, and began to take off on Impact Wrestling, plans changed, and WWE decided to sign both Hardy brothers.
With The Hardys set to revive the Broken gimmick in WWE, the eventual direction appears to be for Jeff and Matt to work as singles stars, with Matt being “Broken Matt Hardy”, and likely feuding with someone like Bray Wyatt, and Jeff being pushed as a main event player on Raw.
