There have been a ton of unconfirmed reports floating around lately about the Hardy Boyz – Matt and Jeff – and their immediate futures with WWE.
As noted before, WWE is tentatively planning on moving forward with the “Broken” gimmick, but it is all dependent on continued negotiations with Anthem/Impact on usage of the trademark.
One report suggested that Anthem is after ongoing royalties and a cut of merchandise sales, whereas WWE would rather just buy it out with a lump sum payment.
An article making the rounds today also suggested that the reason WWE has decided to refrain from using the “Broken” gimmick is not due to legal reasons, but simply because Vince McMahon is not a fan of the characters. McMahon has a history of being only lukewarm to any ideas that were created outside of WWE. However, this report also went on to suggest that Vince has sort of changed his mind after witnessing first hand at the reaction the gimmick is getting at live events.
Finally, one rumor we’ve heard is that WWE will transition the Hardys into the Broken gimmick after they lose the tag team titles, which would serve as the catalyst for Matt going broken.
It’s also possible at that time that WWE will split the brothers and have them compete in singles match as it is no secret that WWE officials see Jeff Hardy as a potential singles star while also eyeing programs for Matt Hardy, including one against Bray Wyatt.