Matt Hardy Talks Giving Back To The Business, Helping Young Talent
William Smith
Published Mar 28, 2026
Matt Hardy is most known for his part in the revival of tag team wrestling in America. He and his younger brother Jeff, known together as the Hardy Boyz, revolutionized tag team wrestling and made it a main event-level attraction, something that many wrestling fans doubted was ever possible.
RELATED: Jon Moxley Talks About Why He Bleeds So Often In His MatchesNow, both Matt and Jeff Hardy are signed to AEW. Neither of them has held championship titles in the company, but that isn't exactly their focus at this phase of their careers. Instead, they're focused on giving back to the business that gave them so much success.
Matt Hardy Discusses His Role As A Mentor In AEW
During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Matt Hardy discussed his recent feud alongside his brother Jeff against another sibling tag team, Colten and Austin Gunn. He recalled meeting the Gunns when they were just children back during his time in WWE.
I remember the Gunns as kids from when they were the ages of my own children. Now we’re wrestling them. How crazy is that? Father Time holds back for no one. As you get older, things change, but you have to make the most of it.
Matt Hardy went on to talk about how important it is to him to be a mentor to the upcoming generation. He expressed that veteran wrestlers were reluctant to "give back" and that he and Jeff never wanted to turn out that way.
I love giving back. When we were younger, I remember that being much bigger of an issue with the older talent. Myself and Jeff, we promised we’d never be those guys. It’s part of the responsibility to give younger guys a rub. Without people giving back, the business withers away. Someone made the older talent. Then comes the time to make someone new. The business has definitely gotten a lot more selfless over the past 30 years.
The attitude expressed by Matt Hardy here is a great sign for the future of the industry; we can only hope that other veterans of the business are as supportive of the youth as Matt is.
