Matt Hardy Describes Vince McMahon’s Philosophy On ‘Older Wrestlers’

Former WWE and current AEW star Matt Hardy has spoken about Vince McMahon’s philosophy when it comes to older wrestlers.

We’ve seen in recent times that a lot of the WWE releases have been wrestlers who aren’t necessarily young, especially with the change in approach with NXT.

On the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Matt Hardy spoke about his WWE departure and the talks he had with Vince McMahon, explaining that McMahon saw Hardy transitioning into a backstage producer role, whereas Hardy wanted to continue wrestling.

He said:

“They offered some good deals and good money. But I said it’s important to me that I’m going to be treated appropriately as a wrestler. Because there’s this thing there with Vince and older wrestlers he just feels like they are done. Even if there’s things they could utilize. I think Tony Khan does a masterful job of putting older guys into certain positions where they can succeed and they can optimize their efforts and their talents.

“After talking to Vince a little bit, I saw that he wanted me to wrestle a little bit. But he wasn’t up on utilizing me a lot in different roles. I never wanted to be a champion, I don’t want to be champion. I don’t need to be champion. I just wanted to be in a good role where I can work with other people and I can help the younger guys and stay relevant on my own.

“He said, ‘I can see you transitioning to a producer behind the scenes’. I know once he says that, that’s kind of what’s in his mind. If I can wrestle, I want to wrestle. I know I only have a few years left to do this plus I am going to make the most money there. And this is my dream, and my passion, and I love it, and it’s what I really want to do.

“So while I can do it, especially as my kids are getting a little bit older, for them to be able to see me wrestle is cool to me, so I definitely want to wrestle.”

Hardy went on to say that WWE made a last-ditch attempt to get him to re-sign to a big money contract, but he declined and ending up signing with AEW after talks with Tony Khan and the Young Bucks.

Quote via Wrestling Inc

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• Age
• Matt Hardy
• Vince McMahon
• wwe

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