Update on the Hardys’ ROH and WWE Situation – ROH Long Term?

As mentioned last night, Matt and Jeff Hardy made a surprise appearance at the Ring of Honor Manhattan Mayhem VI show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC and won the ROH Tag Team titles from The Young Bucks.

Matt Hardy then announced that they had signed a deal with ROH and listed three shows where they would be appearing: The ROH PPV next week, the TV taping after that, and the “Supercard of Honor XI” show on April 1. The fact that he only announced three specific dates would seem to indicate that their ROH deal is a short term deal and they would be free to go to WWE after April 1.

However, on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer stated that the ROH deal is a “long term deal” and that they are “not going to WWE anytime soon.” He then specified that it was not a 2 month deal and it would be “past May.” However, he also stated that the Hardys have been telling indy feds that they’re available for dates until at least May 1 and that if they ended up in WWE, it would not be before then. So the report is a bit confusing…

Bryan Alvarez then later stated on Wrestling Observer Live that sources he’s spoken to who are close to the Hardys have said that it is actually a short term deal and NOT a long term deal, and that he expects the Hardys to be free agents again after the April 1 ROH show, where he expects them to drop the tag titles to the Young Bucks. He said that if someone put a gun to his head, he would predict that the Hardys would be signed to WWE by the end of the year.

On the ROH deal, Meltzer said that creative control was a big part of it and he had a feeling they didn’t want the WWE schedule. Being able to work indy dates with no restrictions was also a big part of it. ROH also apparently offered them “great” money by indy standards. Meltzer said that signing with ROH seemed more about “happiness” and being able to have control.