The specifics of what led to Matt Hardy’s current state of hot water with WWE officials have yet to be released, but the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that creative was told Hardy is not to be booked for the forseeable future.
WWE had been concerned about Hardy’s status for at least several weeks prior to an issue this weekend that led to his being pulled from a European house show lineup. Sources say that Cody Rhodes’ televised promo about Matt Hardy’s weight, for instance, was intended as a “message” in the same way WWE had previously warned former Divas Mickie James and Serena about their issues on television.
This case is obviously more complex than weight, however, since Hardy has actually dropped a notable amount of weight in recent weeks.
Following reports that he had been “sent home,” Matt Hardy played a battle of semantics in a video that revealed he was still technically in Europe (ignoring the fact that “sent home” really means pulled from the road). WWE officials were concerned not simply over the nature of the video but also over the fact that he was openly going through stories on the Pro Wrestling Torch website in his rant; the feeling was that the video essentially established that the “dirt sheets” WWE tries to dismiss on television can be credible.
Because WWE has not announced the reason for pulling Hardy from the road, the belief is that the issue was not simply a Wellness Policy violation (violations of that sort are announced to the public). It is not clear if Hardy will be released, but he is clearly no one’s favorite person in the lockerroom.