On the latest “Extreme Life…” podcast, AEW’s Matt Hardy talked about the viral video of Jeff Hardy getting hounded at the airport by autograph seekers. Matt also revealed that Jeff has been putting his foot down and saying no to certain things. Matt said Jeff is open to doing limited convention appearances but he’s not wrestling on indie shows because of his sobriety.
Hardy said, “Well to begin with, I had just passed through that exact area probably 20 seconds before the video was taken. If you see me in an airport, I’ll most likely have on shades. I’ll be moving straight ahead. I’ll have my headphones on. I saw these guys and I saw them going, ‘Hey Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt.’ I see them holding stacks of photos and obviously they’re guys that are there just to flip them and sell them and put them on eBay, whatever, this, that, and the thing.”
“I don’t mind and I will never mind, I will never say no to someone who comes up with a photo who legitimately is a wrestling fan and they want you to sign something or whatever, especially if they have kids with them. I have a big soft spot in my heart for kids. But like, when I know you’re there literally for the only reason to try and flip these photos and make money off of it, like, it’s just not cool and it’s not appropriate.”
“Jeff is just so nice of a guy where it is hard for him to say no, you know, because he is very much a people pleaser and I think part of his journey to sobriety over the last year, he has probably learned a lot and he has put his foot down some in terms of being a people pleaser, much like he doesn’t wrestle on the indie scene right now. He’s open to doing signings and cons and stuff like that, but he only wants to do two a month. He’s really put his foot down with that, and I respect that, and I’m cool with that.”
“I almost feel like he has to put his foot down even with these photos as well. Something I would do if someone comes up to me and they have all these photos, and these guys did follow us to baggage claim later, one or two of the guys. There were probably three or four guys that were doing this that had this whole operation in play. They came down and they said, ‘Hey, will you sign some photos?’ I said, ‘Two’, and that’s typically what I do and I feel like I need to just get Jeff on board and say, ‘Yeah, we’ll sign two and then anything after that is like 50 bucks or whatever.’ Then if they want to pay, fine. Then they’ll do it. It’ll be worth their while, but the sole reason they are there is to get autographs and then make money off it.”
“That is such a big part of a wrestler’s appeal anyway. Autographs and photos are kind of how we make money in a lot of ways, especially when we do appearances and that’s where you’re supposed to come if you want a bunch of stuff signed. I did Spookala this weekend and it was great because Queen Rebecca was there. There were people who showed up who would have five action figures and they would have five different photos they wanted signed and they would do it the right way. I spend time with them, I talk to them, and they get an experience.”
“These guys are just like vultures in many ways because they’re just circling around that airport, and they have boxes of all the different talents, and they’re trying to get whoever they can get. Jeff, being one of the kindest dudes you’ll ever meet, wants to make everybody happy and just wants to be cool and laid back and doesn’t want conflict. I would say that probably more than anything with Jeff is that he doesn’t want conflict. He’s just like, ‘Okay, fine. I’ll sign them and just get this done’, but I hate that anyone puts him in that position. I would like to see Jeff say, ‘I’ll do two or whatever. That’s too much. Outrageous.’”
“I think if a wrestling fan is there, especially someone with a kid, we’re always going to sign. That will never change. We’re not going to say, ‘No. This is our personal time. We’re not going to sign.’ I mean, we’re like public figures to a degree. We’ll always sign or take a picture with someone, but that guy was prostituting Jeff’s kindness and taking advantage of him.”
“I’m glad it was on video and someone put it out and brought it to the forefront so that it can be a public discussion, because that should help shame those people into thinking twice about doing that again.”
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