Jeff Hardy’s departure from WWE not only impacted what the company had planned for him on the main roster but also in NXT 2.0.
Fightful Select reported today that the former WWE Champion was originally planned to be The Shaman for MSK. Just days before the reveal of who this person was, Hardy was let go by the company so WWE went with Matt Riddle for the role and rushed to film content with the three stars to make it work.
Per the report, there were “numerous” segments featuring Hardy as The Shaman left on the cutting room floor. Since Riddle aligned himself with MSK, the three stars have been feuding with Imperium as they will work a six-man tag team match on tonight’s New Year’s Evil edition of NXT 2.0. It’s unclear whether the original plan called for Hardy to wrestle in the match.
After an incident at a house show, which led to WWE sending him home, Hardy turned down their offer for help to go to rehab. This resulted in the company releasing him.
