The official debuts of veteran wrestling personalities William Regal and Jeff Hardy onAEWDynamitehas led to the highly-anticipated formation of one tag team union in Jon Moxley and “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson, and the long-awaited reunion of another team in Jeff and his brother Matt, the Hardy Boyz.
Jeff Hardy’s debutcomes after weeks of rumors and concerns surrounding his contract status with WWE, but it all appears to be cast aside for now, as he wasted no time shedding his “free agent” status on March 9 by signing with AEW that very day. Regal’s signing itself is one deemed crucial byAEWfans and critics alike, as while he no longer actively wrestles, he brings an extraordinary on-screen presence, character, and ability to raise the stock of performers around him, as well as an invaluable backstage presence, given his top-notch experience as the globe-trotting talent scout for the original WWE NXT promotion and helping to put together the amazing television and live events the brand had at its peak.
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Regal’s first AEW cameo came at theRevolutionPPV, where he corralled and literally slapped some sense into Moxley and Danielson during a post-match brawl to get them to shake hands and, given Moxley’s intent to team with Danielson only if they “bled together,” finally come together after a bloody, brutal war between the ropes in which Moxley was the victor. On the March 9 episode ofDynamite, Regal would get on the mic to explain that he came to AEW not only to bring together Moxley and Danielson as an unstoppable force, but to help them inspire the next generation of wrestlers to reach their greatest potential both in and out of the squared circle. Jeff officially arrived to AEW that same night. His brother Matt has been distancing himself from his AHFO (Andrade-Hardy Family Office) faction in recent weeks and wanted to make amends, only to be turned on and assaulted by his former cohorts. This lead to “The Icon” Sting, Darby Allin, and ultimately his debuting brother Jeff making the save, culminating in The Blade receiving a classic Twist of Fate-Swanton Bomb combination fromthe newly-reunited Hardy Boyz.
The formation of these two teams opens up a whole host of possible match-ups within AEW’s extremely in-depth tag team roster. With the Hardy Boyz coming together again, for example, they already have potential feuds lined up with the two teams in Matt’s former AHFO group, The Butcher & The Blade and Private Party, not to mention their longstanding rivalry with fellow real-brother team The Young Bucks. As for Moxley and Danielson, there’s no lack of precedence for a makeshift team finding success in the deep waters of AEW’s tag division, with two such teams in “Hangman” Adam Page & Kenny Omega andcurrent tag champions Jurassic Expressgoing the distance to win the AEW Tag Team Championship.
There are certainly a number of intriguing possibilities in between the ropes where these two teams are concerned, but given that the Hardys and the duo of Moxley and Danielson are all vastly-tenured wrestling stars, Jeff and Regal’s AEW arrival can be just as beneficial for the rest of the company’s tag team division, particularly the younger generation of talent like Private Party, 2point0, The Acclaimed, and the newly-reunited Top Flight. By having such a strong veteran presence in the tag division, the five men can help focus and elevate these young teams to premier status as the future stars of All Elite Wrestling.
As is often the case with a new wrestler or team on the AEW scene, there is the underlying concern of the tag team roster andAEW’s overall rosterbeing over-saturated. There is no substitute for wisdom and experience, however, and the two veterans, especially Regal, bring that to Tony Khan’s table in spades.
