The Hardy Boyz On Their Final Match With Team 3D And Reclaiming TNA Gold (Exclusive)

Among the top five greatest tag teams in wrestling history, Jeff and Matt Hardy have spent three decades ahead of their contemporaries, making tag team wrestling exciting and unique, bringing it into the 21st century.

After stints with both WWE and AEW, the Hardy Boyz returned to TNA in April 2024, winning their third TNA Tag Team Championship reign that October. Matt Hardy tells me that the roster in TNA is the best it's ever been.

"The roster that is currently in TNA, they're selfless," he says. "Everyone's working for the greater good. It's the best roster. I also think the best management has ever had."

The Hardy Boyz Loved Their Four-Way Ladder Match As Much As You Did

As the warriors of the last generation are making potentially their final runs in the ring, The Hardy Boyz seem like they're just getting started again in their TNA run. Their four-way ladder match at Slammiversary against The Rascalz, The Nemeths, and First Class was not only the most well-received of the evening, but netted Jeff and Matt their third TNA Tag Team Championship.

Matt Hardy tells me he and Jeff were excited about the match, especially regarding the story it told seeing them regain their championships.

"We got screwed out of the titles by the Nemeths, but we started looking in the mirror," Matt says. "We were questioning ourselves like, 'Hey, are we really at the top of our game? Because if we're not, maybe it's time for us to step out.' We were super excited for it. It was great working with First Class. I think they're a very solid tag team. They've added a lot. AJ Francis, and he had KC Navarro with them at that time. They were great, then having the Rascalz in it was awesome, too, because we knew there were going to be some younger guys that could not wait to take big bumps. It was going to make our jobs a little easier as well."

Jeff echoes Matt's thoughts about KC Navarro and how well he did in the match, in spite of working with an injured knee throughout the match.

"Super proud of all of those guys," Jeff says. "To be a part of this thing, I've been thinking about that cable ladder since TLC 2. Thank you, Tommy Dreamer and TNA, for bringing that to life for me."

Team 3D vs. The Hardy Boyz: One Last Time

With so many of their peers and contemporaries bowing out of the wrestling world, The Hardy Boyz continue to excel and succeed in TNA, continuing another chapter of their storied legacy. After an unexpected challenge from former TNA World Champion Bully Ray, the duo will now face the reunited Team 3D for the TNA Tag Team Championships at Bound For Glory on October 12th.

The match announcement came as a surprise to the fans in the crowd, as well as The Hardy Boyz themselves.

"I was still high on adrenaline, man, after that cable ladder spot and the finish of the match," Jeff says. "I had no idea. We had no idea. It was like, What is going on with this? For him to challenge us to a final match was just mind-blowing."

"We knew there was talk about wanting to do this match," Matt tells me. "I think Team 3D, the Dudleys, they were interested in doing it. It might happen, may happen, may not happen. I think Bully Ray wanted to be as genuine and authentic as possible. He did his promo, and he left. He went in the back, and by the time we got in the back, he'd already left, too. So we didn't even interact with him except in the ring, which is wild. Very old-school wrestling days. I think he was just really working hard to try and get an authentic reaction on everyone."

Team 3D and The Hardy Boyz, along with Edge & Christian, are so intricately linked in their careers from their game-changing TLC matches. Jeff remembers being excited about working with Bully Ray and Devon, then known as The Dudley Boyz, after seeing them in ECW.

"Me and Bully Ray used to do one of the best backdrops you could ever see in pro wrestling," Jeff says. "If you haven't seen this, [it's] worth going back and looking it up - 'Jeff Hardy, Bully Ray backdrop' - because, man, they were beautiful. But I just remember being a fan of the original ECW, and then, I don't know, they were coming to the WWE. It was so exciting. I had no idea what we'd created with the TLC match at that point, but as a wrestling fan, I was just so excited to mix it up with these guys that me and Matt used to stay up till 2:00 in the morning to watch the original ECW. I'll never forget seeing Sabu break a table, a lot of frustration and anger, and it just blew my mind. But then, we're such a fan of that, but then for them to come to the WWE and wrestle with us was just amazing."

"We had no idea that we would end up being so closely linked to them at that time when they were there," Matt continues, "But we were excited for them to come. We thought it'd be a great team to work against, then obviously, the Hardys, the Dudleys, and Edge and Christian are always going to be connected together."

This match not only signifies the last dance between Team 3D and The Hardy Boyz, it also marks the end of Devon's in-ring career. A perfect crescendo to a decorated career and intertwined with a transcendent story, Matt Hardy wants fans to see this match as a celebration of it all.

"I think the thing I am most looking forward to is getting through this match and exceeding expectations and then just sharing a moment at the end, celebrating the fact that we have had a rivalry that has gone over a quarter of a century."

Jeff shares this sentiment, but wants fans to temper their expectations just a bit when it comes to some of the high-flying moves of the past.

"I know that me and Devon aren't going to hang from anything in the match," Jeff laughs. "I know that's not going to happen. But yeah, just to feel the emotion when it's all over is going to be pretty powerful."

The Hardy Boyz will defend their TNA Tag Team Championships against Team 3D at Bound For Glory, taking place on October 12th at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, MA. The event can be streamed on the TNA+ app as well as TrillerTV, and begins at 7pm ET. Check your local listings for start times in your area.