Last night’s SmackDown opened with an apparently intoxicated Jeff Hardy crashing his car into Elias outside the Performance Center. Elias would be taken away in an ambulance, and Jeff Hardy arrested.
After the segment aired, both Matt and his wife Reby Hardy took to Twitter, seemingly unhappy with WWE basing a storyline around Jeff’s real-life issues that resulted in two DUI arrests, plus a charge of public intoxication.
Just to reiterate..
I’m happy to be working at @AEWrestling for @TonyKhan on Wednesdays.
— #BROKEN Matt Hardy (@MATTHARDYBRAND) May 30, 2020
I’m throwing my TV out.
— Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) May 30, 2020
Jeff Hardy would later return to the Performance Center in time for the main event, jumping Sheamus. WWE would explain how this was possible by issuing the below update after the show.
Elias was found injured in the parking lot with an abandoned car nearby before Friday Night SmackDown began. Hardy was taken into custody after being found in a dazed state not far from the scene, but he reemerged as Sheamus battled Daniel Bryan in the night’s final match.
Stay tuned to WWE social and digital channels for the latest updates on the developing situation.WWE
From a strictly ratings standpoint, the angle seemed to be a success, with a 5.4% increase from last week’s average viewership in the overnight ratings. The provisional 2.15 million average viewers rating would be the best rating for SmackDown since April 17.
