Projecting How Matt and Jeff Hardy Would Fit Into Today's WWE Landscape

There is arguably no hotter act in the world of wrestling than The Broken Hardys, with fans constantly questioning how long it will be before they resurface in WWE.

Following their abrupt departure from TNA Wrestling at the end of February, it didn't take long for them to find a home in Ring of Honor. At the company's Manhattan Mayhem event on Sunday, Matt and Jeff Hardy made an unannounced appearance and promptly defeated The Young Bucks to win the ROH World Tag Team Championships.

While that seemingly put the rumors of their return to WWE to rest, it remains unknown what the length of their stay in the "honorable ring" will be. Regardless of what their futures hold, it is important to analyze how they would fit into the WWE landscape if they were to go back.

One of the main reasons why The Broken Hardys are as revered as they are is because of how outlandish their characters are. All of that creativity can be attributed to the Hardys themselves. Whether they would be allowed that same creative freedom in WWE is questionable.

That aside, they would supply WWE's tag team scene with a surge of star power if they were to arrive on the scene. Tag team wrestling is hardly a focus on either Raw or SmackDown Live, but the Hardys could help with that tremendously.

Credit: WWE.com

There is the fear among fans that The Broken Hardys would suffer a similar fate to The Dudley Boyz, who also returned to WWE after a long absence. They were initially positioned as threats to the WWE Tag Team Championships before falling short of securing the straps and being utilized as enhancement talents.

To call The Dudley Boyz's latest WWE stint a failure would be inaccurate considering they were seemingly adamant about getting over younger talent. That said, they didn't score many meaningful victories, so it came as no surprise when they left the company in August 2015.

Additionally, the tag team division was every bit as depleted then as it is now, and it wouldn't take long for The Broken Hardys to get lost in the shuffle. It is fairly likely they would have one or two notable feuds and then fizzle out.

The "broken" characters of Matt and Jeff have a significant shelf life, but putting them in the hands of WWE and trusting the promotion to do right by the brothers is a major risk. The only other group that comes close to being as unorthodox as they are is The New Day, and that trio has zero momentum.

While it isn't a guarantee that The Broken Hardys would fail in WWE in this day and age, they would be better off continuing to pursue tag team titles in other organizations and holding off on returning so soon.

When you watch an episode of Raw or SmackDown, it's quite clear that tag team wrestling is near the bottom of the totem pole on both brands. The Club have suffered more losses than wins lately despite being the Raw tag team champs, and American Alpha is rarely seen on SmackDown.

There is something to be said for how The Hardys could breathe new life into the stale tag team scene in WWE, but they wouldn't receive the same spotlight they did in TNA or even now in Ring of Honor. In other words, they might not be capable of maximizing their broken brilliance to its potential.

Meanwhile, Ring of Honor has one of the most stacked tag team divisions in wrestling. From The Young Bucks to The Motor City Machine Guns to The Kingdom, the possibilities are endless in regard to the exciting matches they can contest.

They could make more money working for WWE, which is why it is likely inevitable they end back up there. But they will be received as stars by the audience no matter when they re-sign, so rushing their return is not necessary.

It is best for the broken universe of Matt and Jeff Hardy to remain its own entity until WWE shows it is determined to prominently feature tag team wrestling once again.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a Digital Journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.