Bully Ray On Jeff Hardy's Return To AEW: 'Jeff Better Not F*** This Opportunity Up'

Last night on "AEW Dynamite," Jeff Hardy returned to AEW to make the save for his brother Matt, as well as HOOK and Isiah Kassidy, who were on the receiving end of a beatdown courtesy of The Firm. This was Jeff's first appearance since Tony Khan suspended him following his DUI arrest on June 13, 2022 — his third such arrest in three years. Now that he's back, Bully Ray — someone who's had plenty of battles with Jeff inside the ring over the years — has only one message for him.

"And truth be told, Jeff better not f*** this opportunity up," Ray said on "Busted Open Radio." "Because Jeff's been given a lot of opportunities. This probably will be the final opportunity for him." Matt recently claimed on his podcast that things will be different this time, thought he certainly understands why there would be doubters. "I don't blame them," Matt said in March. "[Jeff] just went into it with a different mentality." Jeff made his AEW debut during a March 2022 episode of "Dynamite," but only lasted a couple months before his DUI and subsequent suspension. Ray added that the professional wrestling landscape in general is different these days, noting that Jeff likely won't face the pressures others did decades ago.

"Listen, the world of pro wrestling does not present nearly as much temptation these days as it did 20 years ago," he continued, to which co-host Tommy Dreamer immediately agreed. "So if Jeff were to have another slip-up, I would say that's mostly on Jeff going out of his way to look for the slip-up as opposed to the slip-up just being around you at all times."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.