Former WWE champion and current AEW roster member Jeff Hardy was arrested on Monday morning and now faces three charges, including his third arrest for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol in the past 10 years. Hardy was arrested in Volusia County Florida, according to online records.
That charge, along with driving with a suspended license and violating restrictions placed on his driver’s license, continues a long history of legal troubles and drug and alcohol-related incidents for Hardy.
Hardy was arrested twice in 2019 while a member of the WWE locker room — once for public intoxication in July and a DUI in October. WWE sent Hardy to rehab after the incidents.
AEW president Tony Khan acknowledged Hardy’s arrest in a statement posted on Tuesday. Khan stated that Hardy is open to AEW-assisted treatment for substance abuse. Hardy is suspended without pay and can resume performing in AEW only once he completes a treatment program.
“We were able to resume contact with Jeff Hardy this afternoon,” Khan said. “AEW does not condone Jeff’s alleged behavior. We’ve made it clear to Jeff that we’ll assist him in getting treatment for substance abuse issues, which he has indicated that he’s open to receiving. In the interim, he is suspended without pay, and he can only return to AEW upon successfully completing treatment and maintaining his sobriety.”
This past December, Hardy walked out during a tag match during a WWE house show. He was released from his contract less than a week later and debuted in AEW following the end of his 90-day non-compete clause, joining his brother Matt in the promotion. Rumors that Hardy’s walk-out on the WWE show was the result of renewed substance abuse issues were refuted by Matt at the time.
Hardy has recently been in a series of high-profile matches in AEW where he has continued his daredevil style, including matches against Darby Allin and The Young Bucks.
In his tag match with Matt against The Young Bucks at Double or Nothing, Hardy was “almost knocked out,” his brother said on “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” podcast. Hardy was visibly impaired by the injury during the match and Matt says Jeff “doesn’t remember the match at all after that happened.”
The Hardys were scheduled to compete in a ladder match during AEW Dynamite on Wednesday night.
