Jeff Hardy responds to CM Punk's sarcastic comments regarding another match

One of CM Punk's earliest sleeper-hit storylines in WWE was his rivalry with Jeff Hardy in the late aughts. The Straight Edge Superstar drew nuclear heat every time he verbally eviscerated Hardy.

Reflecting on their remarkable program a few months ago, the Charismatic Enigma said he was game to run it back. Jeff claimed he would retire the Best in the World if they got to work together again. Punk responded, saying he wishes to fly, but it won't happen.

In an interview with WrestleZone, Jeff Hardy was asked about CM Punk's response. Hardy revealed he had heard about it and thought it was funny. However, the former WWE Champion reiterated that his original comment about retiring Punk was only a joke.

"Yeah, I hear that so much still to this day—'In '09, man, when CM Punk made you retire? Man, oh my God, I cried.' I hear that so much to this day. So yeah, I just said that as a joke one day, and I saw that—my wife showed it to me first, then I saw it through Matt. Yeah, I mean, 'I'd like to fly, but that's not gonna happen,'" Hardy laughed. [From 11:54 to 12:12]

The Charismatic Enigma had major struggles in his professional and personal life, but he seems to be doing well today. The Hardy Boyz recently appeared on NXT as part of WWE's relationship with TNA.

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Could Jeff Hardy return to WWE SmackDown in 2025?

Back in the day, Jeff Hardy was arguably the most popular babyface in WWE, and his final run during his prime as a singles competitor was on SmackDown. CM Punk got him fired in a storyline following a Steel Cage Match on the Friday night show in late 2009. The Best in the World then made a mockery out of Hardy when he pretended to be the former WWE Champion the week after.

CM Punk cosplaying as Jeff Hardy after Hardy got fired on SmackDown in 2009 [WWE/Courtesy]

During a live Q&A on Sportskeeda's WrestleBinge, renowned journalist Bill Apter wondered if The Hardy Boyz would return to SmackDown and challenge The Street Profits to a WWE Tag Team Championship contest.

"You know, you could bring the Hardys in. That could be the next step against the heel (team of) Street Profits. I wanna see that."

The Street Profits are fresh into their latest reign, while Matt and Jeff have already shown interest in going after the tag titles in NXT.

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Please credit the source and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.