Jeff Hardy Takes Healthy Step Towards WWE Return

Jeff Hardy's return to WWE action just got a little closer.

PWinsider reports that the 40-year old Hardy was the WWE's Performance Center on Monday. But the former WWE Champion wasn't there to lift weights or get in a round of physical therapy; Hardy was there for in-ring workouts.

Surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff has kept Hardy sidelined since October. However, his estimated recovery time was between 6-9 months—and April marks month number seven.

It feels like we could see Hardy as soon as next week, but WWE's plans for him remain a mystery.

Originally, it appeared he'd join his eccentric brother, Matt Hardy, inside the Woken Universe. After all, Jeff's alter ego, Brother Nero, was an essential part of the earliest chapters of Matt's bizarre world. However, that may not be the case.

In a comment section from an Instagram post, Reby Hardy (Matt's Wife) was asked if Matt Hardy and his Woken Universe needed Jeff, aka Brother Nero. Her response is hard to misinterpret:

"Matt has busted his ass to get to this point. He & I have been fighting for this to happen for nearly a year. After the hard work & $50k+ in legal fees that *WE* paid, I'm gonna have to say NO. He is not "needed". Jeff is clearly doing his own thing & it has nothing to do with us right now," she wrote.

We're not certain what "Jeff is clearly doing his own thing" means, but it sounds like Matt and Reby will be moving forward without Jeff.

Given Jeff's remarkable popularity with WWE fans, it's probably best he moves forward outside of the Woken Universe. As fun as Brother Nero was in Impact Wrestling, Jeff Hardy simply has too much to offer Vince McMahon and WWE.

Hardy's return to a WWE campus suggests that he has not been suspended for his March 10th DWI incident.

Thanks to Wrestling Inc. we have some of Officer Kelemecz's police report:

"Driver of Vehicle #1 ran off the roadway to the right, in turn striking about 105 feet of guardrail before the back end of the car spun out 90 degrees to the left, coming to rest in the middle of the right N bound lane of travel. The driver was arrested and charged with DWI," he wrote.

TMZ reports that Hardy's breathalyzer test resulted in a .25, which is good for more than triple the legal limit. Even more, Hardy's incident did an estimated $8,000 in damages to his Cadillac CTS-V and racked up an additional $5,000 for damaging nearly 105 feet of guardrail. Hardy's North Carolina license has already been suspended and has a court date set for April 16.