WWE: Matt Hardy Update, Cathy Kelley on WWE Departure, Updated SmackDown Ratings

Matt Hardy WWE Contract Status Update

As noted before, Matt Hardy’s WWE contract expires at the end of this month and he has not accepted any offers from WWE to remain in the company. Matt Hardy’s issues with the direction of his career in the company reportedly has been the main reason for his unwillingness to sign a new contract with WWE prior to his contract expiring.

Fightful reported in their Fightful Select Patreon that Hardy was not seen backstage during this past Monday’s episode of RAW in Winnipeg, Canada. It was reported that this may mean that his tenure with the company is over unless something major happens soon.

While Hardy could technically be called in to work this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, his contract officially expires this Sunday.

Cathy Kelley Comments on the Reason for Her Departure from WWE and NXT

A recent episode of the Better Together with Maria Menounos podcast had Cathy Kelly as the guest and one of the topics discussed included her reasons for why she decided to recently leave WWE and NXT.

On the topic of her decision to leave WWE, Kelly stated:

“It was a really hard decision. WWE and wrestling, in general, meant so much to me. I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting and I thought about where my journey has taken me. There are so many pivotal moments in my life that felt like either a step back or I was stagnant that when I removed myself, I felt like my life catapulted forward. I’ve always been really good about knowing, if you trust your gut, you know when something isn’t serving you or when it’s the right time to move on. That’s where I was towards the end of being at WWE. It was about timing, trusting my gut, trusting my intuition. I genuinely feel like my journey and career are just beginning.”

On the topic of the reason behind her departure, Kelly stated:

“There are so many things that I want to do and especially with the WWE schedule, it’s so time-consuming because you are traveling so much. Being me, I wanted to do everything. I wanted to work as much as possible and that wouldn’t allow me to do the other things I wanted to do.”

Full interview below:

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

Updated WWE Friday Night SmackDown Ratings

This past Friday’s episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a final viewership of 2,484,000 on FOX, according to Showbuzz Daily. This was down compared to the initial overnight number of 2,490,000 viewers on the network.