Matt and Jeff Hardy nearly took their careers to ECW before WWE offered them the contracts they had been waiting for.

Speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, Matt recalled how uncertainty over their WWE future left the brothers considering their options in the late 1990s. They were appearing as enhancement talent and being paid per show, but regular work had yet to turn into a long-term deal.

During an episode revisiting In Your House: Badd Blood from October 1997, Hardy revealed that conversations with Sandman and others in ECW almost led to the brothers joining the promotion regularly.

“We were getting very frustrated. We’re like, well, they say they like us, they want to do something. Like, we need to make money. Like, we got to do something. And you know, we were very close, because we were talking with Sandman, and we talked to several people from ECW. We were very, very close… working for ECW on a regular basis, you know, at that time. But then WWE offered that deal, and you know, that was ultimately where we wanted to go anyway, more than anywhere else.”

According to Matt, a brief encounter with Kane helped change their fortunes.

Kane had debuted at Badd Blood, and the following night’s Raw in Kansas City saw the Hardys brought in to help establish him as a destructive force. On October 6, 1997, the brothers were told they would head out as though they were having a match, only to be attacked by WWE’s newest arrival.

“Here comes Kane out, and you guys need to be kind of froze, like, oh my God, I guess we gotta attack him, you know. And then boom, chokeslam, bing bing, and out of the ring, and throws me out and throws Jeff on top of me… They said, like, this is a big deal because this is a live show, and if you guys make this guy look good right from the jump, this is going to be very beneficial for you guys, because you know, we see a lot of potential in you guys.”

Their performance prompted a conversation backstage, with Jim Ross making it clear that WWE wanted the chance to keep them before they accepted an offer elsewhere.

“I’ll never forget, after we did the segment and we came back through, they grabbed us, JR mainly. I remember he said, ‘Look, if you guys end up deciding to do something else, like if they, you know, talk to you, WCW or, you know, ECW, whatever else, just let us know. Contact us first, because we’re interested in doing something with you, and we’re gonna start working on that.'”

The contracts eventually arrived a few months later. Matt recalled being at television tapings in Richmond, Virginia, around the end of February or beginning of March when Bruce Prichard asked to speak with the brothers.

“I remember when Bruce Prichard said, ‘Yeah, we want to talk to you guys.’ And then I remember our whole group… they said, ‘Oh no, no, sorry, we want to talk to Matt and Jeff. Can you guys come with us?’ And they went up in the bleachers and sat down and talked about what they want to do, and they handed us a contract right there.”

The Hardys signed with WWE in 1998, securing the opportunity they had been chasing. Matt also offered a glimpse into their early earnings, saying they initially received $150 per night as enhancement talent. Of that, $100 went to Gary Sabaugh, known as the Italian Stallion, as a booking fee for arranging their WWE appearances.

The brothers are set to wrestle at TNA Bound For Glory in Tampa on Sunday.

How different would wrestling history have looked if the Hardys had joined ECW? Share your thoughts in the comments.