The Hardy Boyz kickstarted 2009 with a win over Edge and Big Show on the January 2 episode of Smackdown. This was the last match for the then WWE champion and ECW champion as a team as Matt would lose the ECW championship to Jack Swagger on the January 13 episode of ECW. Heading into the 2009 Royal Rumble, Matt was attempting to regain the ECW Championship from Jack Swagger while Jeff held the WWE Championship. After Matt lost to Swagger, he interfered in Jeff's match with Edge, hitting Jeff with a steel chair and allowing Edge to win the WWE Championship. On the January 30 episode of "SmackDown", Matt announced the permanent disbandment of the tag team due to the events at the Royal Rumble and that he no longer considered Jeff as his partner or brother. Matt moved to the SmackDown brand and began a scripted rivalry with Jeff. The pair faced each other in an Extreme Rules match at WrestleMania XXV, which Matt won. They later faced each other in a stretcher match, in which Matt gained his second win over Jeff. As part of the 2009 WWE draft, Matt was drafted to the Raw brand on the April 13 episode of "Raw". Despite this, the brothers faced each other in an "I Quit" match at Backlash, which Jeff won. Matt also interfered in Jeff's World Heavyweight Championship match at Judgment Day, preventing him from winning the championship.