I don't think they have plans for Hardy to go into the comedy role with the likes of Orange Cassidy or anything like that. It seems like he's been lured in with promises of a pivotal role. It's AEW giving a clear message to WWE like "this is what you should have been doing with this gimmick", when this is one of the rare instances where WWE were probably right, although they're guilty of trying harder than necessary with it as well, at first anyway.
I understand that it's a complicated issue though, as Hardy is really popular, but at the same time it's this ironic meme sort of popularity which probably makes it confusing from a booking perspective. Many people might enjoy Matt Hardy more than Brock Lesnar, for example, but it would be laughable if he was booked to beat Brock. No one unironically thinks that would be a good idea. Audiences like him, but in what way and how much?