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WRESTLING COLUMNS

The Man They Call Hardy
June 1, 2005 by Sam Hall

I am only 14 years old, but I have still seen wrestlers fall from grace. I saw Owen Hart die on live television. I saw The Ultimate Warrior turn on a nation of fans just by speaking his mind. I saw Sabu break his neck in the ring, and I saw Stone Cold sell his soul to the devil named McMahon. This certain person may not have been injured, or hated, but he has certainly had a very large fall.

This man is named Jeff Hardy. He is the master of the Swanton Bomb, and the leader of his Imagi-nation. He brought TLC to the public, and showed people that he could wrestle (despite those who call him a spot-rat), and that he could sure as hell take a bump. Unless you haven't already picked it up, I'm a fan. He has been my favorite wrestler for all my life, and I have seen his best and worst and he has seriously fallen.

HIS BEST Jeff Hardy began wrestling with his brother, Matt, in their small North Carolina wrestling promotion known as OMEGA. This featured wrestlers such as The Hardy Boyz, Shannon Moore, Joey Matthews, and Christian York. Jeff continued with this promotion until he and his brother signed a developmental deal with the (then) WWF. They started out as ultra jobbers until they were given help under the guise of Dok Hendrix, known to the great fans as Michael Hayes. He led them to a run as Tag Team Champions, with many yet to come. After Michael Hayes left, a lot of people were predicting that The Hardys were destined for failure. But they proved them wrong, and in this time not only did they win the Tag Titles again, but they created one of the best storylines in the history of the WWE, the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs angle, with Edge and Christian, and The Dudley Boyz. This spawned a nation of fans who watched in amazement seeing Jeff walking the tops of 4 ladders, getting speared 10 feet to the ground, and performing a Swanton bomb off of a 20 ft. ladder onto Bubba Ray Dudley through a table. He is now creating some great spots in TNA, such as a leg drop off of the top of the Six Sides of Steel sending Raven through 4 tables, and missing a Swanton bomb off of the steel cage. One almost hit Jeff Jarrett, and another almost hit Raven through a table. Almost.

HIS WORST Now his worst is a combination of things. It begins in the WWE. He REPORTEDLY got fired from the WWE for doing drugs. (Which is total bullshit, by the way.) But it roots in TNA. When he entered TNA, he had a shot at the X title. But he looked away from it and moved to the NWA Title. He seemed to be destined for it. He had a ladder match against Jeff Jarrett, which is his specialty. But he lost. He has had opportunities, but didn't get them. And look at him now. He is suspended for missing a match that would have stolen the show at Hard Justice, and he has missed matches before. He would have been in the King of the Mountain match at (the worst name ever) Slammiversary, but now he I on the back burner until Matt comes in and saves him from himself in TNA.

Jeff Hardy has been and will always be my favorite wrestler forever, but he needs to get back on his game. He could create and has created major revenue for TNA, and I think that once Matt comes in to TNA, there will be a great opportunity for Jeff. Thank you for taking the time to acknowledge a skinny, 14 year old wrestling fan.

by Sam Hall ..

Steve wrote:
Jeff Hardy is a spotfest crazy egomaniac. He's done so many Swantons off high surfaces now that nobody cares and clearly doesn't care for wrestling after he no showed at Hard Justice and Syxx Pac had to replace Hardy when there was no rivalry between Waltman & Raven and Waltman had to learn the story of a great long match within an hour or so. TNA please fire Hardy and Jeff, don't ever come back to any wrestling promotion EVER again

Dean Evans wrote:
I realize you are 14 years old but let me begin by telling you that Jeff Hardy is not necessarily past his prime but his heart is not 100 percent into the wrestling industry anymore. A lot of his time these days seem to be spent with his band Peroxwhygen. Along with Shannon Moore he is attempting to do what Chris Jericho has done and cross over with a musical career.

Jeff Hardy HAS had drug problems in the past and also a problem arriving on time to events. I mean he missed Hard Justice and all NWA/TNA PPV's are in the same arena! His matches with Abyss were ok but nothing spectacular. When he goes through tables these days it just isn't the same for me anyways.

Don't get me wrong the first 2 TLC's were revolutionary and Undertaker didn't want to put Hardy completely over on Raw when they had one of the more disappointing ladder matches I have seen.

I'm not telling you to find another favorite wrestler, I'm just saying don't expect Jeff Hardy to be reliable enough to a wrestling company for him to get a push towards holding some gold

Ben C. wrote:
There are a lot of things wrong. First off, let me correct a few of your points. Jeff hardy DID get fired. He was asked him to stop doing drugs, and check himself to a rehab center, and he refused, thus he was released from the WWE. Don't get fooled by the whole "I'm a free agent for TNA" angle. Plus, there hasn't been any confirmation that Matt Hardy will go to TNA after his "no-compete" clause is up.

Secondly, Jeff hardy is, how we like to say, a has-been. Jeff got to his prime, and peaked back in 2000, during the TLC matches. Ever since then, he slowly but surely, drifted into complete obscurity, losing to the likes of Brock Leasner, then to doing heat matches.

In TNA, he slugs around the ring, poorly executing moves. He only seems interesting in gimmick matches, whenever there are Tables, ladders, and/or chairs(oh my...sorry, couldn't help that) involved.

Plus, the guy got what was coming to him. He disappointed many fans, the booking, as well as the rest of the locker room when he didn't show up. They promoted a match with him and Raven, and he was a no show, thus they suspended him. One day when you get a job, you'll realize why you can't just cut out of going to work, and expect no consequences to come.

Third, as for making Major Revenue, imagine how much revenue was lost thanks to the selfish move he made by not showing up at hard justice. TNA only get's money from Merchandise and PPV's. With him not there, the incentive for Jeff Hardy fans to buy the PPV was gone, and even a later DVD sale is now in question, because, let's face it, who wants to pay money to see a no show"

Anyway, I agree on the notion that Jeff Hardy needs to get his game back together... The guy needs to lay off the drugs, and rehabilitate his back. He has the ability to be the next Shawn Michaels, yet he himself holds him back. I can't blame TNA for depriving him oppertunities. At the end of the day, weither you like it or not, you have to show up for work. (Besides, I'm still a bit dissapointed that I didn't get to see Raven, kick the living shit out of Jeff at Hard Justice.)

Gil Cabral wrote:
well Im a fan of jeff 2 and i think what u say is very accurate. He had some good and some bad moments in wrestling but everybody makes mistakes and i think that he shouldnt be punished by those mistakes. They punish him by not giving him a title reign (i mean the world heavyweight title) and come on people hate him but if it wasnt for him we couldnt have watched those amazing TLC matches

Anthony wrote:
For me, Jeff's problem has always been a seeming lack of personality. He always seemed to be serviceable enough as a wrestler for me to the level of holding secondary gold but he never had that it factor to connect him to a crowd. Certainly, now that he's seemingly lost quite a bit of his passion for the business we've seen him go even more downhill. But there's still hope for him. Who knows" Maybe if he sticks with TNA for a while he'll develop that level of passion he had during the legendary three team feud back 2000. Maybe.

Oh and Ben C. You said TNA lost revenue when Hardy didn't show up at the Pay Per View against Raven. I disagree with that statement, since no one knew Hardy wasn't there until the show actually aired and thereby they would have already bought the pay per view.

Richelle Aretakis wrote:
I am a huge 15-year old fan of Jeff Hardy and I enjoyed your article. I disagree with one thing though, you say he wasn't given enough chances to really become a star, but you have to realize he's not into wrestling anymore. Jeff is my favorite wrestlers also, but I have to come to except that he might not want to wrestle anymore.

brian weiss wrote:
I too was a fan of jeff Hardy. His story inspired me in a tremendus way and seeing where he grew up from to where he was then it started to downfall. I have always been one to stand up for Jeff Hardy even when I'm the only one around to do so. I even stoped watching Ring Of Honor simply because of how they treated him (and I still kinda am on protest). Theres not a wrestling fan alive that can not sit back and watch T.L.C 1 or 2 or even the first tag team ladder match and not be in compleat shock.

Jeff really was at his prime but as others stated he lost intrist in wrestling. Sure the man may take pain killers but after reading Mick Folys book (and I dont say this as with the thought of Mick being held agenst Jeff as he has only taken 2 pain pills his whole life) I really felt bad for wrestlers so I dont blame the man if he does.

I'm sure that people truly has gone overbored on the rumors. Its just another case of wether or not you should belive the meadia. Do I feel as tho Jeff has taken drugs other the pain killers" No I dont feel as tho he has. I herd some pretty messed up rumors about him being on Heroin and using make up to cover marks. Thats just ignorent consdring that you can very easly marks in his arm from the Leather strap O well.

Another thing is that its none of our business wether he does do the stuff or not. oh and in cause your wondring I'm not a queer who screams when ever he takes his shirt off nor am I a 12 year old boy.

Jake Raynor wrote:
lemme get this straight. I HATE Jeff Hardy he is old and was never anything new anyway. Why I hear u ask. Go no further than to read the first comment on your article by someone named Steve. Steve put it perfectly

Adam wrote:
I agree, and disagree with allot of you. I have to say, Jeff isnt a one on one type guy. Hes obviously not big, and not technical. He's good in match with many people (Tag or anything higher) - Before I begin we MUST agree that Jeff Hardy has done some amazing things throughout his career. My personal favorite is the picture perfect swanton bomb off the 20ft ladder at Wrestlemania 2000. Now i have to agree with some of you, he is looking a little rusty in TNA, he looks less agile and less clean with all his moves. Iam kinda disappointed to in Jeff, i mean you can expect a push if you dont try, and he just isnt trying like he was in (1999-2001). In my opinion theese days everything blows, Music, Fashon, and Wrestling. Its all going down hill WWE just fired like 12 people the other day, including Billy Kidman and the Dudleys. In conclusion to all this I dont see anymore good old TLC days, and i think Jeff Hardy is pretty much over. I just hope people look into cruiserweights and tag teams more in the future because Heavyweights SUCK!! Its boring, two people only, and its always the same! I also have a few questions. If Jeff is so unreliable how the hell did he get into WWF... Seriously!, and fill me in on how he learnt moves like Swanton, 450 ect.. Also i would like to know all about OMEGA thanks.

Hypa The HouseCat wrote:
First off, I have just got to say that i was a fan of jeff hardy before he and his brother matt got the push from dok. Then i was still a fan during the TLC story. I was mad as hell at matt after he beat up jeff. But i remained a solid fan of his all through his conflicted phase, and while shawn michaels was trying to take him under his wing. And until i learnt why, mad as hell at the WWE for firing him. He's always been my favourite wrestler, and his mastery of moves like the 450 and swanton bomb are the reasons behind it. I have to agree that his spots in TNA arent as clean as when he was in the WWE, and i do believe he has lost passion for the sport. But when you look at what the WWE writers did to him, you can sort of understand where he's coming from.

1) the matt/jeff breakup. They were a great tag team, but matt's character (dunno how he is in real life) has always tended to be an arsehole.

2) constant losses after the breakup. Especially his appearance in the montreal 'no way out' against Y2J (i forget the year, sorry) He basically had the match won several times. Jericho sliding away from that second swanton was definatly well-played though.

3) a few times after matches (again, no way out) he had just been barley defeated, and then he gets beaten further by his opponent.

I dont think he's been washed-up, but he could definatley do with either improving his game or leaving wrestling and concentrating on his band. Either way, i remain a solid fan of his and hope that he does get a solid push soon.

Mike Mullen wrote:
I too am just a 14 year old, but I hear where your coming from, sam. I am a major Hardy fan and that wont change, no matter what bullshit rumors get started about his "Drug abuse". If, you ask me, Jeff Hardy has the best Aerial attacks in the industry and doesn't get the respect he deserves. I am definately waiting for his comeback, so he can swanton his way to the NWA title, or maybe even team with Matt again. wether he becomes the best wrestler there is, or a feeble old man who can't face the fact that his carreer is dead like someone we all know (Hulk Hogan). He will always be my favorite.

James wrote:
The drug rumours circling Jeff Hardy were BULLSHIT. I read his autobiography. He had like one or two pain pills, that's all. What wrestler doesn't take them. And all of you who don't like Jeff Hardy, that's your opinion, but don't go around taking out us Jeff Hardy fans, I have always and always will be one. He is the greatest, and i agree with Sam. And look at Freakin Eddie Guererro (bless his heart) he had a huge drug problem, and he was so damn popular.

Wattsrvn wrote:
I would just like to clear up the comments made by brian weiss. See, Jeff Hardy made the HUGE mistake of publicly announcing that he'd lost his passion for wrestling before going to Ring of Honor. If you say a dumb thing like that before you go to ROH, the fans are gonna hate you. No doubt, Jeff Hardy was, and still is to some extent, one of the greatest cruiserweights of all time, but like the others have said, he needs to get his head back into the game because his abilities are being overshadowed by the likes of AJ Styles and Chris Sabin, who are phenomenal athletes. Oh, and demanding a World Title shot before going to a company isn't going to win you any friends either Jeff.

Mary Anne Clancy wrote:
In my opinion, Jeff Hardy's fall from grace came the minute he walked out of a WWE arena for the last time which was in what....2003" How did one of the most inspirational and influencial wrestlers in WWF/WWE history become just another memory in the minds of us fans" If Jeff Hardy could get his act back together and his head back where it needs to be us fans could see a Hardy Boyz reunion and maybe even Team Extreme, possibly Shannon Moore joining them and maybe Ashley Massaro taking over Lita's old place. Things could be great. All we can do right now is hope, as long as Matt's in WWE, there's always a possibility his brother will return! There's still a change for Jeff and his brothers' rebirth, they might be a little older, but I think they can still pull off some extremely extreme shee-it!

Micael H. Karis (Finland) wrote:
I just read youre column and heres a late respond, I'm 14 too , a huge Jeff Hardy fan , and dude WOW you have much wrong in youre column , (omg)You left out Shane Helms from the OMEGA wich was a main OMEGA guy , Yes Michael Hayes was one of the Hardy Boyz trainer , but the main trsiner for the Hardy Boyz was Koko B. Ware , Jeff did take drugs , WWE wanted him to go to rehab and they would pay the bills but he turned it down, Jeff wrote a contract with TNA a that also was a shot a title , he wrestled AJ Styles for the X Division title (ot whatever it name is , instead of Kid Kash , beacuse he was injured ), but it ended in a No Contest beacuse Kid Kash and Dallas interfered , and this is youre own desicion but it's Jeff Hardy that should reassign with WWE to reunite The Hardy Boyz take the WWE Tag Team Titles , after a while Gregory Helms joins , they go and interfere a match that Shannon Moore's in at ECW , take him to the WWE and yes, the OMEGA is back ( but just The Hardy Boyz to reunite is enough )

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