Jeff Hardy is an enigma in wrestling.
The former WWE Champion possesses something that very few have had in the WWE. He was never the best in the ring, nor the most entertaining on the microphone.
He had great matches, but was never the all-time best worker. He put his body on the line more than any other, but so have countless stars who have never made it big.
Jeff Hardy simply had it, and that is something you cannot learn.
Now, that’s not to take anything away from Jeff Hardy. He was a top class professional wrestler. He was a charismatic and entertaining individual who put on many great matches and had spots that nobody had ever seen before.
There were things nobody could do, but Jeff Hardy could. The Whisper In The Wind was a thing of beauty, especially when he did one off a cage onto Umaga.
Falls from 20+ feet were the norm for the Charismatic Enigma and there are countless Youtube completions that will leave you in shock and awe at the sheer size of his balls.
He made it to the top of the WWE. The fans loved him and willed him to become the WWE Champion in 2008. He won three world titles in the company and feuded with top stars like Edge, Triple H and CM Punk over them.
He left WWE in 2009, although one thing he never accomplished. That was being a top heel in the company.
While it may seem ridiculous to even suggest, it was considered at times. Personally, I think it would be a horrible idea, as nobody would want to boo Jeff Hardy in the WWE. He was simply too beloved.
Jeff Hardy Cannot Be Trusted
Jim Ross recently discussed this idea on his podcast, Grillin JR. When asked if Hardy was considered for a top heel run in the company, he revealed that it was shot down by Vince McMahon for one very sensible reason.
Jeff Hardy could simply not be trusted.
His years of drug use and alcohol abuse took a toll on his career. He has been arrested many times on drink-driving charges, recently being charged with some prison time for his latest offence.
Vince McMahon could not trust Hardy as a top heel – it’s a shock he made him World Champion at all. However, his title reigns were brief. His longest world title run in WWE lasted 42 days, emphasising this fact.
Speaking on his podcast, Jim Ross questioned, “How far can you go with someone that you don’t totally trust?”. That answer is 42 days.
I don’t know if he’s too big [of a merch mover]. I think maybe, my guess on this question would be another one with reliability issues. How far do you go with someone that you don’t totally trust?
And I think that’s where Vince was because I gotta go through all this stuff. I gotta be, Vince is not gonna call Jeff Hardy and say, here’s this, here’s the issue. And here’s my thoughts on it. He’s gonna have JR do it. So I take the heat, I didn’t mind it, I was getting paid really well.
So I think Jeff’s issue was Jeff. And his credibility was the fact that can he be trusted? And is he clean and sober? And can he stay clean and sober? And we know the answer to that? The answer is no. He didn’t stay clean and sober. He had all kinds of issues. He’s still [dealing with issues].
It’s now obvious Vince was right. Jeff Hardy cannot be trusted. He hasn’t been seen in AEW for nearly a year after his drink and drug issues reared it’s ugly head.
