Jeff Hardy is one of the most beloved wrestlers of all time. Since the Attitude Era in WWE he has been one of the most exciting and popular wrestlers in the world, with his death defying stunts and disregard for his own safety making him a fan-favourite for life.
However, in TNA Jeff Hardy got weird. Really weird. If you’ve never seen the Jeff Hardy Willow character then strap yourself in because you are not ready for what you are about to see.
Jeff Hardy as Willow was a strange character. He came out dressed like a Halloween costume, spinning a black and white chequered umbrella cackling menacingly. It wasn’t spooky, or creepy. It made you think “okay so Jeff is back on the drugs again”.
The character was based on one his had played in his youth. In he and his brothers childhood wrestling promotion, OMEGA, Jeff Hardy played the role of Willow the Wisp. For reasons unbeknownst to anyone, TNA officials thought that it was exactly the shot in the arm they needed, so decided Jeff could do literally whatever he wanted.
After it’s appearances in TNA, fans thought that Jeff Hardy Willow character was dead. But, Jeff Hardy revealed in an interview with Culture State in 2021 that he fully intends to bring back Willow as a character. The former WWE and TNA Champion revealed that he has been speaking to the designer of the Willow mask and revealed that a Jeff Hardy Willow return was “Gonna happen”.
“Speaking of Willow, I was just talking to the guy who makes the mask, who made it back then, he’s an awesome mask maker and making a new Willow mask and talking about the possibility of Willow entering the scene once again before my career is over. There we go, it’s gonna happen,”
Jeff Hardy on returning to wrestling as Willow
Jeff Hardy to AEW
Since the interview in which he revealed the imminent return of Jeff Hardy as Willow, Hardy was fired from WWE in December 2021. He walked out on a house show match after his part in the bout was done, before walking through the crowd to take pictures with fans, behaviour which WWE described as “erratic”.
After the match, he took a breathalyser test and as a urinary drug test. Jeff Hardy and his brother Matt Hardy claim that he passed the breathalyser immediately, and he has yet to received the results of his drug test but knows that he passed.
Despite passing the tests and proving he had not relapsed, WWE officials insisted he must go to rehab for 28 days, lest he be fired from WWE. Hardy refused, knowing he had no drugs in his system and that he was burnt out by WWE. He refused, and was fired on the spot.
In the meantime, speculation has run wild on a Jeff Hardy AEW debut. He claimed in a recent interview that he is set to sign for AEW within the coming weeks, before backtracking. This was clearly because he was not meant to reveal his signing and was simply trying to keep it as a surprise.
Jeff Hardy as Willow in AEW?
With Jeff Hardy signing with AEW, and him being so adamant with bringing back Willow before he ends his career, could we be seeing Willow in AEW?
AEW have not shied away from having spooky, silly or supernatural characters before. Jeff Hardy’s brother Matt Hardy had all three with his Broken Matt Hardy character, which he brought over from TNA and then WWE.
The pair could team up, with Hardy snapping into his broken persona again, and putting his brother into the Lake of Reincarnation and having him come out again as Willow, or even Willow the Wisp.
Would it be good to see the Jeff Hardy Willow character in AEW? Probably not. It was not good in TNA. At all. Maybe Tony Khan could handle it well, like he has done with other strange characters like Orange Cassidy and Danhausen. Only time will tell.
Hopefully before Willow comes to AEW we get a Hardy Boyz reunion and one more Hardy Boyz vs Young Bucks match.
What do you think of Jeff Hardy signing for AEW? Would you like to see Jeff Hardy as Willow in AEW? Let us know in the comments or click below to keep reading
Jeff Hardy needs to bring back Willow the Wisp and Itchweed.