Gone in ninety seconds: The rise and fall of Jeff Hardy

For millions of young kids around the world “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy is a role model. Millions of people around the world, adults included look up to Jeff Hardy as a wrestling god, a great person, and a cultural icon. For those who don’t know, Jeff Hardy has become one of the biggest wrestling superstars of the past decade, known for his work in the WWE, and to a small extent TNA Wrestling. Like John Cena, he draws in the younger audiences with his multi coloured wrist and armbands, painted face and well known move set. For a young fan, Hardy is easy to love, but for older fans, especially now in 2011 Hardy is easy to hate. Now in 2011 Hardy is “The Antichrist of professional wrestling”, a name he acquired after winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the first time at Bound for Glory 2010. Life as Jeff Hardy isn’t all glitz, glamour and coloured armbands; could we be witnessing the very fall of Jeff Hardy? An eighteen month drug case, a seemingly failed career in TNA and limelight being away from him in the WWE suggests Jeff Hardy is on the brink of extinction. I’ll be looking at the ‘In Ring Issues’ which could make or break the charismatic one.

Hardy won his first world championship in December 2008 at the Armageddon PPV, defeating champ Edge and Triple H to win the WWE Championship, signalling the highest point in Hardy’s wrestling career, the moment which put Hardy in the history books forever, especially with the younger members of the WWE universe. Later that year after dropping the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble to Edge, thanks to interference from Matt Hardy, Jeff won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship two times. The first against Edge at Extreme Rules in a Ladder Match, only to lose it that night against CM Punk who cashed in his seconds Money in the Bank briefcase. Secondly he won his second World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions won the title back from CM Punk.

I bring up these points about the WWE and Jeff Hardy because the WWE made Jeff Hardy the megastar he is today. Under the strict regime WWE has in place, Hardy was at check all the time, his performance, his health and fitness, as well as his mental stability were being well kept after, and as long as Jeff Hardy was in the WWE, then there would be limited issues, with issues such as steroids and drugs right?

This brings me nicely onto my next point. For the past eighteen months, for those that know Jeff Hardy has been in a long drug case. In September 2009, a few months after Hardy left the WWE, a search in his house found 262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of powder cocaine, and drug paraphernalia. As a result Hardy was arrested, and a court ruling is still pending, mostly because each and EVERY month there has been a continuation of the case, but despite these continuations there is a belief Hardy will plead guilty, meaning he will have to serve a minimum of forty four days in jail, and could get numerous years locked up behind bars. To say the least, this case has been the fuel for wrestling commentators for the last eighteen months, and in doing so has contributed a lot of negative press towards Jeff. Every time Jeff goes out of line it only adds to the negative press made about him. The court case itself though, has affected in in ring career, especially in TNA.

Jeff re-joined TNA on January 4^th 2010, the night Hulk Hogan debuted in TNA, a night which has since then forever changed the company for all the wrong reasons (FYI, Hardy made his TNA debut at their second anniversary show in 2004 against AJ Styles for the X-Division Championship, and was with TNA until November 2006, when his last appearance was against Monty Brown). Ever since he joined TNA Jeff Hardy was a baby-face wrestler, but it wasn’t until the April 5^th Impact where he made his in ring return against AJ Styles (again), this time defeating Styles. Hardy done nothing of great importance and was rather lacklustre, predictable and boring up until the seeding of the Immortal storyline. Jeff Hardy finally had a good match when he and Kurt Angle faced off at No Surrender in semi-finals of the TNA World Heavyweight Championship tournament, which was set after (Undeserving, mediocre, boring) TNA champ RVD was attacked by Abyss and his weapon Janice (Who was a 2x4 with HUGE nails in it) and had to vacate the title.

This led up to Bound for Glory, when it was Mr. Anderson v. Kurt Angle v. Jeff Hardy for the TNA World Heavyweight title, a match Hardy won after “THEY” were revealed to be Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett and Abyss. Hardy won his first TNA title, but I say this contributes to the fall of Jeff Hardy because he never, EVERRRRRRRRRR to win the title in the first place. As I said, since coming back to TNA he only managed to have mediocre, overrated matches against people who looked better than Hardy. His promo work was sloppy; he still hasn’t cut a good promo in TNA. Jeff in my eyes and those of educated fans only won the belt because of his name. TNA, who are trying to imitate everything WWE is doing saw that Jeff Hardy was a good world champion in WWE, so they shoved the title on him thinking they could do the same. The only difference was that Hardy is now a heel, a move which still isn’t convincing too many fans, and the fact he looked more ridiculous by the day. 

It appears that coming back to TNA has only dampened Jeff’s career. TNA, unlike WWE don’t have the same measures of protection for their superstars. Not only that, they are open to storylines, and with someone like Hardy, he can probably make his own storylines and have his own demands, but this could be bad, simply because how does Hardy know what’s good for him? The only way he made it to the top was because of WWE’s strict policy and ruthless booking. In short, TNA’s made Hardy look crap, and vice versa, Jeff Hardy has made TNA look second rate. And the worst of it all? Despite growing merchandise figures in Hardy’s favour, Jeff Hardy of all people, one of the biggest draws in wrestling can’t improve TNA’s ratings. A man with millions of fans in America can’t even get cable ratings improvements of 0.1. How much are TNA paying him and all the other WWE castoffs, for this privilege? Lord only knows.

The drug case has affected his in ring status, because every month when he is due in court, usually are just after TNA Pay-Per-Views, or just before them, and Jeff’s 2011 so far with TNA proves it. At the Genesis PPV, Hardy lost his TNA World Heavyweight title to Mr. Anderson, a match where he came down in street clothes and smoking on the entrance ramp (Role model huh?) after Anderson had his number one contender’s match with Matt Morgan. After the court case was postponed, Hardy won the title back at the very next Pay-Per-View, Against All Odds, in his signature Ladder match, defeating Anderson, however, TNA officials were still worried Hardy wouldn’t be able to hold the belt, so two weeks later on March 3^rd 2011 he drop his custom made TNA title to the returning Sting. After dropping the belt for a second time this year because of non-wrestling related issues, Hardy then would have his rematch at Victory Road 2011, a PPV TNA barely even promoted, but now will go down in the history books as one of the biggest jokes in wrestling history, a PPV which will be talked about for a long time to come.

With the Hardy/Sting rematch on, there was another serve. With just over half an hour of the PPV left, TNA officials deemed that Jeff was in no condition to wrestle, which led to Sting completely destroying Hardy within NINETY seconds, finishing Hardy off with the signature Scorpion Death Drop. Fans chanted “Bullshit” whilst TNA Champion Sting looked like he was seething all over, obviously pissed off at Hardy and the decision. The following night at the Monday 14^th February iMPACT taping Jeff Hardy was sent home for reportedly collapsing in a bathroom. When it comes to Jeff Hardy, do TNA have any ethics, or are they happy about using and abusing Hardy until he hits rock bottom? It’s disgusting that TNA aren’t giving Hardy the help he needs, but instead making him compete when he’s clearly unstable, and secondly Hardy is a fool for not taking some time away to resolve this court case. If you were a part of any other company, you’d be given help and support, but no, this is TNA. Instead they tell him to go out and have half an hour matches with Mr. Anderson and Sting, all in the name of ratings, without knowing what Jeff could be on, or what as a result of these incidents, he COULD be on. I know this is very pro WWE, but they would never do this to a superstar, and the stars that go down the troubled end, they attempt to fix and better. But this isn’t favouring one brand, this is about the wellness of wrestlers, and it’s apparent that TNA quite simply HAVE NONE!

So what is the future of Jeff Hardy? At the 14^th February TNA tapings, Hogan and Bischoff seemingly wrote Hardy out of plans with Immortal and TNA, and he might be going home for an extended period (Or jail maybe if he does plead guilty), but the problem is deeper than that. Jeff needs help. I might not like him or what he stands for, but Jeff needs to take some time away and come back reinvented, or if the wrestling business is so destructive on him then quit altogether. The last thing we need is his brother Fat Hardy to reassure us he is ok, because Jeff needs a Twist of Fate, not a Twist of Hate, and to get there TNA need to support Jeff, and not make him a tool for ratings. People need to see this is somebodies life, and not just a famous face on TV. But the true picture is clear, the Jeff Hardy many knew and loved is over, and at Victory Road, maybe it put the final nail in the coffin for Jeff Hardy, who was gone in ninety seconds.

Robert Austin

“In Ring Issues”

King of all Kings: Can Triple H be trusted in WWE management?

We all know his name. Apparently we all want to watch him. After thirteen years of non-stop pushes and thirteen times a world champion (And a pretty poor movie career) I can only be talking about one individual, “The King of Kings” Triple H. The former body building champion and workaholic to the WWE had been out of action ever since Sheamus ‘ended’ the career of “The Game” at the 2010 Extreme Rules Pay-Per-View in a return (and so much better) match from Wrestlemania XXVI. Since his departure the man who loves the limelight shining on himself has seemingly taken a backseat in the world of WWE. Maybe it’s his wife Stephanie finally handcuffing him to his family commitments, or maybe Triple H is ready to pack in his wrestling career. Either way, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of HHH in the ring or out of the ring more importantly.

The topic of Triple H is one of utmost importance. ‘The Game’ is an In Ring Issue for one reason alone amongst others. This man one could one day become WWE Chairman, and no I’m not joking.

At first sight, the thought of Triple H being fed French red grapes and fine 18^th century vintage wine in WWE Headquarters, sat courteously in the Chairman’s office using castoff jobbers such as Zack Ryder and Chavo Guerrero as butlers is a scary, and very blunt thought. I say this because after thirteen years of rocket-up-your-ass style pushes and endless title victories, it appears HHH is all out for himself when it comes to the WWE. Not only is he one of the faces of the company, but he is loved by millions for his antics with Shawn Michaels in DX, and his long, exhausting solo career which has seen him rise up to the very top of the food-chain, to the point where he is now related to the McMahon’s. We wrestling fans aren’t stupid. Hunter Hearst Helmsley has a distinct advantage over each and every single member of the WWE world, he can influence more than any wrestler could ever hope, and yes, the cold, calculating game could make or break careers.

Triple H’s current role is the ‘Senior Advisor’ to Vince McMahon (The Chairman of WWE for those unfamiliar). Triple H does a lot of work backstage at tapings, in particular grooming stars for their roles; he suggests storyline and even with his current storyline with The Undertaker, creates his own storyline, and of course he reports back to McMahon and gives him his views, opinions on who is doing well for the product, and who’s doing bad and much more. In short, many on internet forums, websites, news reels and magazines believe Triple H is being groomed to become WWE Chairman, a thought that many die hard wrestling fans are torn about.

One of the main advantages of having HHH as a backstage role is that he is one of the only veteran stars working for the company on a full time basis. Over the last few years the WWE have lost big name, seasoned talents like Shawn Michaels, Batista, Jeff Hardy, Ric Flair, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesner, JBL and a few years before “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock to name just a few. It appears that among a current young and youthful locker-room Triple H is one of the only trusted backstage figure who knows how to get someone to the top of the WWE food chain (Even though everyone can’t sleep with the boss’s daughter). Triple H then has become even more vital, because in the last year in particular everyone watching the WWE product knows that there is a youth movement in progress. With high profile talents either leaving, jetting off to Hollywood, retiring, joining TNA or for their own reason, the WWE has had no option but to focus on younger talent like The Miz and Alberto Del Rio, who without a doubt are the future for Vince and Hunter. HHH is even more important though, because other seasoned veterans such as The Undertaker don’t work full time schedules, and those like The Big Show, Edge and even Rey Mysterio that do work full time simply don’t have enough leverage with management or backstage presence to command such respect as Triple H, and in turn effectively help or mentor young talent.

The main problem however though is many like myself believe that Triple H is nothing more than a showboating, career killing egomaniac on a path of needless and unrealistic torment, putting everybody under to his delight. That may not be the case, but after endless main event programmes, thirteen world titles, two European Championship runs, five reigns as Intercontinental Champion , and winning three sets of Tag Team titles, two with Shawn Michaels (HBK) and the other with Steve Austin. Triple H has won the 1997 King of the Ring during the time KOTR had prestige and people actually cared about it, and won the 2002 Royal Rumble. You’d think that with the endless pushes and triumphs in his seventeen year

Professional wrestling career, he would be more than the ‘King of Kings’, but rather emperor of the universe or at least God. In fact with all Triple H has achieved, he should be recognised as the greatest wrestler of all time, but somehow I don’t think many view him as the best ever, and I don’t think many hold him in high regard.

With his expert knowledge of the WWE, you’d think Triple H would be able to better and profit the company in the long run, but my fear is if Triple H was left to his own devices as WWE Chairman once Vince either steps down or pops his clogs that Hunter wouldn’t simply know how to do so. If Hunter wasn’t able to make the most of his pushes and his main event level status in WWE, how could he run the company with as much emphasis as Vince McMahon? Or one step further, how would HHH stop a slightly slipping wrestling promotion maintain profits and fans attention?

This brings me nicely onto my next point. After the youth movement of young stars such as Sheamus, Wade Barrett, Daniel Bryan, The Miz (To a small extent), Alberto Del Rio, Evan Bourne and the mega push of Dolph Ziggler, for me it all seems like a waste of time now, nothing more than filler television, especially in Wrestlemania season. Triple H returned to RAW on February 21^st, interrupting The Undertaker’s 2/21/11 comeback. Not only did this put the efforts of the young Wrestlemania hopefuls to one side, but it was the following week on February 28^th which really put the final nail in the coffin for young talent hopeful of a bright Wrestlemania filled future. Sheamus came out to interrupt Hunter, this led to Triple H completely and utterly annihilating Sheamus, eventually hitting his trademark “Pedigree” finisher through the RAW announce table. It was horrible to watch. How can we trust HHH in higher management, if all he is going to do is killing of the young, fresh, exciting talent such as Sheamus? It’s hard to believe the fans cheered for it. Now where is Sheamus? On the losing streak of his life, having to fight another brilliant, underutilised wrestler Daniel Bryan (Who has also been completely buried time and time again by the RAW booking team) for the United States Championship.

It appears that every time it hits Wrestlemania season, it’s almost like the hard work and effort by the younger stars is completely played down and underappreciated. Triple H and The Undertaker have WALKED into the main event Wrestlemania XXVII this year. Every year the WWE has gone back to the big name players just because WWE management know it’s a reliable source of information. For me, Wrestlemania should reflect the year just gone in the WWE, and they should focus on the stars that have been on your television screens for the past twelve months, and for the wrestlers, it should be a massive payday and bonus, a thank you for the past twelve months. But no, we get Triple H. We get The Undertaker. The fear is Triple H (If and when he becomes a higher WWE official) will keep to this Vince McMahon formula of pushing big, oversized talents as the main event players. Triple H naturally holds wrestlers back, it’s what he does, but just imagine the damage he could potentially cause with more power in management, it would be terrifying for young prospects hoping to forge a career in the WWE universe.

If WWE management and Triple H in particular don’t stop with this constant pushing of Hunter and other big names stars such as John Cena, then there simply won’t be a future for WWE, or the one that there will be will be bleak, and very, very grim. New worldwide megastars stars are hard to come by as fans have seen, but when they do, Triple H just can’t help poke his massive nose in their career and Pedigree them through an announce table. It goes without saying Triple H is truly the “King of Kings”, but my concern is that he will one day be the King of a one man empire, and he’ll only ‘The Game’ to blame.

Robert Austin

“In Ring Issues”