Jeff Hardy Bio
| Height: |
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6'1" |
| Weight: |
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225 lbs |
"The Next Shawn Michaels"
During his first few years in the WWE, a lot of people predicted that Jeff Hardy would become "The Next Shawn Michaels".
While Hardy still has a long way to go before even coming close to being on Michaels' status, he has established his own spot in wrestling. He's established himself as an exciting tag team wrestler who can steal the show with one of his high risk spots.
Hardy had always wanted to be a part of wrestling, even at a young age. He once worked on a WWE show as a jobber at the age of 16. Plus, prior to his full time tenure with the WWE, he and his brother were wrestling all over the east coast. They even started their own wrestling federation, which achieved a moderate amount of success.
The Beginning
Hardy was born on a Wednesday in Cameron, North Carolina. August 31, 1977 to be exact.
Older brother and future tag team partner, Matt, was almost three years of age when Jeff was born.
Training
Hardy was trained by several people. Prior to joining the WWE, Hardy was trained by the Italian Stallion and George South, two regulars from the old NWA days. Upon signing with the WWE, Hardy then received further training from the legendary Dory Funk Jr and Michael Hayes.
Along with the countless hours he spent with his brother, that's a pretty impressive collection of people to learn from.
His professional wrestling debut would take place on October 15, 1993.
OMEGA
With the help of their friend Thomas Simpson, the Hardys ran an independent wrestling company based in North Carolina. The name of the company was called OMEGA, which stood for "Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts". Their shows consisted of high flying matches, hardcore matches, and various other gimmick matches.
The Hardys created OMEGA so that they would have a place to wrestle. They were quite dedicated to their trade because they also performed a lot of the duties that are required in a wrestling company. The brothers assembled the ring before the show, and disassembled the ring after the show. Matt Hardy also made the ring outfits for the wrestlers.
Several wrestlers from OMEGA managed to go on to bigger and better things. Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Shannon Moore, Joey Mercury, Joey Abs, Steve Corino, Gregory Helms, and CW Anderson, to name a few.
The Hardys were forced to shut down OMEGA once they signed with the WWE.
Making A Name In The WWE
Hardy and his brother were both signed by the WWE at the same time. They were immediately sent to train at the Funkin' Dojo with the legendary Dory Funk Jr. The other members of their class were Kurt Angle, Christian, Test, and the A-Train.
The WWE tried a lot of different approaches to getting the Hardys over with the crowd, including an easily forgotten stint in the New Brood when they replaced Edge and Christian. The best move, though, was when they were paired up with their real life friend, Lita.
As a tag team, the Hardys won several tag team titles. Plus, they earned their spots in wrestling history by participating and shining in those legendary TLC Triple Threat Tag Team matches with Edge, Christian, and the Dudley Boys.
Thanks to an assist from the Undertaker after a memorable ladder match, Hardy then ventured on to singles competition. To ensure that fans of the Hardys as a tag team would accept him as a singles competitor, the WWE had Matt drafted over to Smackdown.
The WWE tried different things to get him over as a singles competitor, including a forgetable heel turn and a partnership with Trish Stratus.
However, things didn't work out as well as everyone had hoped it would work out for Jeff Hardy.
The Undertaker Feud
The feud that elevated Jeff Hardy to an even higher status was the short lived feud he had with the Undertaker.
After being destroyed by Brock Lesnar in a match that the referee had to stop, Hardy attempted to prove that he was extreme by attacking the Undertaker. Hardy kicked the Undertaker into a pool of vomit.
The week after that, the Undertaker calls out Hardy, but instead of just getting Jeff, he gets both Hardys and a ladder. A scuffle ensues between the three. It ends with Jeff doing a flying leg drop from the top of a ladder onto the Undertaker. That infuriates the Undertaker.
A scuffle ensues the week after with the Undertaker getting the upper hand, so an official match is set between Jeff and the Undertaker. Undertaker wins that match, but is challenged to a ladder match for the Undisputed Championship. Undertaker accepts.
In an amazing and brutal match, the Undertaker narrowly wins the match to retain the title. Afterwards, the Undertaker raises Hardy's arm and says, "You're one tough son of a bitch."
That single moment gave Hardy all the credibility in the world in the eyes of the wrestling fans.
Some Time Off
Hardy was released from his WWE contract. The WWE stated that the reason behind the release was erratic behavior and drug problems. Hardy stated that the reason was because he was exhausted from the constant travel and performing.
Hardy took some time off to focus on other interests. He did make a few appearances on the indy circuit.
One of the more memorable appearances was in ROH, where the crowd gave him a tough time. The ROH crowd is more internet saavy and unwilling to accept certain wrestlers, much like how the ECW crowd used to be.
A Stint In TNA
Hardy then made his debut in TNA, working his way through the X division and main event, receiving title shots at both the TNA X Division Championship and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy never was able to win a championship in TNA.
TNA suspended Hardy after he didn't show up for a scheduled match against Raven in a Clockwork Orange House of Fun match. Hardy came back from the suspension, and while he remained high on the card, he never did receive another main event title shot. Another suspension followed, and after a few appearances on house shows, Hardy was gone.
Back To The WWE
Hardy returned to the WWE and was immediately pushed as a singles wrestler, winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship on several occasions.
Despite having some success in the singles competition, the WWE could not resist putting the Hardys together as a tag team. With the crowd giving such a strong positive reaction to the tag team reunion, the WWE had no choice but to keep together as a tag team
Jeff Hardy the Musician
Hardy has plenty of interests outside of wrestling. One of which is music.
Hardy and Shannon Moore wanted to start a band, so Moore approached the lead guitarist of a band called Burnside6. Jr. Merrill, Chris Feltner, and Scott Hershner joined Hardy and Moore to complete the lineup for Peroxwhy?gen.
One of the first public exposure that the band received was when they recorded the entrance song for Hardy while he was wrestling in TNA.
There were talks at one time of having Hardy do music for the WWE's Smackdown Records. |
