WWE Backstage welcomes Jeff Hardy!
The Charismatic Enigma is finally back on TV! Jeff is happy to bring back his juke dance! Renee says it’s one of the best entrances ever. Jeff joins Renee in the ring and takes a seat. He’s been gone nine months, what is his health status? Jeff’s officially cleared, and has been waiting backstage on SmackDown for the right creative spot. What is that anticipation like? Jeff has so many ideas of new, fresh ideas. This will be the 2020 Jeff, but waiting is definitely stressful. Jeff’s ring rust is still rusty but you gotta get conditioned and get back to that ring shape. It’s like a bicycle, he’s ready to feel it again.
Nine months is a lot. What has the time off done for him? Jeff’s knee surgery was a blessing in disguise because his father was in bad shape of his own. Jeff walked with his dad, and long story short, Papa Hardy has been home with them since September, so the last 5 months of Jeff’s recovery. But on October 3rd, Jeff got in trouble, and on the 4th, he want to inpatient rehab for the first time in his life. Jeff has worked to better himself, and he’ll feel so good to be back in front of the WWE Universe. There is something left for him to do, but he isn’t sure what it is yet.
Renee agrees, there is always more you can do in the WWE. But she also loves that he had that time off for his family and himself. Jeff’s daughters are 9 and 4, growing up so fast, and one big project was the motocross track. Jeff fixed it up and can watch everyone else ride around.
More news with the Hardys is that Matt’s WWE contract has expired. Does Jeff know anything about that? Jeff admits he hasn’t talked to Matt so he has no idea what Matt’s plans are. But the Hardy Boys have been wrestling for a long time, so even if they end up in different worlds, it is still great to know the Hardys can each do their own thing.
How does that feel, to be gone for so long and now Matt (probably) won’t be there? It’s also been awhile since there was such a huge spotlight on Jeff alone. Jeff notes that growing up, he was the “invincible” one while Matt was needing surgery, but now things have flipped a bit. Matt’s been great in his health but it will still be amazing. They are blessed to still be going in 2020 after the careers they’ve had.
The style they worked and the level they were at, people joke about “rubber bones” and all that, but how important is it to adapt? Jeff seeing the face paint again makes him go “Wow.” He doesn’t always have time to paint on a canvas so he just uses his own face. String’s face paint was a big inspiration, of course. There’s a lot left in Jeff and he looks forward to it.
Has he been keeping his eyes on the WWE product? What does he like about it? Jeff admits that the Street Profits winning made him “mark out” because of how Seth Rollins sold it and just the moment of it all. Brock Lesnar is still intimidating and intense, and so Jeff is just excited to get back out there.
What’s it like for Jeff to see superstars follow in his path of the high-flying daredevil style? Jeff hasn’t had people come to him about it, but seeing Ricochet, Mustafa Ali and others being influenced by him is surreal. Jeff takes it one day at a time, and he doesn’t worry about the past. Wait he’s drifting from the question. But the influence is clear, and even Bayley was a big Hardy Boys fan. Has Jeff been able to talk with some of the younger stars? Yeah, but Matt’s been better at advice and ring psychology. Jeff compliments those who do great work, but feels he doesn’t need to butter people up when they know they’re good.
Lastly, who is the one person Jeff wants that one more match with? Probably him and Roman Reigns. That would be a big moment for both of them. It’d be cool, important and exciting for a Mania moment with him. Jeff will stick around, is he going to get that dream match?
Paige and Booker joke that Big Daddy Latty wants to take Jeff on one last time. But also, the two WWE Hall of Famers right here want to know: who’s joining them next? We find out, after the break!
