Shining a Spotlight 8.09.07: The Hardyz

It’s always annoying to lose a possible column subject when you wanted it. I was planning to get WWE’s World Class DVD this week and do a little review, comparing it to the excellent Heroes of World Class DVD from last year. I was happy when it was announced WWE was moving it up to this week last month but it now appears it’s delayed until December. Don’t quite get it as they had announced its release was being moved up two weeks after the Benoit mess so moving it back so far is a bit odd. Ah, well, one thing about wrestling at this time, there’s always something to write about.

Among the many subjects that were on tap, I decided to focus this week on two men who had established themselves in a particular niche in wrestling for the last decade or so. They rose to fame as a tag team who took to daredevil stunts so much they made you seriously wonder for their physical and mental health. They’ve since done well in singles play but have become more infamous for their personal lives. One has gotten a reputation as a flighty guy who’s been kicked out of a couple of promotions while the other is more infamous for being involved in one of the greatest real-life soap operas wrestling has ever seen.

I’m talking about Jeff and Matt Hardy.

A lot’s been written about how one of the most troubling aspects of wrestling today is that the bad press may hurt the chances of young fans wanting to join in the business. The current crop of wrestlers were influenced by the stars of that hot period of the 1980’s and early ‘90’s. Among them were two young teens from Cameron, North Carolina, brothers who realized how much they loved the business and wanted to be part of it badly. They even went so far as to get a trampoline set up in their backyard to be a ring and would bounce it from trees and rooftops. They even had their own backyard federation that grew so big it became part of the local county fair.

With that strong work ethic, it didn’t take long for them to crack into the business. They had their own local promotion, called OMEGA, which included Shannon Moore and Gregory Helms and each would go under various identities to make it look bigger than it was. Soon, they were brought to the WWF, Jeff only 16 at the time and were trained by Dory Funk Jr. in a class that also included Kurt Angle, Christian and Test (yes, Test does have training).

Their first few years were the typical jobber stuff, some TV matches but no real push at all. Jeff did have an interesting 1997 battle against Rob Van Dam during the first cooperation between WWF and ECW. Eventually, the decision was made to put them together as a regular team, with Michael Hayes as their manager. They soon began to rise in popularity more and more and soon had gotten over enough to beat the APA for the tag team titles. Their reign would be short as they would lose the belts a month later and attack Hayes, turning heel. They would soon hook up with Gangrel as their manager and then, at No Mercy ’99, won a wild ladder match against Edge & Christian. Besides winning $100,000 and the “managerial services” of Terri Runnells, both brothers also won the huge respect of the fans for the incredible moves they made.

Their stars would rise even bigger as 2000 went along, embarking on the epic feuds with the Dudleyz and Edge & Christian that would include the TLC series. The war with Edge & Christian would go on for the majority of the year, including a downright baffling angle involving both teams posing as the masked Conquistadors to win the tag belts from each other. Both brothers were incredibly over with crowds, bringing an energy that pumped fans up and their ring work seemed to blossom the more cheers they got, adding to great matches all the time.

It was during this period that they’d hook up with the woman who would have a major effect on both of them, Lita. After Matt beat Esai Rios in a singles match, Rios beat on Lita, blaming her for the loss until the Hardyz came to save her. Soon, Lita was accompying them to ringside as they became known as “Team Extreme.” This led to some nice six-person intergender matches against the likes of E&C with Jacqueline and T&A with Trish Stratus (which had the nice bit of the Extreme triple-suplexing Albert and Trish). It soon became evident behind the scenes that Matt and Lita were an item and eventually they confirmed it by kissing on camera.

While the Hardyz were great to watch in the ring, they did contribute to a major problem of the time. Which was that the titles would pretty much be around them, E&C or the Dudleyz, not giving other teams a fair chance and perhaps contributing to the collapse of the tag scene. They would continue to have good battles, culminating with another TLC match at Wrestlemania X-7. It was after this that WWF decided to break the two up and try them as singles stars. Jeff seemed to brighten first by upsetting HHH for the Intercontinental title and would eventually feud with RVD for the Hardcore title. Matt seemed to stagnate a bit and the two would reunite to win the WCW tag titles and would end up being the last-ever holders of those belts, losing a unification match to the Dudleyz.

In 2002, the brothers would feud with newcomer Brock Lesner who gave Matt an F5 on the steel entrance ramp. Jeff fought Lesner in the latter’s first big match at Backlash ’02 and was handily defeated. Jeff would try a feud with the Undertaker, including a title ladder match which he lost but the Taker gave him respect by raising his hand afterward. With the first draft lottery in 2002, Jeff was sent to RAW and Matt to SmackDown…and that’s where the stories of each get complicated.

Let’s start with Jeff first. He basically slummed around RAW for a while, having a brief teaming with RVD but nothing major. He’d try a brief heel turn in early 2003 but that didn’t take with fans and he was turned back to face by helping Stacy Kiebler He would get a rub by teaming with Shawn Michaels then helping Trish Stratus with her feud against Victoria and Steven Richards and having an on-screen relationship with Trish. He would lose to the Rock in April in what would turn out to be his last match for the company as it was announced he was being let go weeks later. There had always been rumors of Jeff being a bit…flaky backstage but some had written it off as living his daredevil character. However, it quickly became clear that Jeff’s drug addiction was getting out of hand as he missed several dates and was refusing to attend rehab for them. His falling in-ring work hardly helped his cause and he appeared to be another rising star cut short by his own demons.

Jeff spent a few months bouncing around, doing some motocross racing and then tried his hand in Ring of Honor as his old Will O’the Wisp character. To say his appearance didn’t go well would be a massive understatement. In a show of crowd brutality that would put ECW to shame, the ROH fans ripped at Jeff with chants of “you got fired!” and “we want Matt!” He wouldn’t last long in ROH and would toil on the independent circuit before finding a company all too willing to pay big for anyone who could give them more exposure: TNA.

At the time, TNA was still doing the weekly pay-per-view shows and Jeff was a special surprise opponent for X Division champ AJ Styles. He came out to a new theme song performed by him, showed off his bizarre body paint style and his nickname “the Charismatic Enigma” (and no, I still don’t know what that means). He would lose to Styles but would have a major welcoming ceremony the next week with Dusty Rhodes actually calling him a “rock star” in terms of his standing in wrestling. As is typical for TNA and ex-WWE guys, Jeff was given a massive push off the bat, facing Jeff Jarrett for the NWA title at one PPV. He would lose but would headline a ladder match against Jarrett at the very first three-hour PPV “Victory Road ’04.” The match was an okay brawl with Jeff ready to win until Scott Hall and Kevin Nash interfered to help Jarrett keep the title. Jeff would then team with AJ Styles and Randy Savage against the trio for a horrific six-man match at “Turning Point ’04.” After another horrible battle, this one a falls-count-anywhere match against Scott Hall at “Final Resolution ’05”, Jeff was attacked by Abyss. This set up two wild brawls between them at the next few PPVs with Jeff sent flying through tables and ladders. Lockdown saw him and Raven fighting in a tables cage match as it became clear Jeff was being used as a hardcore icon type of guy with no real push to any title. He and Raven were to have a rematch at “Hard Justice” but Jeff no-showed the event completely. He should have been fired but there were two main reasons he wasn’t. The first was that he still sold merchandise, from t-shirts to a DVD of TNA matches and TNA needed the cash.

The second reason….well, that has a lot to do with what had been going on with Matt back in WWE.

After moving to SmackDown, Matt would have a feud with the Undertaker winning several bouts by DQ and countout. He would then hit upon an absolutely brilliant character arc in which he would call himself “Matt Hardy version 1.0.” Every week he would come out with his Titan Tron showing “Matt Facts” that would be some of the most entertaining parts of the show (“Matt is better looking than Christian; Matt tans wearing only a sock”) and soon got a cult following for it all. He would be teamed with Shannon Moore, who became a Matt groupie, following him around and helping in matches. Matt would do a long bit of fighting to get down to 225 pounds so he could be a contender for the Cruiserweight title. He would eventually succeed and beat Billy Kidman for the title and add Crash Holly to his group as Moore’s “Moore-on.” He was getting more and more over but as was the case with so many great things that fell into their lap in this time period, WWE would mess it up by having Matt go to RAW. To be fair, it was apparently Matt himself who pushed for it so he and Lita could be closer together. Ironically, the first move was to have him turn heel on Lita. He would interfere in a cage match she had with Victoria, smashing the cage door on her head but just as he was taking off as a heel again, they had him go face by trying to save Lita from her “wedding” to Kane.

Matt was soon injured and had to take time off and it was during this time that the shit hit the fan when it came to the Lita-Edge affair going public. Matt, of course, would take this fairly badly, yanking down photos of Lita from his site and blast both her and Edge. He seemed to lose more and more control from it all and it wasn’t surprising when it was announced he was released from WWE in April. The fans would back Matt completely, blasting Lita and Edge with so many boos that they had to go full-on heel, which, ironically, led Edge to the biggest push of his career. Matt would go on his website to claim he was coming up with new characters like “The Angelic Diablo” and made appearances in ROH while Edge would mock him with stuff like playing Matt’s music during their “wedding” to get the crowd going.

This brings me to the reason why TNA didn’t fire Jeff because they assumed Matt was a free agent and a hot one. They naturally wanted him and figured that firing his brother probably wasn’t going to be a good way to sway Matt to their side. It did seem that Matt was interested and TNA appeared to be a good fit, despite how they had fumbled Jeff’s run there a bit. But of course, TNA had no idea that Matt was basically playing along as part of his grand strategy to return to WWE hotter than ever. I know some may argue that Matt might have been better off going to TNA but given their track record for messing up seemingly sure-fire properties, it was probably the right move to show loyalty to Vince and go back and give fans the feud they wanted.

I’m fully aware that some believe Matt, Lita and Edge cooked up this whole thing to give them all pushes and indeed, it does seem that a lot of it was worked such as when Lita was on “Byte This!” and Matt called in to blast her. And you have to admit it was highly suspicious that Matt put it on his website that he was “free” and promised a surprise the night he came out of the crowd to attack Edge on RAW. WWE did do their best keeping it as a shoot by refusing to comment on it at all which made fans believe it was all for real. Before this could get too “Loose Cannon” on people, Vince himself announced that he was hiring Matt back and Matt did a speech that, ironically, ended up killing a lot of the drive people had for him with his laid-back attitude. He and Edge would feud, their SummerSlam match not as good as hoped but their Unforgiven cage match making up for it with a wild battle that included Matt giving Lita a Twist of Fate. The feud was still hot so it was a surprise that in October, they had Matt lose a “loser leaves RAW” ladder match and head to SmackDown.

With Matt back in WWE, that left TNA still holding the bag with Jeff. After apparently cleaning up his act a bit, Jeff returned at “Sacrifice” in August to interfere in the main event. He attacked Jarrett at “Unbreakable” with Jarrett getting revenge by causing Jeff to lose to Bobby Roode. At “Bound for Glory,” Jeff would take part in the “Monster’s Ball” match with a wild bit of him jumping off the “TNA” sign roster and to the floor, a good 30 feet, to splash Abyss through a table. He would compete at “Genesis,” losing to Monty Brown before pulling another no-show at “Turning Point ’05.” This time, TNA wasn’t as willing to give leeway and showed him the door.

So Matt bounced around SmackDown, doing some good matches but no real push while Jeff toiled away in private before convincing WWE to hire him back. He was given a good push off the bat, winning the IC title and feuding with Johnny Nitro for it in some good bouts. Of course, the inevitable occurred at Armageddon as they reunited as the surprise participants in a ladder match for the tag team titles. It was clear the fans still loved them as they were chanting “Hardyz!” before they even entered and went nuts when their music hit. Course, you could argue it was less the team themselves and more the idea of these guys in a tag team ladder match again. Giving them a tag title run on RAW was obvious and they did a good job with it before being split up again.

So now Jeff appears to being forced to take time off although it sounds like the door is open for a return. I think this is because not only is Jeff a great worker when he tries but he does seem pretty likeable too, willing to give his all which is something Vince respects. That this was an injury instead of his old demons is helpful of course but it is sad that when it was announced he was taking time off, the first thing that popped into so many minds was “drug-induced no-show.” Of course, it’s sadder that Jeff’s own history makes it so easy to believe it. That it’s due to injury isn’t surprising as frankly, I’m amazed he’s in as good a shape he is after all those table dives and high-flying maneuvers. Fact is, high flyers tend to get cut shorter than others due to the risk factors and one can hope Jeff doesn’t end up like the Dynamite Kid, stuck in a wheelchair and barely able to function.

As for Matt…well, I know I’m in a minority on this but I’ve never bought Matt as a “carry the brand” type of guy. Yes, he’s talented and yes, he has great ring skills and on the mic as well. But…I don’t know, I’ve just never seen him as a World champion type who can be a headliner. He’s great in the mid-card, especially his new feud with MVP and I wouldn’t mind seeing him as US champ at all. But, again, he just seems like an IWC darling who I just can’t quite buy in the main spot. That he’s prone to injury as well also hurts his cause a bit as WWE wants guy as healthy as possible right now. I also think his attitude has changed a bit by the whole Lita mess. Work or not, they were together a long time and breaking up had to hurt. If it was all for real than he must have gotten really burned and that probably made him a bit more cynical about the business on a whole. That he still retains enough love to keep doling out great bouts is a testimony to a spirit that more wrestlers should possess.

I admit some of this is because it’s so hard to separate these guys given the awesome team they once were. But unlike some teams who went on to enjoy singles success (Edge & Christian for example), neither Jeff nor Matt have ever struck me as huge main-eventers. They’re still an awesome tag team and each is ready to bring it in matches, particularly ladder and other types of action-oriented bouts. But as much as they may be popular, I just can’t see either able to carry a brand on their shoulders. Matt has a slight edge there but “Matt Hardy World Champion” just doesn’t roll off the tongue well. He’s one of those guys like Benoit or Mysterio who you’d love to see win the belt but may not be able to handle actually be champion. And as I said before, the fact both are prone to injuries also hurts their chances to get over for a long run.

I do still admire the Hardyz and think they’re one of the best teams of their time, especially in their 2000 heyday. I think Matt has shown a bit more maturity, not surprising as he’s the older brother while Jeff has faltered under his demons. Maybe if Matt had gone to TNA he might have been able to help Jeff keep himself together but as it is, I think he’s been helping Jeff out while in WWE. Jeff has seem to show signs of the old worker he was in the ring and a good backstage attitude. It’s just that his past has allowed some to think the worse of him and may harm his future progress. As for Matt, he continues to be a good worker but those who complain that he’s being held back by WWE and the fans want him on top would do well to remember the failure of title reigns by Mysterio and even Benoit as proof that getting a title sometimes isn’t as great as you might think.

Their legacy in WWE is set as two of the greatest daredevils and one of the best teams ever. In the IWC they’ll also be remembered as two guys who have gotten more attention for their out-of-the-ring antics than what they did in the squared circle. To me, I’ll remember their tag history more than their singles runs and for good reason. The fact is, some wrestlers are just more cut out for pairings than on their own. Again, Jeff and Matt are terrific workers who have earned respect but singles mega-stars isn’t quite in the cards for them. But in a business where close friendships are hard to hold onto, the bond between brothers is something to be respected. Maybe they won’t ever main event, maybe they won’t deserve it but they are living the dream they had as kids and you really can’t help but feel some happiness at someone doing that.

Also around 411mania:

Julian Counts down the Top 10 Mr. McMahon moments.

The Shimmy looks at WWE in 2003.

Can They Be Champ? Looks at Kennedy.

The Fink speculates how to save SmackDown.

Larry C talks on TNA roster cuts and additions in a good analysis.

Don’t forget Column of Honor, Fact or Fiction, Ask 411, Hidden Highlights and the rest.

That’s it for this week. For now, the spotlight is off.