wrestling / Columns
The Seventh Dimension 03.14.08: A Hardy Pill To Swallow
Well, after the utter debacle that was last week’s attempt at looking at WWE’s revenue system (thanks to Mike Grzebieniowski for his far more accurate information), it’s a relief to get back to more of what’s on the screen with our favourite ‘superstars’. Unfortunately, it’s with the single-most disappointing wrestling news I’ve read since the Benoit deaths and their immediate fallout. It seems kind of ironic in a way, as the first man to break the news on 411 (in the forums), that I’m probably one of the last columnists to write about it here.
Jeff Hardy has just blown the biggest chance of his career. He has fucked up a guilt-edged opportunity to become WWE’s next big star, and eventually its champion. Not only that, but having profited in ways that most existing main-eventers could only dream of – clean victories over Triple H and Shawn Michaels, kicking out of the Pedigree, getting to attack other faces without turning heel – I can’t help but feel that at least one other, more reliable midcard worker (whoever that may be) has been screwed out of a push that they would have done better with.
The news that Jeff has been given a sixty-day suspension for his second breach of the WWE Wellness Policy would not have been a surprise a few months ago. After all, his ‘extra curricular activities’ have been long publicised, and are understandable considering we’re talking recreational drugs that he probably uses to ease what must be over-whelming physical pain. However, I must admit I was somewhat shocked when I found out. From all accounts, Jeff has taken to his new role like a duck to water, so it was fair to assume that he’d have the professionalism and – more than anything else – the common sense to not put himself in such a vulnerable situation as this. Apparently, I was wrong.
I read an article recently on a different site about Jeff, and how his character has progressed when compared to Cena’s. I believe the phrase that was used in Hardy’s regard was ‘moral authority’, in the same mold as Steve Austin or The Rock. Jeff has become so over with the audience, and it is so inconceivable that he could turn heel, that he can get away with pretty much anything he likes. I can’t help but agree, but at the same time I’m now wondering if that’s how he sees himself backstage as well. He appears to be in this bubble where the rules of substance abuse don’t apply to him, because he’s too nice to be punished for it. The fact he’s in his second spell with the WWE (having acrimoniously split with TNA after missing shows), and is now just one strike from being released once again, might suggest otherwise.
So with all that being said, I can understand the disappointment and cynicism that was shared when the smoke was clearing. After all, I felt it as well. Even now, I can’t believe how na
