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Jeffrey Nero ("Jeff") Hardy (born August 31, 1977 in Cameron, North Carolina) is an American professional wrestler. Hardy is perhaps best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation between 1998 and 2003, frequently wrestling in tag team matches with his brother, Matt Hardy, as the Hardy Boyz.

Career

Early career

Matt and Jeff Hardy, who are totally effing gorgeous ( & I love both of them) had a dream of becoming wrestlers since a young age. They watched wrestling often and by the time Jeff was 16, he had been on WWF (now WWE) TV as a jobber. Jeff, along with Matt and friends, started their own federation, the TWF (Trampoline Wrestling Federation) and mimicked the moves they saw on TV. Later on, the federation went under several different names, eventually being integrated into a county fair in North Carolina. Jeff, Matt, and friends then began to work for other independent companies. They drove all over the East Coast of the United States, working for companies such as ACW and other small promotions. The Hardyz eventually caught the eyes of World Wrestling Entertainment, and after being signed to a contract, they were trained by former wrestler Dory Funk, Jr. in his Funkin' Dojo with other notable wrestlers such as Kurt Angle, Christian, Andrew "Test" Martin, and A-Train. Before ever arriving in the WWE, Matt had formed his own wrestling promotion, OMEGA (Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts) with Thomas Simpson. The promotion was a more successful version of the original TWF and included such talent as Matt, Jeff, Shannon Moore, Gregory Helms, Amy Dumas, Joey Matthews, Caprice Coleman, and many others. In OMEGA, Matt and Jeff each had several different characters. Jeff portrayed such characters as Willow the Whisp, Iceman, Mean Jimmy Jack Tomkins, Wolverine, and The Masked Mountain.

World Wrestling Federation

In 1998, Jeff and his brother Matt were signed to WWF contracts. When they were finally brought up to WWF TV, they formed the acrobatic tag team called The Hardy Boyz. Matt recently said that if they were compared to the Rockers, Jeff would be Shawn Michaels and Matt would be Marty Jannetty.

Jeff is known for his high-risk aerial maneuvers, especially in TLC matches and made a name for himself as one of the most seemingly reckless WWF performers of his time. The team of Matt and Jeff won the WWF Tag Team Championship on five occasions, ensuring they would be known one of the most successful tag teams in WWE history. In 2000, Matt and Jeff found a new manager in their real-life friend Lita. Together, the three became known as "Team Xtreme".

Although a close duo, the brothers would feud with each other. At the 2001 Royal Rumble, Jeff and Matt, the first and third contestants, respectively, fought and eliminated each other.

After years in the tag-team division, Jeff stepped up and took on The Undertaker in a ladder match for the Undisputed Championship. Jeff came up short, but earned the Undertaker's respect. If Jeff had won, he would have become a Grand Slam Champion, winning the WWE World Championship, Tag Team Title, Intercontinental Championship, and European Championship. Jeff competed for singles titles on several occasions, but was unsuccessful. Finally, the Hardy Boyz split apart, as Jeff continued to pursue his singles ambitions and brother Matt defected to SmackDown! from Raw.

Jeff was in a few angles after that. He first teamed with Shawn Michaels and then hooked up with Trish Stratus after saving her from Steven Richards and Victoria. In his last WWE match, Jeff was defeated by The Rock. Jeff parted ways with WWE on April 22, 2003.

Ring of Honor

In 2003, Jeff returned to wrestling when he performed at the Ring of Honor show, Death Before Dishonor, in his "Willow the Wisp" gimmick, wearing a mask and trenchcoat. Jeff was quickly unmasked and lost his jacket, wearing attire similar to that he wore in WWE. Jeff was booed and heckled before, during, and after the match by the ROH audience, who chanted "We want Matt!" and "You got fired!" during his match with Joey Matthews and Krazy K, which Jeff won.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Hardy debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on June 23, 2004 at the TNA Second Anniversary Show. In his debut match, Hardy challenged A.J. Styles for the TNA X Division Championship; the match ended in a no-contest when Kid Kash and Dallas interfered. Hardy returned to TNA on July 21, 2004, and was awarded a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy challenged for the title on the final weekly TNA pay-per-view on September 8, 2004, losing to NWA World heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett.

Hardy teamed with A.J. Styles and Ron Killings throughout mid-2004. In October 2004 he won a tournament, earning a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on November 7, 2004 at TNA Victory Road 2004. Hardy was defeated by Jarrett once again in a ladder match at Victory Road following interference from Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. One month later on December 5, 2004 at TNA Turning Point 2004, Hardy, Styles and Randy Savage defeated Jarrett, Hall and Nash (collectively known as the Kings of Wrestling). Hardy went on to defeat Hall in a single match at TNA Final Resolution 2005 on January 16, 2005.

At TNA Against All Odds on February 13, 2005, Hardy lost to Abyss in a "Full Metal Mayhem" match for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. However, he went on to defeated Abyss in a falls count anywhere match at TNA Destination X 2005 on March 13, 2005. Hardy then went on to feud with Raven, with Hardy defeating Raven in a steel cage match at TNA Lockdown 2005 on April 24, 2005. Hardy was suspended from TNA after no-showing his "Clockwork Orange House of Fun" rematch with Raven at TNA Hard Justice 2005 on May 15, 2005, allegedly due to travel difficulties.

Hardy's suspension was lifted on August 5, 2005, with Hardy returning to TNA at TNA Sacrifice 2005 on August 14, 2005, attacking Jeff Jarrett. He wrestled his first TNA match in four months at TNA Unbreakable 2005 on September 11, 2005, losing to Bobby Roode following interference from Jarrett.

Throughout October 2005, Hardy began embroiled in a feud with Abyss, Rhino and Sabu. The four way feud culminated in a Monster's Ball match at TNA Bound For Glory 2005 on October 23, 2005, which was won by Rhino. In the course of the match, Hardy delivered a Swanton Bomb to Abyss from a height of approximately seventeen feet (5.18 metres). Later that night, Hardy competed in a ten-man battle royal for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which was also won by Rhino. At TNA Genesis 2005 on November 13, 2005, Hardy lost to "The Alpha Male" Monty Brown in another number one contender match.

Hardy was scheduled to wrestle on the pre-show of TNA Turning Point 2005 at December 11, 2005, but once again no-showed the event, again citing travelling problems. Hardy was suspended as a result and has not appeared with TNA since, although he has not been formally released from the promotion. In March, April and May 2006, Hardy appeared on several house shows promoted by TNA in conjunction with Dave Hebner and the United Wrestling Federation.

Wrestling facts

  • Finishing and signature moves

Championships and accomplishments

  • 1-time NCW Heavyweight Champion
  • 2-time NCW Light Heavyweight Champion
    • New Dimension Wrestling
  • 1-time NDW Light Heavyweight Champion
    • NFWA
  • 1-time NFWA Heavyweight Champion
    • North East Wrestling
  • 1-time NEW Junior Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-time OMEGA Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-time OMEGA New Frontier Champion
  • 1-time OMEGA Tag Team Champion (with Matt Hardy)
  • PWI ranked him # 58 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2005
  • PWI ranked him # 418 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
  • PWI Tag Team of the Year Award, with Matt Hardy (2000)
  • PWI Match of the Year Award, with Matt Hardy, versus the Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian (2000)
  • PWI Match of the Year Award, with Matt Hardy, versus the Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian (2001)
    • Universal Wrestling Association
  • 2000 Best Flying Wrestler

Championship succession

WWE Intercontinental Championship Preceded by:
Triple H First Succeeded by:
Triple H (WWE) World Tag Championship Preceded by:
The Acolytes First, with Matt Hardy Succeeded by:
The Acolytes Preceded by:
Edge & Christian Second, with Matt Hardy Succeeded by:
Edge & Christian Preceded by:
Edge & Christian Third, with Matt Hardy Succeeded by:
Bull Buchanan and The Goodfather Preceded by:
The Dudley Boyz Fourth, with Matt Hardy Succeeded by:
Edge & Christian Preceded by:
Test and Booker T. Fifth, with Matt Hardy Succeeded by:
The Dudley Boyz WWE European Championship Preceded by:
William Regal First Succeeded by:
Rob Van Dam WWE Hardcore Championship Preceded by:
Mike Awesome First Succeeded by:
Rob Van Dam Preceded by:
Rob Van Dam Second Succeeded by:
Rob Van Dam Preceded by:
Bradshaw Third Succeeded by:
Johnny Stamboli WWE Light-Heavyweight Championship Preceded by:
Jerry Lynn First Succeeded by:
X-Pac

Artistic pursuits

Hardy has an electic set of interests outside of wrestling. At one stage, Hardy constructed a 20-foot statue of an "aluminummy" out of tinfoil, above his recording studio (a spraypainted trailer). On another occasion, he created an artificial volcano in his front yard, which he then jumped over on his motocross dirtbike. Hardy is also an artist and poet.

In 2003, Hardy formed a band, Peroxwhy?gen, with fellow professional wrestler Shannon Moore and members of the band Burnside 6. The band recorded two songs. One was September Day, a song Jeff had written in reaction to 9/11. Rumors arose that Peroxwhy?gen split up in 2004 shortly after recording the second song, "Modest", which Hardy later used as his entrance music in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. However, on the official Peroxwhygen myspace, on April 27, 2006, the following message was posted in the blog. "Yes we are still together and writing songs. No we are not broken up. JR from the band runs this site."

Hardy appeared on the February 7, 1999 episode of That '70s Show, entitled "That Wrestling Show", along with his brother Matt as an uncredited wrestler. He appeared as himself in the February 25, 2002 episode of Fear Factor, competing against five other World Wrestling Federation wrestlers, and was eliminated in the first round.

Books

  • Hardy, Jeff; Hardy, Matt; and Krugman, Michael (2003) The Hardy Boyz: Exist 2 Inspire, ISBN 0060521546

DVDs

References

External links

1977 births | American musicians | American sculptors | American poets | American professional wrestlers | Living people | People from North Carolina | Stunt performers

Jeff Hardy | ジェフ・ハーディー

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Jeff Hardy".

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