Does Anyone Else Think Jeff Hardy is Overrated?

[Zeven_Zion]

Is anyone even rating him? Jeff is over with the fans but I doubt most of them would say he's an amazing wrestler. Kids love him, girls love him and some fans are indifferent. Still, I've never seen any adult Jeff Hardy fans like I've seen Austin Aries or AJ Styles fans.

Everyone knows Jeff can't cut a good promo to save his face paint. His good qualities are that he has a look, he has a following and he knows how to deliver in gimmick matches. The guy does some sick spots, I'll give him that.

Still, no one considers him to be one of the best, right? He's just appealing to a certain audience and even though I'll never get what's so cool about him, I'm okay with it. I like Jeffro, he does some nice stuff.

But overrated? I doubt it. It doesn't seem to apply right to Jeff. Apply it to someone like Curtis Axel or Abyss, not Jeff Hardy. Those two are over-fucking-rated. Jeff's just there. He does his thing and no one thinks he's the man or "that damn good". Even his fans know where he stands.

 

[Wrestlefan27]

He's okay, and his recent work has been really good in TNA, but I was never a big fan. I gues I just grew out of the "facepaint and colors = charisma" mentality. I used to be of that menatlity when I was a child, liking guys like Savage, Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, and the Rockers because of their crazy colorful attire. Now it's not enough.

I never got behind Hardy as a main eventer. I get that kids like him because of the colors and stunts. I get that girls like him because of his look and his brooding inner-demons (ZOMG I can fix him! Look how dark and emo he is with his drug addiction and daredevilness!) personality. But that's all childishness. He's better now that he's clean and I hope he stays that way, but yes, I do believe he is over-rated.

In a business sense, I get his appeal. In a personal taste sense, he's garbage.

 

[Wrestlefan27]

On second thought, he is not over rated. I read this question as asking if he deserved to be where he is today, if he was worthy of getting world titles. Most people know where Jeff Hardy ranks, and that's mid to upper mid card.

 

[Nikeo]

I love how some of the posts against Hardy have been "yeah, he got huge reactions and sold Cena levels of merch......definitely shouldn't have been champion". Absolutely hillarious.

Nobody'll deny that Hardy, at this stage in his career, is no HBK circa. 1997. What he has, that no other TNA star (bar Angle) has is the "it" factor. That intangible quality that you can't explain but is undeniably there. I'd love if it were possible to compare the amount of money Hardy has made for the WWE and TNA versus the likes of AJ Styles or Bobby Roode. I don't think anyone'd doubt his talents if they saw those figures.

Also, to the usual "appealed to women and kids" argument. Ask anyone with any access to the actual facts and figures and they'll tell you that there are VERY few people that appealed to as many demographics as Hardy. You may not have met an adult male Hardy fan but I assure you they exist. If they didn't, those ovations wouldn't have been half as big. Go back and watch some of the WWE PPVS, you can hear an audible IWC/smark fanbase boo'ing during some but, the vast majority of shows, show a universal pop. It's not possible to get a pop that loud without the majority of the crowd.

As JR has said, time and time again, very, very few people have shown the widespread appeal Hardy has shown. Fans felt they were on a journey with Hardy, filled with ups and downs, and that had a huge impact on his rise to top.

I understand people don't like Hardy, that's fine, but to call him over rated is ridiculous. I've said it before and I'll say it again: One doesn't get that over by having lackluster feuds, with lackluster matches and lackluster segments. If one did, we'd be seeing Evan Bourne, Hardcore Holly and Ted Dibiase winning their 5th WWE titles and sellling boat loads of merchandise.

I've actually never heard anything as ridiculous as complaining about putting the World title on somebody who gets massive pops and outsells John Cena in merchandise. The mind boggles and I actually cannot even begin to understand the logic. I'd pay to see any of these guys book a WWE show and watch their business crumble around them.

Many within the IWC cannot look at the business beyond their own likes/dislikes, that's why I laugh at most of their suggestions/complaints for/about WWE. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean it's not the best course of action for the company to take. I'd wager Hardy made more money for the WWE in the first six months of 2008 than AJ Styles has made for TNA in the last five years. I wouldn't be surprised at all. Like him, love him, hate him, loath him, the man has "it". Just because you don't like him does not mean he's overrated.

EDIT: I'd also wonder if those calling him "undependable" because of his past are the ones calling for pushing "two strikes" Orton to the top of the card once again. I know a lot of people were calling for a renewed and final Regal push....despite his two strikes. I won't defend Hardy's myriad of mistakes but many within the IWC complain about them and are completely ignorant to anyone else's Wellness strikes. It's funny.

 

[silrock316]

Now, before I get crucified for this one, let me preface this by saying that Jeff Hardy USED to be great. I'm mainly talking about Jeff Hardy now.

Let's look at Jeff Hardy today without nostalgia-tinted glasses. Back when Jeff Hardy started off, he was a great high-flyer and impressive to watch in the ring. But that was then, this is now.

To me, Jeff Hardy's suffered the same fate as Rey Mysterio or any high-flyer that doesn't have a solid technical foundation: their in-ring prime has a short shelf life. Really, the only impressive agile/high spots I see Jeff pull off anymore is the Swanton Bomb. Like I said, he's not a very solid technical worker and doesn't really have the size or physique to sell as a brawler.

On the mic, he is rather boring to listen to. Everytime I listen to his promos, all I can think is, "Damn, he sounds like the mustached gay guy who says 'Oh no!' on Family Guy."

About all Jeff Hardy has left to me is a great look and a name that a lot of people still associate with great high-flying action. But as the song says, "Sometimes reputations outlive their applications."

First I will say that I barely ever read the responses to the OP in any thread started. So I have NOT read what anyone else wrote to your thread. If you got crucified, I apologize because I AGREE he is over rated and ALWAYS was actually. The man has been a pro for over 15 years and is still one of the worst talkers on both of the TNA and WWE locker rooms.

He is a horrible striker. What I mean by that is punching and things of that nature. He built his legacy on taking crazy bumps and shit. Which is fine because Mick Foley kinda did the samething. However, and I am a John Cena hater, he has LESS moves than John Cena. Think about it.

I never have and never will get the appeal of Jeff Hardy. I guess its because I am not a 14 year old girl that thinks he is cute. Or a 18 year old boy that LOVES pot smoking and always "Likes" pages on facebook that say "like this if you think pot should be legalized".

Hardy is very boring.

 

[JerichoPM]

Jeff Hardy is of course overrated, and much. The guy sure gets a god pop and stuff and his merchandise may sell a lot but when you begin to analyse him, you begin to spot a lot of flaws. First, his mic skills, they are awful, i never saw the guy cut a good promo, i´ve seen him cut decent ones, but never agood one. Second, his ring skills, he´s not bad, there are a lot of guys worse than him, but please to call him one of the greatest high-flyers in Wrestling history is joking with me, the guys botches quite often and his move-set isn´t all that big.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

I think he has been phoning it in in the ring lately, doing the same old same old in the exact same order, reminds me of RVD. Jeff is an Engima to me... because I really don't understand how the man is so over however I've thought this for years so I'm past questioning it. Really I think he's the John Cena of TNA, but has less of Cena's influence obviously. I groaned when he beat Roode, but I hope he'll be taking more of a backseat now in this BFG Series.

 

[newwaveknight]

Finally theres one thing you can't deny and thats how over he is. He is one of the most over wrestlers of the past 10 years.

Cena is over as well, but I don't hear the IWC coming to his aid ever.

 

[Tully Blanchard]

Other than dangerous moves inside and outside of the ring and some awesome matches with Edge/Christian and the Dudleys 10 years ago, I don't understand his appeal. He's a terrible mic worker and an even worse dancer. He might be OK, if he had someone to serve as a mouthpiece. It certainly doesn't help that no one in TNA knows how to book him (not that I do either). Perhaps aligning himself with Sting and Angle in a reformed Main Event Mafia may give him some direction.

 

[Alex]

He's neither.

As Zevon said he's just there. He does his thing, faults and all and goes with it. Everyone knows he's not good at promos. He's pretty good in the ring if you don't agree you're a moron. (CM Punk, Kurt Angle, Austin Aries, Jeff Jarrett, bobby Roode and others have had great matches with him) In fact Lariat's the only one who's come up with a half decent arguement against him (his popularising high risk spots has been somewhat detrimental to wrestling because of the injuries that can be sustained)

The sticking point is people who say he is, just don't like his appeal. They're the same guys who piss and moan about certain bands making it big while their favourite beloved band isn't, even though they'd love for them to get the same amount of popularity.

It's the same with Cena. He wouldn't be where he is if he wasn't good in several areas. And they get pissy because they don't like him and are jaded by it.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

In terms of TNA, I think Jeff Hardy is very overrated. Comparing his matches in WWF/WWE to TNA is almost like comparing night & day to me. His work in TNA has always seemed way more lazy, sloppy & phoned in to me but TNA acts like he is some huge star just because he came from WWE. Hardy even got his own World Title belt in TNA, an honor only given to the likes of Stone Cold & John Cena in WWE. Also from what I see WWE took advantage of Jeff at his very peak & even then he was only a transitional WWE Champion at best. TNA resigned Hardy on his down swing when he was already losing most of his momentum & even after incidents like Victory Road he is still treated by TNA like a top tier talent equal to that of Kurt Angle, which I believe is highly inaccurate. Kind of like when TNA treated Christian like a top star even though WWE didn't at the time, except for I think TNA exaggerates 10x times more with Hardy while I also think Christian was 10x times more deserving of that "top star" treatment/push at the time. From what I see he is on his way to being the next Sting, with Jeff holding onto his contract with TNA till he can't walk anymore & Dixie desperately holding onto him to replace Sting as the new "Legendary, mysterious figure learking in the shadows", expect Jeff is a lot less reliable than Sting both in & out of the ring IMO.

In the grand scheme of Professional Wrestling & Sports Entertainment I wouldn't really say Jeff Hardy is overrated though. He is a top mid-carder/bottom main-eventer that will mostly be remembered for his tag team work with Matt, TLC matches & all his crazy leaps of faith. Seems pretty accurate to me.

 

[CMbrose Punk]

Is Jeff Hardy overrated? I didnt know people were rating him higher than his stature. In TNA, he's a big fish in a small pond just because he does have a strong following with the fans. Like him or not, he connects with fans and is one of the most over guys on the TNA roster, but that really isnt saying much. Was his performance better in the WWE? Sure, but he was also younger and more closely managed by the WWE machine. But I don't think he's phoning it in now that he's in TNA and I don't think his in-ring work has gotten worse. I think he's just wrestling smarter now, which is better for his long-term career and health.

 

[MrAnderson123]

Haha, I love this thread.
Personally, I cannot stand Jeff.
Don't get me wrong, he is a very good technical wrestler. Very unique and had had huge success.
But I don't see the attraction to him.
I don't have anything against him when he was fighting his demons. I don't have a problem with him very occasionally overselling.
He's extremely bland on the mic and how he gets over like this is beyond me. I think TNA pushed him too much and IMO, he was forced down our throats much like Cena was and still is. But with his flaws.. I can't stop watching him wrestle. Doesn't make me a hypocrite. Just simply stating my opinion.

 

[Bischoff's Knob Slobberer]

Jeff is very overrated. Having the likes of Austin Aries, Booby Roode and even Daniels and Kaz job to him is sickening. I kinda wish he would just go away. Very boring wrestler and horrific on the mic.

 

[Legendd]

He's obviously not boring since he's the one of the top athlete in wrestling business. I am sure people have the boring perception of him because of his character in TNA. When you give a man too much freedom, that's what happens. WWE controlled hardy, and look what they made him. I really think TNA is ruining hardy and his "persona".

 

[Pedigree1]

Hardy is hard to say! I dont like to say anyone is overrated but when Hardy did first come into the E well he just wasnt that good. Matt clearly could outwrestle him but Hardy i gotta give him credit he came into his own.. Yes he is not the the most charismatic guy there is and really his runs with the TNA HW title are not memorable.. His high flying spots,and well his abuse have clearly beaten down his body..

Yes he has cleaned up and Im proud of him and hope he can stay that way... But his ability inside the ring has diminished but that is to be expected... Yes he can still go,but i much rather see him compete for the TNA tag team titles and focus less on singles competition..

 

[MWRedskins]

as an overall performer, yes Jeff Hardy is overrated, BUT if you are just talking about pure in ring skills, no he's not. he's right where he belongs. the only thing that keeps him down as an overall performer in wrestling is his mic work which i think isnt that good. he's too bland for my liking and while he gets the fans riled up and he does, his mic work isnt good and the fans get behind him because of who he is in the ring. if we are just talking about in ring wrestling though, he's not overrated because he can go in the ring and put on nice matches.

 

[Cena's #1 In My Heart]

He is TNA's John Cena. Some of the crowd doesn't like him, if you listen, you can tell. Especially since they have left the Impact Zone. The Impact Zone was like a come see Jeff Hardy attraction at Orlando Studios. Austin Aries couldn't even cut a promo without the crowd just chanting for Hardy when they knew he was coming out. They all wanted to go see the freakshow.

Shit Hardy may be a better wrestler than Cena though. But he's not better than at least 10 guys on the Impact Roster... and he was the top guy not too long ago, so YES! he is over rated.

 

[JustAnotherJames]

I'm gonna say no. Granted, he maybe should have adopted a more tech moveset to go hand in hand with his high flying abilities but I think that when he returned back to the WWE he was one of the most impressive ones to watch and I still love watching him in TNA today.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

A lot of things to consider, when you ask this question.

First of all, I don't think we're having this discussion, if Hardy doesn't turn heel, and the debacle at Victory Road never happened. It's a 50-50 split between Hardy and TNA, when you start pointing fingers for, who deserves the blame for Hardy's heel turn flopping. On one hand, Jeff Hardy was never made out to be "the guy" in Immortal. He was the World Heavyweight Champion, but Hogan and Bischoff were the faces of Immortal. They did all the talking, while Hardy stood in the background most of the time.

And while the fans not wanting to boo Hardy created some obvious problems, Jeff didn't have "it" as a heel. First and foremost, using "The Antichrist Of Professional Wrestling" as a nickname was a horrible idea. When I hear antichrist tossed around as a nickname, I immediately think of someone, who might be a skinhead covered in tattoos, a serial killer, a psychopath, or a rapist. Not some guy wearing bizarre facepaint, and a man, who looks like he does most of his shopping at Hot Topic. To add to that, most of his promos were laughable at best. I remember most of them consisting of Hardy being shown on the big screen, rambling on about some emo gothic bullshit.

And Victory Road was the nail in the coffin. It was an embarrassing low for Jeff, especially when you remember Hardy was the same guy, who was winning world titles, and main eventing pay per views in WWE not too long ago.

I think a lot of us had high expectations for Jeff, when he came to TNA, because he was coming off of a white-hot momentum streak in WWE. And at the time, it wasn't unrealistic to think of Jeff as that guy, who might take TNA to the next level. But it didn't happen, and a lot of that has to do with Jeff's own slip-ups, but his run in TNA has been mediocre at best so far.

But I won't call him overrated, because with all his problems, Hardy is still at the top of the food chain in TNA. You can make the argument for him being the most over wrestler on TNA's roster, and he still receives strong support from his fanbase. At the moment, Hardy's just kind of wafting in and out of relevancy for all things TNA, but he hasn't faded away into obscurity.

 

[GameOver]

Jeff Hardy was great as a Tag Team member with brother Matt who was the better of the 2 IMO when all he had to do was put his ass on the line and be a spot monkey (not that think bad of him for that, he deserves props for risking in the name of entertainment)

I think he most shined when he first hit the main event level in WWE going against the Undertaker, he had a ladder match with Big Red Evil and put on a hell of a performance and afterwards he showed some guts on the mic too, beyond that i think he's highly overrated, can't stand his mic work and his ring work is stale now seems like the same old thing over and over again.

Give him props for obviously rising above his demons since he departed WWE the last time, atleat outward appearance he's getting back in shape again, but that paint, his voice and his looking like he's always exhausted is so irritating. He is not a main eventer, upper midcarder at best. Kids love it i get that, but how many adults really dig him.