Hardy "Loses" Belt

[Nikeo]

Apologies is there is already a thread about this.

We all know that every dirtsheet site from Wrestlezone to the Torch have some sort of axe to grind with Jeff Hardy. I'm a massive Hardy fan and have been since I was eight years old but I can admit, like any of us, he's not perfect and has made mistakes that he will undoubtedly pay for down the line. I can understand if the dirtsheet caught wind he's no-showed or he's caught with something, that's news worthy.

However, this latest bit of "news" has made me literally burst out laughing.

"TNA Champion Jeff Hardy posted on Twitter last night that he nearly lost his custom made TNA Title at the airport. Hardy wrote, "JustGotThaWorldTitleBackFromSouthwestAirlines..." As we reported in the past, the belt cost nearly $18,000 to make."

First off, it's quite clear this post is trying to blame the "loss" on Hardy himself, it's clearly trying (quite badly I must say) to insinuate that Hardy misplaced the title or in some way left it in an airport, carelessly or otherwise.

"It cost $18,000 dollars to make". That's obviously supposed to make it seem that Hardy was careless and didn't show respect for either the belt or it's value. I don't understand why else that would be noteworthy in this report.

Contrary to this report, however, South West Airlines is not an airport....it's an air line. Airlines lose luggage all the time. It's a pretty safe bet that his bag was lost by South West because if he lost it at an airport I don't think an airline would be returning it to him. If Hardy had been careless with the belt do you honestly think he'd post it on twitter?

A little information is a dangerous thing and a headline such as "Hardy nearly loses belt" carries a much different connotation than "Airline loses Hardy's luggage?"

I know at the end of the day Wrestlezone wants hits and the former of the two headlines is clearly going to get them that. However, am I the only one who feels that if you're going to try "report" (and I use that term loosely with regards to Wrestlezone's staff) at least report it in a fair, unbias way and not leave room for people's imaginations to go wild with misleading headlines.

When you publish ANY form of news media you have a moral responsibility to report the truth and not to twist or slant it in any way. Dirtsheets, however, have been given a free pass for far too long. Their anonymous 'sources' have never been revealed or their reliability checked. For all we know Bill the Impact Zone janitor could have been the 'TNA Official Concerned about Jeff Hardy's Concerned', etc, etc. Whomever these "sources" are their opinion is reported as complete fact, do you honestly think Carter or McMahon couldn't or wouldn't find whoever is leaking important information? It'd be very easy to do, I assure you.

I suppose my point is that we, the IWC (as much as I hate being part of it, tbh), need to hold these websites to a higher level of journalistic accountability.

 

[SharpShooter083]

It's common knowledge that wrestlers are supposed to take their belt and gear as carry on luggage to and from shows to avoid incidents like this, especially the belts due to how expensive they are. Hardy has been around for a long time and he should know better by now. A company that isn't exactly raking in the dough spent all this money and made a world title belt specifically for him. Regardless of how ugly it looks its still expensive and if he doesn't wanna go the extra length to keep it secure then maybe he doesn't deserve it. Simple enough.

 

[Black Snow]

I like that you at least admit Hardy has some problems. That's more than a lot of Hardy fans are willing to say. That being, I still believe that you're looking to play Jeff as a martyr.

It's clear to us all that every site has an axe to grind? Can you explain further how it's clear to everyone because it's not clear to me.

Jeff has been know for being a flake as far back as 2001 when the Hardyz were first pulled from the road. Nearly a decade later and reports continue that he has issues. That's not just some problems. That's a personality. The fact of the matter is that this stuff has come on on a yearly basis.

You're doing a lot of editorializing in your own head. Noting the cost of something valuable that was nearly lost is not an implication of carelessness. It's reporting the facts. When something of extreme value is in a story people want to know just how much it cost for context. It's pertinent information.

Listen. I agree with you on some points on principle. Yes, websites word things in certain ways to get hits. But that's true if they're reporting on Jeff Hardy, John Cena, Steve Austin, etc. It's not an attack on Jeff specifically.

You've managed to take a short post and dissect every single word of it, jumping to the worst possible conclusion on each of them. I'm sorry if you can't see this but the bias you're accusing people of is dripping (from the other point of view) from your entire post.

Jeff screws up. A LOT. Thus, his screw ups are going to be talked about. A LOT. That's just something that you're going to have accept.

 

[Nikeo]

I like that you at least admit Hardy has some problems. That's more than a lot of Hardy fans are willing to say. That being, I still believe that you're looking to play Jeff as a martyr.

It's clear to us all that every site has an axe to grind? Can you explain further how it's clear to everyone because it's not clear to me.

Jeff has been know for being a flake as far back as 2001 when the Hardyz were first pulled from the road. Nearly a decade later and reports continue that he has issues. That's not just some problems. That's a personality. The fact of the matter is that this stuff has come on on a yearly basis.

You're doing a lot of editorializing in your own head. Noting the cost of something valuable that was nearly lost is not an implication of carelessness. It's reporting the facts. When something of extreme value is in a story people want to know just how much it cost for context. It's pertinent information.

Listen. I agree with you on some points on principle. Yes, websites word things in certain ways to get hits. But that's true if they're reporting on Jeff Hardy, John Cena, Steve Austin, etc. It's not an attack on Jeff specifically.

You've managed to take a short post and dissect every single word of it, jumping to the worst possible conclusion on each of them. I'm sorry if you can't see this but the bias you're accusing people of is dripping (from the other point of view) from your entire post.

Jeff screws up. A LOT. Thus, his screw ups are going to be talked about. A LOT. That's just something that you're going to have accept.

I've never denied Hardy's issues but I'm sorry if you don't see the bias from the dirtsheets. Go watch the recent Chair Shot Reality where they mock him, or any CSR where they mention Hardy, don't tell me that doesn't seem personal as opposed to professional reporting of facts.

You can claim I'm bias, that's fine, but the dirtsheets leap on ANYTHING with Jeff Hardy's name in it. Looking back at THE most obvious work in WWE history, where he was found "unconscious" they saw blood and went for it, reporting it as absolute fact. They weren't smart enough to stop and think "Huh, why would WWE post such news on their website before the situation has been dealt with, hours before this guy is due to wrestle on a PPV?".

To the other individual. How do you know the airline didn't refuse to let him carry it and forced him to check it? You don't, but that didn't stop you branding him as irresponsible. It's an airline's call on whether something has to be checked or is allowed as a carry-on, not the wrestlers.

I have no issue talking about "Jeff Hardy's screw-ups", so long as they're genuine, but are you honestly denying there was a slant put on that report? The other dude there has illustrated the need people feel to put blame on the guy when the full story hasn't even been reported. It was all based on a twitter post from Hardy himself! If he'd been in the wrong do you honestly think he'd post it on twitter?

I suppose I did use this thread to rant against the dirtsheets but looking at the 'not in a fit state to compete' reports made about Jeff Hardy, which provoked numerous outcries of fuck up and junkie, I see familiar phrasing. "A wrestler says that" or 'a key TNA insider informed us that'. We accept it as fact when, in fact, it could be some jobber or TNA employee completely outside the managerial circle. Leaks aren't that hard to find, if it were anybody reputable they'd have been released by now.

I'd argue that they DIDN'T report the facts though. They based the entire post on "JustGotThaWorldTitleBackFromSouthwestAirlines...". That doesn't say Hardy nearly lost the belt at the airport....but it was reported as such. I know what you're going to say, something along the lines of "it's logical to conclude that..."...but it's not. If you're a journalist you need sources and you have to justify everything you say by going back to the source, the way in which this was reported is assuming Hardy misplaced or otherwise lost the belt at an airport.

However, the only thing that source tells us for certain is that the belt was out of Hardy's possession and returned to him. He could have been refused permission to bring it aboard the plane and forced to check it and in post 9/11 America this is highly possible, it's a big piece of gold, platinum or whatever and could be considered dangerous. It could have been taken from him for any completely innocent reason...but the phrasing insinuated something that the source did not. That's the bottom line.

I am personally tired of the dirtsheets 'anonymous sources' and twisting of information and while I do not believe it applies solely to Hardy he is a very good example of somebody who the dirtsheet and the IWC vilify even in situations where there is a lack of reputable sources or information.

Sharpshooter proved my point there with 'if he didn't want to go to extra lengths to keep it secure then maybe he doesn't deserve it'. Based on that TINY snippet of info from Jeff's twitter we cannot logically come to any conclusion of negligence on either Hardy or the airline's part.....but already people blame Hardy. If you want to complain about Jeff Hardy, that's fine, but at least wait until you know he actually did something wrong this time.

 

[SharpShooter083]

Your right I don't know for a fact that they didn't make him check it as opposed to being a carry on, but wrestlers have done it a million times before and haven't had a problem, so why now does Jeff Hardy have an issue with it? It's a little suspicious. Don't get me wrong i'm not a Jeff Hardy hater by any means but it's well documented that Jeff has issues no matter how you look at it. Between his current legal problems, incoherent ramblings on youtube (that he posts himself, talk about asking for it) and his past suspensions due to drug abuse it's hard not to doubt Jeff latley.

 

[Calamity-Jim]

However, the only thing that source tells us for certain is that the belt was out of Hardy's possession and returned to him. He could have been refused permission to bring it aboard the plane and forced to check it and in post 9/11 America this is highly possible, it's a big piece of gold, platinum or whatever and could be considered dangerous. It could have been taken from him for any completely innocent reason...but the phrasing insinuated something that the source did not. That's the bottom line.

Wait, then by this definition, any time any champion boards a plane with their belt, they would also have to check it.
Which would mean that champions would be losing luggage, like you say, all the time. So people wouldn't really care about another story about another champion losing their belt again.

 

[Nikeo]

Your right I don't know for a fact that they didn't make him check it as opposed to being a carry on, but wrestlers have done it a million times before and haven't had a problem, so why now does Jeff Hardy have an issue with it? It's a little suspicious. Don't get me wrong i'm not a Jeff Hardy hater by any means but it's well documented that Jeff has issues no matter how you look at it. Between his current legal problems, incoherent ramblings on youtube (that he posts himself, talk about asking for it) and his past suspensions due to drug abuse it's hard not to doubt Jeff latley.

But how do we know others haven't had a problem with it? We don't. We're only aware of it this time because Hardy tweeted it. I know from personal experience the fuss airlines make over the smallest of objects. Ironically, I wasn't allowed to bring a Hardy Boyz pendant on a plane with me when I was a kid because they considered it to be too jagged. The same airline worker probably would have had a fit if he saw the TNA title.

I have no doubt there is an innocent explanation for this, just because Hardy has a checkered past doesn't mean he should be instantly considered at fault in any situation that crops up.

Wait, then by this definition, any time any champion boards a plane with their belt, they would also have to check it.
Which would mean that champions would be losing luggage, like you say, all the time. So people wouldn't really care about another story about another champion losing their belt again.

I don't understand your post. Where did I say people shouldn't care about a belt being lost? I'm merely commenting on the fact that what was reported was both slanted and didn't match-up with the source. I don't know the laws about championship belts on planes so I can't claim to know either the frequency of belts lost or anything like that and neither can you, the only reason we're aware of it this time round is because Hardy tweeted it. I doubt this is a first in the industry and I'm sure the WWE have emergency stand-in belts. TNA, however, possibly can't afford that luxury.