In Retrospect: Jeff Hardy as a Heel

[ARLO]

So I think we can sort of conclude that if Jeff Hardy returns to TNA, he's going to go face.
Immortal's promos have basically shunned him from the group and he never had much heat anyway.

I know there were a lot of opinions on his heel work, some haters and supporters. I was basically wondering, in retrospect, what your thoughts were.

My Opinion: I think Jeff's heel work was a bit hit and miss.
He was always known for shit mic work, but his heel promos were way better than his face ones. His promos weren't good, but in comparison to his face ones they were.
He's ring work has always been alright. It didn't need to change.
The thing that I think got him over as a heel was his body language. Jake Roberts once said that he could manipulate the crowd just by his body language. I think Jeff handled him self like a heel.

So summing up, I want this to be your opinion with a clear mind. Nothing except his heel work should influence your opinion. Oh and guys I'm really expecting more than 1 or 2 sentences.

WHAT IS YOUR RETROSPECTIVE OPINION OF JEFF HARDY'S HEEL RUN?

 

[bigandpissed]

i was personally really impressed by his heel work. i thought it was really one of the bright spots of tna while it was happening. his heel promos were probably the best written segments i've seen since i started watching tna.

i'm not sure if he can return as a face, seeing as he was literally built up as the "anti-christ" and he is going to have a lot of heat from the fans after victory road.

i personally hope he returns even darker, saying immortal and the fans turned their backs on him and starts a gothic cult stable ala ravens flock.

 

[Rammsteinerteen]

If somebody is a heel, they need to be good on the mic. Jeff Hardy wasn't bad on the mic, but he wasn't that good either.

If I was to compliment a trait or two of his heel work, I would say he seemed like a true creep. He wore strange face paint while making messed up promos. I would say that impressed me, if he was trying to look like a freak that is.

 

[blockanWo]

Yeah as you said in your original post. Jeff has never been as good as lets say his brother on the Microphone. His heel promos were a big improvement and think they really started to get quite good when he did the pre recorded backstage Raven-esque promos.

I think the downfall of Jeff Hardy's heel run can come down to two things. First, the Impact zone. He cant get a proper reaction there. Second is there was no real...big turn. Like sure, he turned on RVD and he turned on Anderson... but that wasnt a big enough shock to get him from Super Tweeny Face to Heel and it was more or less his affiliation with Immortal that got him that rep.

Ive been saying this for the better part of 2 years now... but Jeff Hardy, Abyss, Daniels and Messiah with Father James Mitchell and Daffney. Do it.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

If somebody is a heel, they need to be good on the mic. Jeff Hardy wasn't bad on the mic, but he wasn't that good either.

Agreed. I think what may have plagued his mic work was the reaction he got from the crowds, he seemed to get a consistently in-between reaction and never a full blown bad reaction. If it had been someone who was more comfortable and had more experience on the mic then he could have made it work more, but for all his inexperience he did give it a go.

His in-ring work since he came to TNA has been quite sloppy compared to his WWE days, but I think we should give him some benefit of the doubt in regards to injuries he's picked up over the years. Perhaps no major injury, but all those years of high risk maneuvers would slow anyone down.

Personally I can't decide how he should come back, if at all. Coming back as a face after the farce of Victory Road... I don't know if I could accept that. If he were completely clean and free of his drugs problems then maybe, but I don't see that as entirely likely.

He took on a role that's out of his comfort zone and while he wont go down as one of the best heels ever, at least he gave it a go, so credit to the guy for that.

 

[Alex]

He was doing ok, but he could have been so much more. Yes he wasn't the greatest talker but he was improving quite a bit and the mind games he played worked well. What hurt him a lot was Bischoff and Hogan being the leaders of Immortal. I still think they should have had an Evolution-esque leadership with Jeff as the leader (ala Triple H) with Hogan and Bischoff in the Ric Flair role.

 

[blockanWo]

I think he just needs to come back and act as the outsider. Neutral and not give a flying fuck about who he fights for. Just fight for himself.

 

[Rayne]

My perspective on Jeff Hardy's heel run is pretty much the same as when it started. As Hulk and Eric's bitch lackey, he was positioned as a #3 heel instead of a real threat as a heel. This has a lot to do with my opinion of Hulk + Eric as actors, neither of which convince me very much.

People describing his promos as "Ravenesque" hit the nail on the head without realizing it. He was aping Raven heavily, and Raven was never World Champion material. (Don't get me wrong- Raven's one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, but so is Barry Horowitz and he wasn't world championship material either.) Raven's promos rarely ignited authentic emotion in the crowd during his televised days (something tells me TNA wouldn't be too chill about doing an in-ring crucifixion); Jeff Hardy's promos never ignited any authentic emotions.

Jeff Hardy's run was largely the same as RVD's, which was largely the same as AJ Styles' run. The company shifted to a more main event based storyline setup, and relied on the guy at the top to drive interest and ratings. None of them have worked out in that role, and I've become of the opinion that there isn't any single person who can carry TNA right now. I have some small hope for Sting as champion, because he's not a show driver and never has been. (Mr. Kenderson has the attitude that could make him a successful show driver... but I wonder if he'll be given the opportunity.)

Jeff Hardy's heel run was a failure, but it's not entirely his fault. He wasn't exactly convincing in his role, but he didn't get much opportunity to break out of it either.

 

[NightmareMonster13]

i was personally really impressed by his heel work. i thought it was really one of the bright spots of tna while it was happening. his heel promos were probably the best written segments i've seen since i started watching tna.

i'm not sure if he can return as a face, seeing as he was literally built up as the "anti-christ" and he is going to have a lot of heat from the fans after victory road.

i personally hope he returns even darker, saying immortal and the fans turned their backs on him and starts a gothic cult stable ala ravens flock.

I like the Raven's Flock idea. He could easily pull this, but I would bring Raven back (if they did this, theoreticly) to be the mouth piece. Like a serotonin 2.

Jeff as a heel is more likeable (to me) than he ever is as a face. As a face, I just feel his persona is to boring, but as a heel, especially as his "anti-christ" character, I feel it's more real.

 

[shaunseven]

i think hardy is a fair heel. the only problem was him using his catchphrases and mannerisms that marilyn manson was using back in 1996. it's probably the gimmick hardy wanted back then when that stuff was relevant. i dont think it translates well to an audience. remember when jeff hardy was on the view with kind words for a sick kid the day after he first called himself the "antichrist" of wrestling??? that's just proof that kids still liked hardy and that the "antichrist" bit didnt even make a dent. it's also proof that tna doesnt know how to book/market a heel hardy. i think hardy shouldve had less emphasis on scary or big words, and more emphasis on him just being some reckless weirdo with real problems. hardy could be a top heel and make ALL the kids hate him...but he can only do this with the WWE behind him

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Frankly, I thought it added an incredible amount of character depth to a character who was quite shallow prior and only really popular because of his looks and willingness to jump off very, very high platforms.

The problem was, as Rayne pointed out, he played second fiddle to Hogan & Bischoff, which killed a ton of the potential behind how far that character could have gone.

A heel Hardy with a couple of lackies to do the majority of his dirty work for him a la a new Raven's Flock would have done wonders to really solidify the turn, but instead he took a backseat in Immortal and rest, as they say, is history.

 

[Lancer]

I for one thought the Hardy heel turn was magnificent. It was effective from the very moment he first called himself "The Antichrist of Professional Wrestling." I found his dark, emotionless character chilling and brilliant at the same time...especially after he split Mr. Anderson's head open with that messed up chair shot. Sure it was unintentional, but it was a boon for his character in the long run.

The promos were excellent at the beginning of the turn, but over time they seemed to lack the same heel enthusiasm as seen from the start. Perhaps playing third fiddle to Hogan and Bischoff hurt these as well as his character. But remember, Hulk and Eric were the bosses. They controlled stuff outside of the ring, while Hardy took competitors on inside the ring.

Maybe if his real-life issues hadn't been a plaguing problem, he would have taken his heel work to another level vs. the icon, and mega-face, Sting. That was a rivalry I was looking forward to regardless of the outcome. But we will bever know.

Overall, his heel character showed huge promise that Hardy could play both heel and face. The true potential was never reached, but I personally deem it a success.