Jeff Hardy Ressurected: New TNA World Champion & New Title Belt

[SpecialFNK]

at least the custom belts wrestlers have had with WWE, as far as I know, have all had the name WWE on them and whatever title it was such as world heavyweight champion. Hardy's belt doesn't say TNA or world heavyweight champion. that's a problem for me.
that shouldn't be an official world heavyweight championship belt, because the belt doesn't say so. any wrestler can spend the money to have a belt made up, but it's nothing more than a prop and has no meaning. that's what this belt of Hardy's should be, meaningless.
except we all know (or we should know) the meaning of this belt Hardy has, and that's TNA kissing Hardy's ass in order to have him resign.

I wouldn't mind this title belt at all, if it had TNA and world heavyweight champion on it.

it is a pretty cool design. I do like the eyes. they remind me of the way Hardy has his eyes recently, with the make up (or whatever) on his eye lids so when his eyes are closed it still looks like you can see eyes. not that big on the mouth on this belt though, but it sure better than the mouth/nose on the pink belt.
if this belt had "TNA" where the forehead is, and "world heavyweight champion" where the open mouth is, I would probably really like it.

 

[SpecialFNK]

what does a majority of your audience want to see? IMO it's not in ring wrestling. in ring wrestling is just part of what happens on the TV show. people want to be entertained. look/image, mic work, catch phrases, things like these play a really important part. one of the greatest wrestlers of all time is Hulk Hogan, and he didn't get that way because of how he wrestled in the ring.

IMO there are a lot more casual/general "wrestling" fans that watch wrestling on TV that don't really care whether the wrestlers are all that great at wrestling moves.
wrestling on TV is more of a soap opera for guys with wrestling. story lines, promos, ect, all all just as important as the wrestling.

you could be the absolute best in ring wrestler in the world, but if you don't have a good look and can't talk all that well, you're just not going to be that good. now you do have to have some wrestling ability. Rob Terry has an impressive physique, but he can't wrestle for shit.

all Hardy needs is a certain set of moves. the crowd goes crazy for Hardy, and that's entertaining to watch on TV.

I don't expect to get all that much support for what I'm saying, because I don't think as many casual/general wrestling fans are coming online to post on wrestling forums.

 

[das1234]

i dont know about the belt, it just seems wrong. you can never get this belt off of hardy because he is literally on it.
it just seems like a gimmick because they still had the immortal-belt lying around. it also doesnt fit the current vibe, because hardy had no real story going into bfg, although they tried with AA but it was kind of short.
in order to kick off a new "era" in tna which in my opinion a belt change implies (like when immortal gave him this belt because he was their flagship guy), hardy just isnt big enough in story-terms right now to justify that i think.
that may change if he has a CM-punk length title reign, but i think after a successful title defense against aries would have been a better time to debut a hardy title. or if you got the impression as viewer that he was there to stay, but atm he just feels like a transitional champion to me. again, that may change soon.

 

[GameOver]

Who cares, it's just a belt.
Well Jeff Hardy as Austin Aries sais has the physique of a Diva and he is a diva so it's appropriate that he carries a belt that looks like a diva/knockouts title

 

[Kitten Cutter]

What happened to TNA?! Did I miss something?

When Austin Aries won the World Heavyweight Title, I thought they'd be heading in a great direction. The X-division was being rebuilt, the TV title meant something, and the Bound for Glory series was starting.

Then we got the Aces n' Eights, the first ever storyline that one side has no named wrestlers until 6 months later vs. one side whose leader is a guy that CAN'T wrestle. Aries gets involved, wastes a PPV fighting a masked nameless guy (unless you count The Armbreaker), and turns heel for really NO reason.

Now, Jeff Hardy is back on top AGAIN, with his fucking face on the TNA World title AGAIN. And by the way, for those who want to bring up the custom-made titles of the WWE, the belts were variations of the championship title, but still said Heavyweight Champion on them. For those who hate Cena's Spinner Belt, how much more pissed would you be if his smiling face was locked right in the middle of the main plate?

Am I for Jeff Hardy being World Champion? Absolutely not. I'll go a step further: I think TNA massively fucked up not making the main event James Storm vs. Robert Roode for the World Title. It was a better overall and more personal feud, and it literally has been the longest and best built rivalry that was set-up as far back as last year! Why it was bumped for Hardy vs. Aries, which had a month to be interesting and failed, is beyond me.

I definitely was not for Austin Aries losing the title. He defended the belt one time. One time in 3 months. He gave Roode a rematch and that was it. Sad. What a waste. If I were Aries unless they promised me a 300 day World Title reign that matches his X-division reign happening sooner than later, I'd be on the first plane to Stamford to sign a new contract.

And don't even get me started on James Storm, whose one World Champion reign was just to transition from heel Angle to heel Roode. This would have been a much better feel good story than Jeff Hardy's redemption. Redemption apparently isn't losing to your biggest rival and coming out to take back what you lost so dearly and fought so hard to acquire, but redemption instead is being SO COKED OUT that you can't wrestle and finish a main event PPV match against a veteran, and getting back to being clean and sober.

Overall, I massively disagree with Jeff Hardy even winning the World Title at this point, and my one hope is that he'll be used as a stepping stone for a heel to really get over his vicious side (whether it be Aries, Roode, Bully Ray, or even an Aces n' Eights member). As for that atrocity of a belt he's carrying, TNA needs to no longer pander to the whims of a recovering dope fiend. If they're using this belt for merchandising like the Spinner belt was used for, then how come I've never seen it on TV? (Seriously, if someone can do a screen grab and find a live fan who has one, let me know please!) Personally, I'd say most wrestlers would trade Jeff Hardy's World Title belt for a shot at a better Happy Meal prize.

Go away, Jeff Hardy. Drop that vain, egotistical piece of shit excuse for a woman's accesory and let some other wrestlers have a chance to be in the spotlight. You've become John Cena. Get off my TV before I start booing you with the adults!

 

[Spinebreaker]

It will take a casual fan literally 3 weeks to see how bad a wrestler Hardy is.

It's more than about just wrestling, sure. Mic skills and look and dozens of other things...

But, Hardy's mic skills are piss-poor too. He's got a look, true. But it's not like he uses his 5 moves in a different way, or a different order.

They could replace HArdy's entire matches with video footage.

Even Hogan has attempted interesting stuff before... He's done the Rock Bottom, as well as a couple of other things that were a surprise at the time.

Hardy is dull.

 

[waylon p]

The X-division was being rebuilt

This should have been our first clue that the A-dub world title run was not a good idea. Don't get me wrong. I marked hard when he won. I was excited about what plans they had for him. I saw a potential new age for TNA.

But seriously, when we saw them remove the X-division champ without making sure the division could handle the loss, we should have realized then how short sighted it all was.

I understand why hardy is champ. They wanted a payoff on the redemption angle. I think the Storm vs Roode angle would have been a better choice, but I am not in the TNA offices, I do not know who was lobbying to pull the trigger on hardy or how they did it.

Honestly, I was thinking Hardy needed a stellar run with either the tag titles or maybe the TV title under his belt to show he could still do a strap justice before they gave him the opportunity to run with, or further dishonor the world belt, but hey...I'm posting on wrestlezone, not drawing a check from TNA....what do I know?

 

[SpecialFNK]

It will take a casual fan literally 3 weeks to see how bad a wrestler Hardy is.

It's more than about just wrestling, sure. Mic skills and look and dozens of other things...

But, Hardy's mic skills are piss-poor too. He's got a look, true. But it's not like he uses his 5 moves in a different way, or a different order.

They could replace HArdy's entire matches with video footage.

Even Hogan has attempted interesting stuff before... He's done the Rock Bottom, as well as a couple of other things that were a surprise at the time.

Hardy is dull.

yet he still sells more merchandise than anyone else in TNA.

 

[Spinebreaker]

yet he still sells more merchandise than anyone else in TNA.

I'm not arguing that... and I can understand why TNA want him on the payroll.

Mariah Carey's the biggest selling female artist in the world. I still know an awful lot of people who'd rather lose an eye than listen to any of her albums.

I assume that he's gonna have at least 3 months or so fueding with Aries... The matches will be pretty good, thanks to Aries. The mic work will be good, thanks to Aries. The product will be entertaining, thanks to Aries.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I'm a Hardy mark, and even I can't stand the new belt (again). The last time TNA did this when Hardy turned heel as part of Immortal, as some of you will remember, I callously referred to after-the-fact as the Purple Butterfly or Egyptian Butterfly title, and it seems I'm going to have to go down the same route again with this one, because it's just as awful considering it's nothing more than a rehashed version of that former travesty of a title.

This is nothing—absolutely nothing—like the Austin belt, or even the Cena title WWE used in prior years. Well, maybe the Cena spinner, but regardless, this Hardy incarnation is much, much worse. If the rumors of Jeff's contract being up are true, I get wanting to keep him happy by giving him a title run, completing his redemption storyline, and I even get wanting to give him perks like this, but perks like this come at a greater cost than having him be your champion. No one is buying a replica of this ugly ass title. No one is going to buy t-shirts with it screen printed on it, etc. To me (and yes, I have no financial facts to back this up) it's simply a waste of a few thousand dollars. The newly designed World Title they brought out when Sting won it last year was perfectly fine, even on Hardy. This is is, if nothing else, entirely unnecessary. In fact, in terms of kayfabe, I found myself rooting for Aries when I watched IMPACT tonight, when he talked about wanting to win back his world title.

 

[THEHEAT]

Surprised nobody has mentioned contractual obligations? TNA brought Jeff back for a second chance and honored his original contact. I'm thinking there was a contract agreement that he would hold the world title for x amount of times in so many years and I beleive Jeff demanded in his contract that a belt of his own design be made for his use during his title reigns. Wonder how many TNA/Jeff Hardy World Championship souvenier belts will be $old to his creatures of the night??? Love or hate him, no one can deny he has wrestled his azz off since he came back. I beleive he knows TNA gave him a 2nd chance that no other company would have and now he is giving back to the company and to TNA"s loyal fans and new fans with his very best wrestling. Does he deserve to hold the belt again? IMO...Yes he does, but now it is in his hands to turn his legacy around. If he defends the belt often against the best in TNA, continues to wrestle like he has since he came back and has a long title reign, then his past will fade away and only then will his legacy be for his real talent-wrestling and world title championships.

 

[Pink Hole Slam]

What bugs me about Hardy being World Champion is that he doesn't need the belt. Hes going to sell merchandise, hes going to keep getting huge reactions, and he already has a ton of main event credibility. Why do you need to put the World Title on him? This leads me to believe they're afraid of Hardy bolting for WWE once his current deal is up.

 

[Kitten Cutter]

It's Damn Real: No one is buying a replica of this ugly ass title. No one is going to buy t-shirts with it screen printed on it, etc.

I was kinda hoping someone would post a pic of someone in the Impact Zone having one of those belts, whether it be plush or plastic or whatever. Still no hits.

It's Damn Real: To me (and yes, I have no financial facts to back this up) it's simply a waste of a few thousand dollars.

Really? Don't people get custom belts made when they go to wrestling events? That looks like something some rich, stuck-up ****e dating a football player makes to wear on her one-night appearance. If that belt cost more than $300, someone needs to congratulate the maker on selling ice to Eskimos.

SpecialFNK: yet he still sells more merchandise than anyone else in TNA.

Careful on that statement. You're defending He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named in the WWE and the case that he should always be champion.

THEHEAT: Surprised nobody has mentioned contractual obligations? TNA brought Jeff back for a second chance and honored his original contact. I'm thinking there was a contract agreement that he would hold the world title for x amount of times in so many years and I beleive Jeff demanded in his contract that a belt of his own design be made for his use during his title reigns.

Has this been proven? Seriously? Is this the wrestling equivalent of bands asking for bowls of M & M's without green ones?

 

[Spinebreaker]

I fhtere's any contractual basis to this, surely the contract was nullified when Hardy turned up for work completely off his tits and messed up a PPV match.

The Belt is purely to stop Hardy crossing back over the line...

THEHEAT: I'll deny he's "wrestled his azz off". Storm, Aries, Roode, Angle, Daniels... These are people who put an enormous amount of effort in the ring every single time. Hardy does the same 5 things in the same order, ends the match with 4 twist of fates and wins. Hornswaggle has a more extensive moveset.

SpecialFNK: He-who-shal-not-be-named is a GREAT comparison. Hardy is Cena (Whoops!) Cena has a few more moves, but the crowd adore him, and he sells shedloads of merchandise despite being pretty damn average at his job.

 

[SpecialFNK]

what does it matter who NEEDS the belt?
it shouldn't be about who needs the belt. did Hulk Hogan need the belt back in the 80's? he was dominating and everyone knew who he was whether they were wrestling fans or not.
when we talk about wrestler from the past one of the things that always gets mentioned is he was "X" time world champion. there have probably been many world champions that didn't need to belt at the time.
how about the world title is the ultimate goal. it can signal that you are the best at that current time, and right now you can argue that Jeff Hardy is the best "professional" wrestler. I emphasize professional because this type of wrestling is more than what moves you can do in the ring, it's a show, and Jeff Hardy puts on a damn good show.

 

[Spinebreaker]

I agree on yoour first point. Who 'needs' the belt is usually irrelevent.

But in what way does Hardy put on a damn good show?

He takes some epic bumps, no argument... But in TNA so have 90% of the X-Division wrestlers and half the other guys too. Off the top of my head I can only think of 3 or 4 guys in TNA as we speak who are worse on the microphone... (gunner, Garrett Bischoff, Rob Terry)... While in ring ability isn't the only factor, it is a wrestling proomotion, so the wrestling is still an important aspect of the show. The only guy with a more repetitive, more limited moveset, delivered with less skill is Rob Terry, and he has at least added a couple of moves to his repertoire since coming to TNA.

Hardy relies on his opponents in EVERY match. His matches against Rob Terry were among thee worst things I've EVER seen. His matches against the likes of Matt Morgan were average. His matches against Anderson, Aries and Roode were great.

The champ should be a leader, capable of carrying anyone in a great match. Hardy simply cannot do that.

 

[Tesla Tank]

Jeff Hardy is a total prima donna, him having a custom belt fits him down to a tee, and does nothing to cheapen the title.

 

[SpecialFNK]

I agree on yoour first point. Who 'needs' the belt is usually irrelevent.

But in what way does Hardy put on a damn good show?

He takes some epic bumps, no argument... But in TNA so have 90% of the X-Division wrestlers and half the other guys too. Off the top of my head I can only think of 3 or 4 guys in TNA as we speak who are worse on the microphone... (gunner, Garrett Bischoff, Rob Terry)... While in ring ability isn't the only factor, it is a wrestling proomotion, so the wrestling is still an important aspect of the show. The only guy with a more repetitive, more limited moveset, delivered with less skill is Rob Terry, and he has at least added a couple of moves to his repertoire since coming to TNA.

Hardy relies on his opponents in EVERY match. His matches against Rob Terry were among thee worst things I've EVER seen. His matches against the likes of Matt Morgan were average. His matches against Anderson, Aries and Roode were great.

The champ should be a leader, capable of carrying anyone in a great match. Hardy simply cannot do that.

too much focus on "wrestling".
when Hardy does the twist of fate and then the swanton off the top rope the crowd goes crazy. that's gold for the fans in attendance as well as a majority of the audience watching at home. I seem to say this a lot, but there are a lot more fans watching on TV that don't really care at all about what wrestling moves Jeff Hardy can or can not do. something else I seem to say a lot, you have to remember what professional wrestling is. it's a TV show first. it's entertainment, it's a show. Jeff Hardy even in his limited wrestling moves is one of the most popular and most entertaining wrestlers TNA has, for a majority of the people who watch the show.

 

[THEHEAT]

I do not deny that Roode, Storm, Angle, Aries, Styles, Daniels, Joe, RVD and others are wrestling machines and all of them deserve to be World Champion! I never compared Jeff Hardy to them and nor did I say that he was in any way better than they are. I did say he will now have to defend his belt against all of them, the very best in TNA. If he can retain the belt after beating all of them, then he can turn his legacy around. He by no means has a easy road to travel, he still has very much to prove to TNA, the fans and most importantly himself.

 

[Spinebreaker]

The crowd in Orlando. The specific Impact Zone crowd do go crazy for Hardy's 400th botched Twist of Fate. True.

BFG crowd, as far as I could hear were on Aries side.

A Casual wrestling fan, will go crazy when Hogan walks down to the ring destroying Heels six times his size with old man punches.

Hardy is SO repetitive, regardless of whether we're talking about charisma, promo's, interviews, or the minor wrestling part of the show.

The REALLY casual fans don't even know who Hardy is. They are there for Hogan, Flair, and maybe Angle and Sting. Crazy as it sounds I've sat in front of massive groups of people at a TNA show who didn't have any idea who anyone but Kurt Angle was.

 

[Bone For Tuna]

Just like with RVD beating Ion, I don't like this. They build a guy up just to knock him down. I mean I get it, the whole redemption thing and Hardy sells a shit load of merchandise but I think Aries could have used the win a bit more and it would have been a real shocker and surprising way to end the show. Just have Aries get a quick roll up out of nowhere, grab the ropes or the tights, whatever. They already had the people who bought the PPV's money right, so why not go with something totally unexpected. Maybe it's just because I like Aries leaps and bounds over Hardy but I think it would have done more for Aries to retain at the biggest show of the year against the biggest draw in the company in his first reign as champ, then have Hardy win his third championship.

 

[Spinebreaker]

Wouldn't have even needed a quick rollup. From a Kayfabe perspective Aries demolished Hardy in every way. For Hardy to win with a Twist of Fate and a Swanton after that match was utter garbage.

Te realistically win that match Hardy should have come up wit a new move, or one he hasn't done for months, or used Aries own finisher on him. Or pulled out something surprising... Howevr Hardy just isn;t capable of tha anymore. So we see a great match, unarguably Aries outperforming Hardy in every way, shape and form. And Hardy getting a victory out ofnowhere that looked pathetic.

I wouldn't be surprised if Jeff's the next Hall of Fame inductee.. The seem ready to give him everything in the world to keep him iin the company doing his well below average job.

 

[SpecialFNK]

The crowd in Orlando. The specific Impact Zone crowd do go crazy for Hardy's 400th botched Twist of Fate. True.

BFG crowd, as far as I could hear were on Aries side.

A Casual wrestling fan, will go crazy when Hogan walks down to the ring destroying Heels six times his size with old man punches.

Hardy is SO repetitive, regardless of whether we're talking about charisma, promo's, interviews, or the minor wrestling part of the show.

The REALLY casual fans don't even know who Hardy is. They are there for Hogan, Flair, and maybe Angle and Sting. Crazy as it sounds I've sat in front of massive groups of people at a TNA show who didn't have any idea who anyone but Kurt Angle was.

what the problem is?

you're still focusing way too much on the wrestling aspect. Jeff Hardy doesn't need anymore than what he already has. he could come up with 1 or more brand new wrestling moves, and really a majority of his fans aren't even going to notice. all he has to do is use the same few moves he does, and after it's all over a majority of the TV audience is going to be happy/satisfied that Hardy got the win.
I wouldn't be surprised if it's something like 70%-80% of the fans watching on TV that don't really care whether a wrestler is good, great, above average, or below average at wrestling moves. most of them wouldn't notice anyways. I consider myself in this category. to me I don't really care if someone isn't good at wrestling. I watch more for story lines and promos with some wrestling. I watch more for what happens before and after a match than I do for what happens during a match. to me the best thing happening in TNA right now is Aces and Eights, and they haven't done much in ring wrestling. to me the best time in wrestling history was the early part of nWo in WCW, and that wasn't because of in ring wrestling either.
Jeff Hardy hasn't been doing anything new, yet many fans still go crazy for him. so if it's working why change it.
there are probably many people out who rank Jeff Hardy up there with the best wrestlers ever.

compare it to TV/movies. Megan Fox is one of the most popular actresses, but it sure as hell isn't because she's good at acting. she's hot, and that sells.
how many people watch a regular TV show or movie and critique whether the acting is good or believable? IMO not that many.

 

[midgensa]

I don't personally have a huge problem with Hardy winning the belt, except that Aries was the best thing that TNA had going for it right now. They got a little caught up in the FACE RISING TO THE TOP angle that promotions like to end their top show on every year. Aries should have the strap still, but if they were going to take it off of him I have little problem with Hardy winning.

Quite simply, Hardy is a draw. He sells merch, he puts butts in the seats and sells PPVs. He always has, that is why he gets continual fuck up resets because they know people will part with their money for him.

As long as this is the case, he will be at the top of the card and have the strap around his waist here and there.

 

[Alex]

I think people are missing something. People have been saying that Aries' reign has been lackluster and he hasn't really established himself. What better way to establish himself than winning back the world title off Jeff Hardy. Yes one can argue he should have beat Hardy at Bound For Glory, but the fued wasn't really built up properly and the end result probably would've been Hardy winning the title anyway. This way Aries gets to chase the title (something he's better at in all honesty) and also gets a program with TNA's most over star.