Jeff Hardy's Heel Turn; The New Raven?

[The Shockmaster]

As I was watching Impact tonight it seemed to me that they have decided to put hardy in the direction of Raven. From his look tonight, to his presence in the ring, and the promo he cut both in the ring and backstage. To me at least it all looks like they have pointed in the direction of the golden ages (if you will) of Ravens career. If this is the case I am glad that they have raven on hand to help guide hardy through his new heel identity.

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So questions..

Do you see the similarities between this new heel Jeff Hardy and the old(well still currently active) Raven?

Do you think this could work for Jeff?

 

[wwecwcw]

I do see the similarities between the two, but i feel like just having him stand there and talk slowly with a blank look on his face is all he COULD do. Yes if that is the direction they want to go with him that is fine, they do have Raven there to help him along BUT no one will ever be on the same level as Raven. Hell if they replaced Jeff Hardy with Raven that would be 10times better in my opinion, maybe he would look interested in being there....although Raven did look at home in Lethal Lockdown! I think i am more interested in seeing how much Jeff appears on Impact cause you know they will try to keep him away from others calling him out. I have a feeling he will be champ for a long time to come

 

[J.Diesel]

This is exactly what I was thinking when Jeff cut his first promo of the night.

But the second promo when he was talking to RVD was Golden! This was the best mic work I have ever heard from Jeff. It was short and on point. I like how he referred himself as the new anti-christ of Pro-Wrestling. "You want me? They all do!" Great stuff. And the video was even great.

It reminds me alot of Raven. Jeffs look and attitude. The torture he puts his body through. His Rockstar image. And then the dark, creepy promo that he cut against RVD. That reminded alot of Raven's old WCW backstage hallway promos. If they keep going this way with Jeff, Im pretty excited to see more.

 

[Schizophrenic]

I always thought that when Jeff started painting his face again in WWE and started getting more strange in his promos that he was going to take this turn. I like this new Jeff. He's nothing like he has been in past several years. Seems to be adding more to the initial New Brood style. I'll be interested in seeing where they go with this because I am certainly enjoying it and I am sure I am not the only one. And I do agree that when I heard him talking, especially in the backstage promo, I immedietly got images of Raven in my mind.

 

[BuckshotBrian13]

I do see the similarities between the two, but i feel like just having him stand there and talk slowly with a blank look on his face is all he COULD do. Yes if that is the direction they want to go with him that is fine, they do have Raven there to help him along BUT no one will ever be on the same level as Raven. Hell if they replaced Jeff Hardy with Raven that would be 10times better in my opinion, maybe he would look interested in being there....although Raven did look at home in Lethal Lockdown! I think i am more interested in seeing how much Jeff appears on Impact cause you know they will try to keep him away from others calling him out. I have a feeling he will be champ for a long time to come

One problem with that...Jeff Hardy still has his pending charges in court. he may be going to jail if convicted, so his reign may be cut short.

 

[jccool420]

It may work to some extent if they would get Raven to help Hardy with his promos... But Hardy has no where near the natural speaking ability of Raven...

Would be cool if Raven ended up screwing EV2 later on and became Jeff's mentor/manager...

Raven would be sick as hell managing a guy like Hardy...

 

[INDYjon22]

I like Jeff Hardy, but I have never been impressed with his promo skills. Tonight he finally impressed me. We haven't really seen a heel Jeff Hardy before, so it is still a bit of a mystery as to how well he will do. But, tonight I liked what I saw. His promo tonight was a probably his finest, only rivaled by some of the interactions he had with CM Punk a year ago. I don't know if I would go as far as comparing him to Raven yet, but he is definitely on the right path for now. I hope he can keep it up.

 

[Dean Winchester]

Jeff do not need Raven as his manager, Jeff good on mic all his own. Also like Jeff have a mixture of Raven gimmick and Sting's crow gimmick when he was a heel. Jeff can actually talk on the mic so could be very good heel.

 

[ilapierre]

Raven and Jeff should feud, Raven shouldn't be his manager. If Jeff had to have a manager though i'd say bring back Johnny Polo. Or perhaps Lita and then have Matt Hardy come in.

 

[gbaby_steve25]

Jeff's first mic work was 40-60, second promo was 90-10 and then the chair shots and taking out Anderson was 85-15... other than that he is looking like he could grow into a great heel... only time will tell if it gets better....imo if the charges dont send hardy to jail this could actually be a great thing for TNA, especially since this actually doesnt appear to be an NWO type thing... oh and btw Told You So bout that contract Dixie signed last week....

 

[Blush]

Definitely saw Raven in this promo, and it was great. At first I was a little confused and thought Jeff was talking more like Hannibal Lecter. lol~ (Maybe from trying to downplay his accent?) But, if he's working with Raven on his heel promos, it could work out well.

Still don't agree with the way BFG went, but if Jeff is allowed to go on his own with his new persona if this is the start of what's to come, I'm all for it. A dark, seething heel.

 

[MancMark]

I was waiting for Jeff to make a fool of himself, and honestly, it never happened. Tonight for me was Jeff's best night in TNA. I expected him to come out straight away and cut a Hogan style monologue. I thought we'd see a good 10minutes of that. But no, they kept it pretty short, and that worked in their favour.

The 2nd promo though, the one on RVD, really impressed me. Maybe this thing does have legs. There was certainly something of the Raven about it all. His weird promos as a face never worked for me. He was too incoherent. But these snappy, creepy heel ones have been good so far.

It's got a long way to go, but it might just work. Tonight's Impact! was good. Having said all that, TNA have the tendency to just switch seats. Next week they'll have Jeff cutting some stupid normal promo. I hope in the holy name of Ric Flair that they stick with the Raven style stuff.

 

[noly]

This is exactly what I was thinking when Jeff cut his first promo of the night.

But the second promo when he was talking to RVD was Golden! This was the best mic work I have ever heard from Jeff. It was short and on point. I like how he referred himself as the new anti-christ of Pro-Wrestling. "You want me? They all do!" Great stuff. And the video was even great.

It reminds me alot of Raven. Jeffs look and attitude. The torture he puts his body through. His Rockstar image. And then the dark, creepy promo that he cut against RVD. That reminded alot of Raven's old WCW backstage hallway promos. If they keep going this way with Jeff, Im pretty excited to see more.

I was thinking the same thing too. The first promo was passable. The second was great. Shocked the hell out of me! I also see touches of Raven in Jeff Hardy heel version. This could be very interesting.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Absolutely. I said it in the LD the moment he came to the ring carrying the belt like it didn't matter. You could read it on his face. Had he slunk into a corner or been wearing a leather jacket it'd have been unmistakeable.

What better wrestler to emulate your heel persona after than Raven, anyway? Should make for a fantastic mix of apathy, agony and an axe to grind.

Long live the Antichrist!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Initially, I thought Hardy did a pretty solid job. His first promo in the ring was short but it was sweet. He was able to get his point across and do it in a short amount of time.

I thought his second promo, the one on the big screen, was just a bit corny. He said some are calling him the new Anti-Christ of pro wrestling and I just laughed when he said that. He should've waited a month or two until he'd been solidly built up as a heel before trying to reference himself as the new epitome of evil or something because he just doesn't have the credibility to carry that right now without it seeming incredibly corny.

 

[samcro1980]

i liked jeff's promo's on impact tonight especialy the one with rvd on friendship in wrestling it was good for his second heel promo...his first was ok but was typical face turning heel starter promo..but overall very impressed,he was better than i thought he would be

 

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

I LOVE this new Heel Hardy and I thought he did a fantastic job on the Mic tonight. Is promo was Short and Sweet and he did he a pretty good job. The second thing when he called himself the Anti Christ I thought it was Phenomenal. He very much reminded me of Raven. He did a pretty good job tonight.

Long Live The Anti-Christ.

 

[Dizzy]

One problem with that...Jeff Hardy still has his pending charges in court. he may be going to jail if convicted, so his reign may be cut short.

That could go on another year. He's not going to jail at this rate since that court case has been pushed back so many times this year.

 

[mrbooker]

So Jeff Hardy is the guy, and as a first impression I am impressed. Jeff Hardy is his own type of heel. This turn has been thrown around with resembalance to hogans in 96 due to the swerve of a major face going heel. Then Raven because of the dark cryptic promo, and hardy's "what about me" newly aquired attitude. Jeff hardy is something new to the wrestling fan, when is the last time that someone so over as a face, has made such a full fledged heel turn. Jeff Hardy is a main event performer and has given the fans moments that they always remember for 10+ years now. Fans have always loved him for the risk taking to win matches and entertain them.

With this recent heel turn one thing that cannot be overlooked is Jeff Hardy's charasmatic enigma identity, is jeff hardy great on the mic and cutting a promo not as much as I would like, but if he goes the charasmatic enigma route where he is kinda crazy but was always loved for it because thats how his in ring style is. They showed a small piece of what im getting at with his video promo to RVD.

It can work, add onto the fact that if he starts using weapons to "injure" wrestlers or further his chances of winning matches it can add to his heel persona. Sort of how we saw him do to Anderson I do not mean every impact he uses a weapon. When facing certain individuals in at the end of feud that ends in a cage match, or ladder match, falls count anywhere, even regualr singes match all the risks jeff hardy was loved for taking will now have a whole new intentions for them, Jeff Hardy beating top faces from jumping 15 feet off a cage. Maybe you want to say Jeff is a spot monkey but when is the last time you saw a heel who takes huge risk moves to win matches?

It even plays into the whole "Immortal" theme Jeff Hardy by far has given the best combo of quality/quantity MEMORABLE high risk manuvers as far as broadcasted TV, if he gets built up as this dark heel champ, who puts his own body in danger to destroy his opponent and he always comes out on top it can play into the whole Immortal storyline as long as Hardy stays champ

So my questions to everyone is

1 . Looking at your first impression of Jeff Hardy's first TNA Impact as champion did you buy him as a heel?

2. Do you think the crazier part of Jeff Hardy will show the "charasmatic enigma"??? (he has blown off the fans, he is the TNA WHC, he is THE GUY realistically and storyline wise for Immmortal, so in theory he pretty much has free reign to act how he wants to gain as much heat as possible)

3. How many opponents do you think Jeff Hardy will go through in maintaing his title? and besids RVD who would you like to see him feud with.

4. Woudl you agree or disagree that Jeff Hardy off of the first impression looks like he could be a breathe of fresh air to being a whole new type of heel then typical heels we have scene in the past from TNA.

 

[Baximus]

1 . Looking at your first impression of Jeff Hardy's first TNA Impact as champion did you buy him as a heel?

Absolutely. The half-Raven/half-Cortana (from Halo) prom was fucking awesome. I liked Hardy more tonight than any previous point in his career.

2. Do you think the crazier part of Jeff Hardy will show the "charasmatic enigma"??? (he has blown off the fans, he is the TNA WHC, he is THE GUY realistically and storyline wise for Immmortal, so in theory he pretty much has free reign to act how he wants to gain as much heat as possible)

Jeff was more charismatic tonight than the entire previous decade combined.

3. How many opponents do you think Jeff Hardy will go through in maintaing his title? and besids RVD who would you like to see him feud with.

I hope Hardy holds the title a la Hollywood Hogan in 1996 & 97 for the next year, maybe loses it once or twice but gets it back quickly.

4. Woudl you agree or disagree that Jeff Hardy off of the first impression looks like he could be a breathe of fresh air to being a whole new type of heel then typical heels we have scene in the past from TNA.

I think Jeff Hardy's heel turn will eventually be looked back upon as the moment that TNA moved into the world of legitimate competition to WWE. After tonight, I'm absolutely buying The Immortals. I'm thrilled with the direction this is going.

Normally, I hate when there isn't a lot of wrestling on Impact but I think that tonight was a great Impact even without much in-ring action. I can't wait to see the ratings for this show.

 

[RevZero]

I'm.....intrigued by Jeff's heel turn. It was probably one of the most "shocking" things they could have done with the main event (without bringing in a major name form outside the company.) It's really going to be a chance to see a new Jeff Hardy (sure, he was heel when he was in the New Brood, but that was before he really became "jeff hardy".)
The Raven similarities were nice. I think they fit Jeff nicely. I don't want to see the Raven character re-done, but if they take bits and pieces and twist the ma bit, I think it could work out beautifully.
If they keep going with these video promos (like the one he did with RVD), I think they should style them after the Joker videos from The Dark Knight. Not subject wise, but style wise. Jeff, holding a camera, very shaky, etc. It kind of fits with the character.
Not so sure how I feel about the Immortals/New Regime group. There are just too many people in it. Fortune had 7 members, plus the 5 from "They", that's a good 2/3 of the roster? I get that it would have been an issue having the two groups separate, but together is just too many.

 

[johnbragg]

Jeff Hardy's heel turn was about the only think I agreed with at BFG--a surprise yet easily explained.

I didn't bother watching Impact last night, but now I want to youtube HArdy's promo when I get home from work.

Jeff Hardy rehashing Raven is new, fresh and could work.

 

[mrbooker]

If they keep going with these video promos (like the one he did with RVD), I think they should style them after the Joker videos from The Dark Knight. Not subject wise, but style wise. Jeff, holding a camera, very shaky, etc. It kind of fits with the character.
.

That would be sick, awesome creative thinking.

And the one thing tht Hardy has to have is the in ring psychology of a heel, he hs the chance to literally be a heel that we have never really scene before usually WHC champion heels are this huge bad asses, or a dangerous technical/mat wrestler whose talent cant be denied. In jeff hardy their is the chance to make a heel he have never seen before, no he isnt a phenomenal technial wrestler, his body is normal, but his moveset is trully unique, and the fact that as a heel we could see him take literally ANYONE on the roster out with his high-risk offense and often forgotten hardcore style. Imagine if the once cheered swanton off of ladders, and cages, and stages would now be booed and used as a way to indefinitley take people out of commision storyline wise.

And most importantly let people KNOW ITS STILL JEFF HARDY! Meaning that yes he is a heel but guess what hecan still go in the ring. This is the guy who Angle could not beat, BOOK HIM LIKE IT their is no reason why he shouldnt have multiple title defenses where he wins clean, it should take the most dangerous challenger for abyss, hogan, bischoff, or flair/fortune to come and help jeff retain. Jeff should cleanly beat RVD,and two guys out anderson/pope/joe before he ever needs help in a match. Jeff needs to be a ligit dangerous heel on his own in the ring and then the immortals as his back up.

In my opinion Kurt should come back and fight hardy at the next ppv not rvd not anderson, hardy should take out angle in a huge spot swanton off of something stage or cage and write angle off for 4 months give Hardy a early notch on his belt as a heel who put his title on the line and decisively put out kurt angle sell it as a serious neck injury. Everything that Jeff has done prior to BFG is what makes everything so interesting right now what he does in the next following months will determine if he not only maintains interest but can generate even more. Or if TNA can hve some creative storylines for awhile save it and have hardy take angle out at next years bound for glory

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I'd just like to add to this that all you folks who couldn't help but spout off at the mouth like verbal diarrhea about how much of a failure "They" was, and how much of a failure "They" would be because—and I quote [channeling my inner Cole]—"Jeff Hardy makes a terrible heel", despite the fact you've never actually seen him play a heel before but for a few short weeks numerous years back in the WWE were dead fucking wrong, and you need to be called out on your bullshit for it.

Wish I kept a hand count so I could embarrass you publicly, but you know who you are.

 

[Baximus]

I'd just like to add to this that all you folks who couldn't help but spout off at the mouth like verbal diarrhea about how much of a failure "They" was, and how much of a failure "They" would be because—and I quote [channeling my inner Cole]—"Jeff Hardy makes a terrible heel", despite the fact you've never actually seen him play a heel before but for a few short weeks numerous years back in the WWE were dead fucking wrong, and you need to be called out on your bullshit for it.

Wish I kept a hand count so I could embarrass you publicly, but you know who you are.

Jeff Hardy had more charisma in one night as a heel than he did in a DECADE of being a bland face that everyone loved for his moveset. Jeff Hardy could be the new Raven with a helping of the Joker from Batman. The Anti-Christ is truly something we haven't seen in a major promotion before.

THIS IS EXAMPLE 'A' WHY PEOPLE NEED TO GIVE TNA'S STORYLINES A FUCKING CHANCE.

I'm more fired up about watching wrestling right now than I have been at any point since 2003. Thank you TNA.