One More Shot?

[MikeS]

That's a good point. TNA is likely to let him stay as long as the crowd loves him and he stays a draw. Though I wonder if maybe others in the back are truly pissed and are going to screw with him in future matches... I know I would be pissed.

 

[JJYanks121]

As though it matters what we think on the matter?

All you need to do to answer the question of whether or not Jeff Hardy "deserves" another shot to redeem his TNA career is to re-watch that segment and just listen. The moment Jeff's music hits, the crowd goes wild. He's cheered by what was somewhat of a standing ovation despite saying himself he did not deserve it. The crowd adored him, just like they adored him for years.

Those people are who's opinion matters. The ones buying PPV events, and tickets through the gate, not the ones scouring the internet to find illegal streams because they don't want to spend out of pocket. And those people quite obviously still love Jeff enough to warrant the company giving him another shot, regardless of his past and regardless of what he's done — even regardless of his sentence.

And that's the exact WRONG reason to believe he deserves a shot. It's this idea and it's thinking the way you do that will get the guy killed.

Obviously we know that wrestling fans like Jeff Hardy. He's been a popular guy for a while now. However, that doesn't make him any better at dealing with his demons. He was on top of the wrestling world just two years ago when he walked out on WWE and just weeks later was arrested due to having massive amounts of drugs in his house. Clearly those pops from the crowd saved him from the law, right?

It's actually the exact opposite of what you are saying. Selfish, blood-thirsty fans are enablers for Jeff Hardy and nothing more. Because they want to see him sacrifice his body for them, they are saying "do it Jeff, take one more bump, you can always pop more pills to feel better". It's not good for Jeff and the last place he needs to be is in a wrestling ring when trying to overcome addiction.

Still, I don't fully blame Jeff. In fact, I don't blame him much at all. The idea to bring him back is as much TNA as anyone else. They know they need him for BFG to provide "star power" so regardless of whether he's better or not, they knew they wanted to bring him back. If he drops dead after the show? So what, we already made our money!

Ok, so it might not be quite that heartless, but it's not as though the company is willing to sacrifice a "big name" at BFG for that big name's well being.

To me, that speech came off insincere and rehearsed, an opening promo in a "redemption" storyline. In a week or two, you'll see a Bully Ray make fun of him for being an addict and you'll have your BFG feud. Jeff will get cheered, he'll win at BFG, and the fans will cheer and be happy. I just hope this short term risk is worth it.

So to close, does Jeff deserve one more shot? Not yet. He really doesn't at this time. Maybe if he was proactive in getting better and truly made an effort to get clean FOR HIM. Fuck the wrestling business. I'd rather see Jeff say "I'm getting clean and staying clean for my wife and daughter and as a result am retiring from wrestling" than "well, I messed up, will you give me one more chance" in a wrestling ring while many of us doubt his sincerity. Maybe I'm weird as a wrestling fan to actually give a shit, but I'm tired of hearing of wrestler deaths and I'd like to prevent this one. At this point though, I feel that Jeff is a ticking timebomb and I have no reason to believe otherwise.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

For me personally, I wasn't impressed by Jeff Hardy's promo on IW this past Thursday. I know that cutting promos or really just talking on the mic have never been strengths Jeff Hardy possesses. I'm willing to admit that there's at least a possibility that he's sincere and that it just simply didn't come across on the mic.

At the same time, however, Hardy's mannerisms and words are EXACTLY what I've seen from literally hundreds of inmates I've escorted to court hearings over the course of my time as a corrections officer. I'm not saying that it makes me some expect in human behavior, don't misunderstand me. I've just heard soooooo many virtually identical statements from inmates, especially inmates incarcerated for drug offenses or problems, and many of them haven't meant a word they said. They've gone in front of a judge in a hearing or in front of the parole board and have said what they think those peopole think they should say or what their attorneys thought they should say. To try and look humble, sound like someone who's been humbled.

That's not to say that I haven't seen inmates that haven't been sincere. I've seen some of them have fully fledged breakdowns, crying like newborns while trying to get out between sobs how sorry for the problems they've caused others, for the hurt they've put their families through, etc. I'm not saying that some of them weren't just putting on an Oscar worthy acting performance, but it did at least come across as convincing.

I might be wrong and I hope I'm wrong. But, for me, Hardy sounded like someone that was trying to put on a performance. I might be a bit jaded and have a suspicious mind, I freely admit that. At the same time though, I think a lot of people, especially some of those in that audience that night, are far too naive and forgiving because Hardy hasn't done anything or shown anything why he deserves another chance at this point in time. For me, Jeff Hardy is going to have to actually show he's sincere because his words just haven't done it in the least.

And even if he does, it's not going to erase the stain I don't think. The image of Jeff Hardy has taken massive hits. I do think it's possible that he could ultimately come out on the other side of this, years from now, as a greater star and with an incredible story to tell. It's just going to take time because one lackluster promo just isn't going to convince me.

Now does our opinion actually mean anything? In the grand scheme of things, I doubt it. After all, Jeff Hardy is a grown man and there's no reason to believe or expect he'd conduct his life based on the opinion of total strangers. After all, it doesn't seem like the opinion of close friends and family have done that so we're definitely not. At the same time though, he did address US in that promo. We're the TNA viewers after all. So if our opinions don't really matter, then all that does is suggest that the promo was every bit as hollow formality it.

 

[rob_lethal]

Does he deserve another shot...this is WRESTLING people! There is a litany of wrestlers who have messed up there lives way worse than Jeff Hardy. Jeff will get another shot because he is a name. He will continue to wrestle until he screws up again or we just forget about him. I personally dont care about his personal life because he is an entertainer and his personal life should not be entered in it. Gone are the days of kayfabe and I understand this. If we all really cared we would have been behind the wellness policy long before we started losing greats.

 

[MsScreamQueen104]

1. Does Jeff Hardy get one more shot? Not to TNA, because he's obviously been given that. In your mind, are you prepared to give Jeff Hardy one more chance?
Yes Jeff Hardy does deserve one more shot because in all these years that i have watched wwe or tna he has brought it bringing it to what it costs. but he admitted on tv at victory road he screwed up. that takes balls to admit that to fans. i will be the first i thought he was a screw up but he took this dream when he was a little boy to now with himself having a family of his own. he deserves it.
2. In your mind, does Jeff Hardy even deserve another chance?

Yes he is a mupitle time tag champ and 2 time one for wwe and world heavy weight and 2 for tna. but people should always judge addicts he a damn good wreslter and i want to see him with being a 10 time world champ. with the issues going on with his brother. i see giving him another shot to be great.