Success, Bust or In-Between: Jeff Hardy

[It's Damn Real!]

With a relative success rate for these in the TNA section, I figure it can't hurt to try an expansion into a larger market with the WWE/F.

Just as was done with the series in the TNA section, former talents of the company will be critiqued (by you) regarding their work in said company. You can vote them either a success, a bust or in-between if you don't feel they deserve either extreme.

In addition to your vote, I'd like to know why you feel the way you do. Why was this particular charater a succes, a bust or in-between?

Next in the series is Jeff Hardy.

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Jeff Hardy
Years with WWE/F: 9 (1998-2003, 2006-2009)
Number of titles runs: WCW Tag Team Championship (x1), World Heavyweight Championship (x2), WWE Championship (x1), WWE European Championship (x1), WWF Hardcore Championship (x3), WWE/F Intercontinental Championship (x4), WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (x1), WWE/F World Tag Team Championship (x6)

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Notable Feuds:
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• The Brood via The Hardy Boyz (1998)
• The Acolytes via the Hardy Boyz (1999)
• Edge & Christian via the Hardy Boyz/Team XTreme (2000)
• Dudley Boyz (2000)
• Triple H (2001)
• Jerry Lynn (2001)
• Matt Hardy (2001)
• The Undertaker (2001)
• Brock Lesnar (2002)
• Bradshaw (JBL) (2002)
• The Undertaker (2002)
• William Regal (2002)
• Edge (2006)
• Johnny Nitro (John Morrison) (2006)
• Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch via the Hardy Boyz (2007)
• Umaga (2007)
• Triple H (2007)
• Chris Jericho (2008)
• Umaga (2008)
• Edge/Triple H (2008/9)
• Matt Hardy/Edge (2009)
• CM Punk (2009)

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Other Accomplishments:
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• Debuted in the WWE as one half of the Hardy Boyz tag team in 1998.
• Managed by Gangrel, Michael Hayes, Terri Runnels, Trish Stratus and Lita.
• Trained by Dory Funk, Jr.
• Competed in the first ever Tables, Ladders and Chairs (TLC) match in company history.
• Ninth Grand Slam Champion in company history
• Eighteenth Triple Crown Champion in company history
• Slammy Award for Most Extreme Moment of the Year (2008) [Swanton Bomb to Randy Orton from the top of the Raw set (Raw, January 14)]
• Slammy Award for Most Extreme Moment of the Year (2009) [Jumping from ladder onto CM Punk at SummerSlam 2009]

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Previous Polls:
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• Mr. Kennedy – 47.37% In-Between, 31.58% Bust, 21.05% Success
• Shelton Benjamin – In Progress
• Jeff Hardy – In Progress

 

[Ferbian]

Jeff Hardy is definitely a success, he's done everything you could possibly think off in WWE, beaten top guys, rookies, mid-carders, legends and future legends.

Jeff Hardy has always been, always will be ridiculously over as a talent, he's a decent wrestler, and put on good matches in tag team, as a singles wrestler.

Jeff has held pretty much any belt you could throw at him with exception to the United States championship and ECW championship during it's existence, but any else he's done everything you could possible think of when it comes to having a great career, put on great feuds, and scratched and clawed his way to the top, he'd still be on the top if it wasn't for him leaving WWE.

Jeff Hardy is a success.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Complete success. The guy was a World Champion and 1/2 of one of the most recognizable tag-teams that ever came out of WWE. That's like asking if Booker T or Kurt Angle were success, bust, or in-between. Jeff Hardy was on top of the world in World Wrestling Entertainment taking on the likes of Randy Orton and CM Punk until his departure to TNA. He is definitely one of the most over superstars in the 'E in 2008-2009.

 

[Mister Redleg]

I would say he is in-between. He never had a title reign with one of the true heavyweight titles for longer than 2 months, he had significant pushes held back numerous times over his inability to kick a drug habit, and he never headlined Wrestlemania. I am not saying he isn't a tremendous talent or extremely popular, but given everything he could have had by this point, I would definitely say that he could have achieved more and is in-between.

 

[greg_74]

Success! Without a doubt, there is no way you could say otherwise. Yeah maybe he could have been an even bigger star if the wouldn't have the drug problems and stuff, but he has been a top performer for years in the WWE and now with TNA.

 

[16mikeytot]

IDR really is this even a question? Without a doubt he's a sucess. The guy could practically go to Wwe whenever he wants. No but lets see three time world champion, super over with the crowd, and was arguably wwe's top face during the summer of 2009. He was definitely a sucess.

 

[Chicago1989]

IDR's on a roll here with these threads. Keep 'em coming...

But without a doubt, Jeff Hardy was a HUGE success in the WWE. He has seen it all and done it all, accomplish everything that there is to accomplish, won almost every single title that there was to win, I can just go on....

He may have had his issues with drugs and body tear over the years, but those things barely affect the impact he's made in wrestling. We've literally seen this guy grow up and work his way to the top. He epitimizes success and growth in my eyes. So to summarize once again:

Wrestler: Success
Impact left in wrestling: Success
His run in WWE: Success
Attendance and merchandise draw: Success

Oh and btw IDR, Jeff Hardy actually started his WWE career around '94. He was a jobber at first, facing guys like Razor Ramon and Kane in '97.

 

[Alex]

I would say he is in-between. He never had a title reign with one of the true heavyweight titles for longer than 2 months, he had significant pushes held back numerous times over his inability to kick a drug habit, and he never headlined Wrestlemania. I am not saying he isn't a tremendous talent or extremely popular, but given everything he could have had by this point, I would definitely say that he could have achieved more and is in-between.

Really?? Really????

Jeff Hardy was a success, even if you don't like him he was. So what if he didn't headline Wrestlemania there a fair few people that haven't, he's had countless great fueds and memorable moments in matches and has held every belt in the company except two (and one of those is now defunct) If you think he's in-between what do you call a success???

 

[Dan E. Inferno]

In my mind, Jeff was definitely a success. If you were to have asked this in 2003 after his original run, I probably would have answered in-between, but his second run from 2006-2009 was definitely a huge success. He was one of the most over and successful midcarders in 2006 and 2007. His reunion with Matt was a success because they put on a string of good matches with MNM and Cade and Murdoch. He also won a couple of IC titles during this time, I think.

Then in 2008, despite his suspension, he was constantly involved in the main event scene before winning the title at Armageddon. From this point on, Hardy was arguably the most over guy in the company and won two more world titles during his feud with Punk. Although his three reigns were incredibly short, he still is a three time world champion and he was the most over guy in the company for quite some time. That must make him a definite success.

 

[CobraVenom]

He is both a bust and a success. He's a success for the obvious reasons. He was World Champ, and the fans ate him up. However, he is a bust due to the fact that he is usually in some sort of trouble. His career has way too many speed bumps for me to call him an outright success.

 

[Mister Redleg]

Really?? Really????

Jeff Hardy was a success, even if you don't like him he was. So what if he didn't headline Wrestlemania there a fair few people that haven't, he's had countless great fueds and memorable moments in matches and has held every belt in the company except two (and one of those is now defunct) If you think he's in-between what do you call a success???

First off, I didn't say that I didn't like him. Jeff has always been one of my favorites. My point is that I measure success not against what others have done but instead what you have the capability of doing and what you actually did. I feel like Jeff has left way to much on the table to be considered a success. The other thing is you can't compare him to everybody who has ever wrestled for WWE. You have to compare him to people who are in his skill level and even given that comparison, no, he hasn't been a success.

 

[Rafather]

I'm going to say he has been a bust. No doubt he has done close to everything in the WWF/E. However each time he has been given the keys to the castle he has blown the opportunity. The only time he has really ran with everything possible was in the beginning with his brother. The more recent years has been opportunity after opportunity busted.

raf

 

[Vintage]

The Charismatic Enabler is a complete success story. I'm sure when you first saw the Hardy's on TV you had no idea how much Jeff would accomplish. Judging a man on his vices is dead wrong. He fucks his body up for our amusement, you would think he's entitled to live a little without the lynch mob coming out waving their fingers of shame at him since they don't agree with what he does, which somehow makes them better people. Unfortunately you'll hear more about that than his in ring work which is a shame. He's a pioneer and will absolutely try to kill himself at every ppv for the biggest pop of the night.

His support doesn't come from the people in suits, it comes straight from the fans. He is so beloved by the fans that you simply cannot hold him down for long. If that doesn't speak for itself, I don't know what does. If there was a title worth holding in the WWE, he held it while it was hot. I would argue that he's marginally more successful than HBK, he was certainly the man to beat if you wanted to elevate out of the mid card for quite some years before the main event scene opened up for him.

 

[Alex]

First off, I didn't say that I didn't like him. Jeff has always been one of my favorites. My point is that I measure success not against what others have done but instead what you have the capability of doing and what you actually did. I feel like Jeff has left way to much on the table to be considered a success. The other thing is you can't compare him to everybody who has ever wrestled for WWE. You have to compare him to people who are in his skill level and even given that comparison, no, he hasn't been a success.

I meant people in general when I said even if you don't like him. I guess I get you a bit better now, he did have more potential as he could have been a world champ more than three times (he was supposed to win MITB at WM 24 I believe but got suspended) but even so you have to admit that even with his stumbles he was a success.

 

[CobraVenom]

The Charismatic Enabler is a complete success story. I'm sure when you first saw the Hardy's on TV you had no idea how much Jeff would accomplish. Judging a man on his vices is dead wrong. He fucks his body up for our amusement, you would think he's entitled to live a little without the lynch mob coming out waving their fingers of shame at him since they don't agree with what he does, which somehow makes them better people. Unfortunately you'll hear more about that than his in ring work which is a shame. He's a pioneer and will absolutely try to kill himself at every ppv for the biggest pop of the night.

You might be amused at the fact that he is an addict, but I sure as hell am not. As a former addict myself, it makes me sad to see that he can't get over it.

His support doesn't come from the people in suits, it comes straight from the fans. He is so beloved by the fans that you simply cannot hold him down for long. If that doesn't speak for itself, I don't know what does. If there was a title worth holding in the WWE, he held it while it was hot. I would argue that he's marginally more successful than HBK, he was certainly the man to beat if you wanted to elevate out of the mid card for quite some years before the main event scene opened up for him.

There is where you lose all credibility. In now way, shape, or form, was Jeff Hardy "marginally" more successful than Shawn. How in the world can you argue this?

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

You have to say he was a succes...i mean he won every belt wwe has had since he started apart from the us title...he conquered the tag division with his brother and his singles career has been nothing more than a success...not to mention 2 consecutive match of the year for 2000 and 2001...he is also a grand slam and triplecrown winner...

WWE put Jeff on the map...Absolute success..

 

[NeoScyther]

To me it kind of depends on the era. When he was teaming with Matt I'd definitely say success. First ever TLC match, first (I think) tag team ladder match in general, multiple tag team championships, no doubt a success in the tag team world.

Singles though, I'd say in between. Yeah he gets a great deal of support from the fans and is a grand slam champion, but when it came to the top-tier titles didn't have them that long. Combined with his recent and past drug issues and I'd go with in-between here.

 

[Travaje]

I would easily say he's a success. He may have not reached his full potential, nor he may not ever reach that elite status, but he's had more success than 95% of the people who have worked in the business. He is still one of the most over guys on TV today. And, most importantly, he's still only 32 years old.

Definitely a success.

 

[TheMadWrestlingFan]

I say mad success because he has held every title in the WWE since he and his brother broke in the business way back in the day.

I think being with one company for so long you get burnt out quickly... The WWE should have put him on the same schedule as Undertake and company...

 

[thepalaceprince]

Idk how anybody can call jeff hardy anything but a success? hes been a world champion multiple times hes been apart of some big time feuds including his incredible feud with cm punk last year as well as his tag team feuds with the dudleyz and edge and christian. hes also one of the men that help revolutionize and popularize one of my favorite matches tables ladders and chairs. Jeff hardy without a doubt a success

 

[Vintage]

You might be amused at the fact that he is an addict, but I sure as hell am not. As a former addict myself, it makes me sad to see that he can't get over it.

You read what you wanted to read, not what I wrote. He's an alleged addict btw, I wouldn't know for sure unless I got high with him, which I haven't. Either way, I could honestly care less unless he was injuring people in the ring.

There is where you lose all credibility. In now way, shape, or form, was Jeff Hardy "marginally" more successful than Shawn. How in the world can you argue this?

My opinion on what makes someone a success may differ from yours. This man was not connected politically. He isn't all that on the mic. He has an equally impressive list of accolades. He might not be a technical genius but he was winning and being nominated for match of the year honors without being a main eventer, which is not common. The list of people who have won PWI MOTY is a who's who list of hall of famers and future nominees. He's also 12 years younger which means he accomplished these things earlier and has way more time to add to his legacy, and he has not quite peaked yet.

 

[wushady]

Sure he had his personal problems with drugs being suspended and even being fired at one point. With all that aside he was definitely successful in WWE he was over huge with the fans, sold tons of merchandise, and won multiple titles. For the majority of his WWE career he was involved in top storylines. So he never got stale and was usually in a title program either as a member of the Hardy Boyz or solo.

 

[TLC]

Jeff Hardy was a huge success and I don't know how anyone could argue against it.

He was a multi time champion, becoming a 3 time world champion in a business where the big men shine and had some of the most memorable matches in past 10 years. Both his tenures with the company had him winning countless championships and memorable moments. He became arguably the most over person in the entire company at one point and had the best feud of 2009.

There is no doubt in my mind that Jeff was a huge success.

 

[El Rev sXe]

definitely a success, I mean he actually won the big one, not once but 3 FUCKING TIMES!!! his feuds against Orton,HHH,Edge and CM Punk were so great, epic!!! I mean, besides that the guy was sooooooo over with the crowd I honestly think if he was drug free, straight edge (totally pun intended lol!) he could be bigger than Cena! both little kids and adult crowd loved him (including me til I knew why he was leaving the E). oh and the guy has sooooo many memorables moments!!!!

 

[FromTheSouth]

I don't know how anyone can consider him a bust. He came in as a world class jobber and became the single most over star in the company. He got the HHH seal of approval EARLY in his career to win the IC belt. He used it again later as a springboard to the main event. He made it OK for flippy weirdos to win belts. He is the evolutionary HBK. The guy is absolutely huge in the business today. He strikes me as more difficult to turn heel than anyone in the businss.

He started as a 19 year old jobber because he over sold everything. By doing so, his offense looked more spectacular by comparison, and he became a world champion. Talk about someone reaching their full potential.

So what about the drugs, the suspensions, or the erratic behavior. He overcame it all to be at the fucking TOP of the business.