Would Jeff Hardy have become a long term success in the WWE....

[Rusty]

If he didn't do drugs.

I mean it occurred to me the other day, his reign as WWE Champion mirrored Daniel Bryan's in the sense that a large majority of fans were behind him and REALLY wanted him to win the big one. People started to believe it wouldn't happen, but when he finally won the WWE Championship, it all seemed to be a transitional reign which led to Jeff Hardy feuding with his brother Matt. Furthermore, he got forced to leave the company by losing to CM Punk, in a successful attempt to get Punk over.

The excuse was he was taking time off to heal injuries. Which was clearly incorrect as not long after he got caught with drugs and being highly intoxicated, aka back to his old ways. Fast forward a bit when he rocked up to a TNA World Title main event at a pay per view, completely stoned and incapable on performing. And well... it's easy to see why the WWE didn't originally want him to be a long term top guy.

But in a different world, where Jeff Hardy was mentally sane and decided to get his life on track.. do you think he would have became an even bigger success? Or do you believe he had already overachieved during his time with the company?

Please discuss in an appropriate manner (and mods feel free to move this to another section).

 

[Mustang Sally]

Well, he had already won the world title, so I don't know how much more successful he could have become, although I do believe he could have maintained that level for a much longer time if WWE knew they could count on him.

Before his title run, I remember him tangling with the Undertaker on Raw. Jeff played the underdog, the young upstart who was trying to beat the old veteran. Do you recall how it ended? After 'Taker won, he embraced Jeff for having given his best in a noble cause, which was surely unusual behavior for the Undertaker. But it made us appreciate Jeff Hardy; he was one of us, a regular guy who would give his all until he succeeded..... or his body gave out.....but his spirit would not be conquered in either case.

Plus, he appealed to the very demographic WWE wanted to reach. In truth, he may have been just a spot hitter with a scrawny body and a willingness to take chances, but if that's what his fans went for, the company must have been encouraging it.

On the other hand, if what we read was true, he left WWE because he didn't like them curbing his "recreational" habits......and although TNA must have been real proud of themselves for allowing Jeff to come in with the promise that they wouldn't bother him, they surely wound up seeing the error of their ways. Ask Sting.

Still, Jeff has (apparently) cleaned up his act, having learned through hard experience. Perhaps he's also been bitten enough to have gotten the message about other practical matters, such as insuring his house in case there's a fire.

So yes, I think Jeff would have been a success in WWE for a much longer time than he was. He had the equipment: the body, the youth, the style....necessary for the long run.

Maybe he still has enough of it left for a return engagement with WWE.

Maybe.

 

[Hem]

I think that Jeff Hardy would easily have been a big main event talent today. I believe had Jeff stayed clean and in the WWE than I think he would probably have been the #3/2 guy in the WWE.

I think there would have been a hell of a lot of feuds for Jeff Hardy to keep him fresh and in the main event scene. (Jeff Hardy Vs. Punk/Bryan/Rock?/Cena/Batista/Etc.,) I think had Jeff Hardy stayed than Bray Wyatt's debut feud would have NO DOUBT been against him. I mean can you just imagine Bray Wyatt coming out and interrupting The Charismatic Enigma Jeff Hardy..awesome.

Another thing which I think might have been altered is the authority storyline where Jeff Hardy replaces CM Punk/Daniel Bryan.

 

[Aeon Mathix]

Jeff Hardy could have had a legendary career had it not been for his demons. He was pretty much the most popular wrestler in the world at times and a 3 time WWE champion. He was selling merchandise like nobody's business and getting insane pops everywhere he went. He was the real deal and probably still would be today.

I believe he went to TNA for the lighter schedule and that maybe they were a little "flexible" in regards to what he did in his personal time if you know what I mean. It caught up to him eventually and he had to go down a long road to recovery (again). He seems to be clean now and thats all fine and dandy, but I can't help but wonder what REALLY could have been had he never gotten his nose dirty in the first place.

 

[Tyrant25]

I firmly believe Hardy could have easily been the face of the company. He was THAT good. He was a face (and had always been a face, in WWE at least), he was interactive and he had a simple array of moves that the audience could get behind. Of course, with the rise of Cena, Hardy wouldn't have been the top face but he was easily #2. I'll always be a Hardy fan, but it pisses me off that he pretty much threw his career away for drugs. I understand all of the supplements that come with drugs - the addiction, the good feeling, yada yada - but I just don't understand how some people have everything they want and more and still do drugs.

 

[Alex]

For a guy who messed up as much as he did he's had a great career. If he'd beaten his demons before they made him start to spiral out of control I'm fairly sure the landscape of WWE would be vastly different.

I honestly feel Hardy would've carried some of the legwork that Cena's done the majority of. Kids love him, women love him and he's got a cool look. Also because he probably could've been joint #1 face he'd probably have put a fair amount of people over allowing more people to float between upper-midcard/main event scene without it seeming jarring.

 

[Slash-LN]

Sure.

Because even with all his fuck ups in both companies people were able to forgive him and give him chance after chance. I know he lost some fans along the way but that's life.

His program with Punk was one of the hottest things going in the company at the time. He was and is still able to perform the high spots that make people pop and that attributes to a lot of his success. He also has the cool look which people could get behind.

He probably could have had a couple runs with the title and been able to sell a bunch of merchandise. If I remember correctly Hardy Boyz merchandise was selling really well when he and Matt were a team. Jeff was popular enough that his solo merchandise would probably have sold as well.

Had he been well during that time I could see him having continued popularity in whatever feuds he would have been in.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Yeah definitely.

Even with his demons he still had an amazing run in WWE, with several World Title runs, Intercontinental Title reigns and of course the many Tag Team successes with the Hardy Boyz. He was definitely number 2 or 3 babyface in the company by the time he left WWE, and would almost certainly have remained at a Jericho-type level (upper mid card to main event) for the majority of his career, he was that over.

Hardy had/has a great look, women love him, men think he's cool. He's charismatic and exciting in the ring and has the connection with the fans that they always get behind him- he's one of them. WWE made alot of money off his merchandise and would have continued to do so had he remained with the company and had been clean from drugs. That is why I think they will end up bringing him back at some point when he leaves TNA.

WWE wanted Jeff to be the next Shawn Michaels, with the high flying exciting offence, the looks and the style...and he may have done that had it not been for his demons.