Jeff Hardy On Sobriety, Owning His Mistakes, Returning To TNA, Possible WWE Return, Hall Of Fame
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January 14, 2025
TLDR: Jeff Hardy discusses his return to TNA, signature moves, scary matches, worst injuries, battles with addiction, and more on INSIGHT LIVE in Dallas, TX.

In this exhilarating episode of the INSIGHT podcast, host Chris Van Vliet interviews renowned professional wrestler Jeff Hardy. Hardy, known for his remarkable career in the wrestling scene, shares profound insights about sobriety, his past mistakes, recent return to TNA, and thoughts on a potential WWE comeback.
Return to TNA and Wrestling Legacy
- Renewed Excitement: Hardy expresses his elation at returning to TNA, highlighting the nostalgia tied to the music that accompanies his entrance. He reflects on the special moments from his previous tenure with the brand, stating, "There's something special about hearing that music hit."
- Upcoming Matches: With the Hardys currently holding the TNA World Tag Team Championships, Hardy teases the excitement surrounding their next match against The Rascals, set to take place at TNA Genesis.
Reflections on Sobriety and Personal Growth
- Battles with Addiction: Hardy opens up about his struggles with addiction and the significance of achieving sobriety. He acknowledges that his path to recovery was fraught with challenges but emphasizes the importance of learning from mistakes. Hardy states, "I feel so blessed to still be here."
- Inspirational Quote: He quotes Heraclitus, saying,
"Day by day, what you choose, what you think, and what you do is who you become," illustrating his commitment to personal growth and positive choices.
Highs and Lows in Career
- Career Highlights: Hardy recounts the highs of his career, including historic matches and championship wins as part of The Hardys. He mentions the emotional connection to these moments and the significance they hold in his legacy.
- Impact of Past Mistakes: Similarly, he reflects on the lows, particularly the 2011 TNA Victory Road incident that led to his need for recovery and redemption. He expresses remorse for how his actions affected his family and fans.
The Future: Possible WWE Return and Hall of Fame
- TNA-WWE Partnership: When discussing the potential for a WWE return, Hardy hints at the ongoing partnership between TNA and WWE, suggesting that a crossover could be on the horizon.
- Hall of Fame Aspirations: Reflecting on his storied career, Hardy acknowledges his hopes for being recognized in the Hall of Fame, underscoring his love for wrestling and desire for one last impactful run.
Personal Insights: Art, Family, and Passion
- Artistic Expression: Hardy also shares his passion for art and how painting serves as a form of therapy for him. He notes the joy he gets from painting, linking it back to his character development in wrestling.
- Gratitude for Family: Throughout the episode, Hardy emphasizes the integral role his family plays in his life. He often refers to his wife and daughters as crucial sources of support during his toughest times.
- Daily Meditations: He touches upon the importance of meditation in his daily routine, illustrating its role in maintaining mental health and clarity.
Conclusion: A Resilient Spirit
Jeff Hardy's journey is a testament to resilience, redemption, and the power of second chances. His candid discussions about addiction, recovery, and the joy of professional wrestling resonate deeply, inspiring both fans and aspiring wrestlers. As he navigates his journey back to the spotlight, Hardy's message is clear: gratitude and determination are essential components of a fulfilling life.
From his legendary swanton bombs to his artistic ventures, it's evident that Jeff Hardy embodies the spirit of a true artist and warrior in the world of professional wrestling.
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Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Blee!
What an intro there. Shout out to Downstate for the catchyest podcast theme song in all the land. Welcome back, my friends, to another audio adventure here on Insight. I'm CBV Chris Van Vliet. How you doing? Hope everything's going well for you.
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This interview today was a long time coming. The last time I did a one-on-one interview with Jeff Hardy was 2011. It was in like a back alley slash parking lot area of the TV station that I worked at in Cleveland, CBS 19 WOIO. You might have seen that interview on my YouTube channel. That was actually the first year that I started my YouTube channel and that video got well over a million views.
Jeff has had an incredible career as one half of one of the most popular tag teams ever, the Hardys. He's also had an amazing career as a singles competitor.
He's experienced some very high highs and equally some very low lows. And he opens up about all of that during this conversation. We cover a lot of ground here, but as of right now, the hardies are back in TNA. They're currently the TNA World Tag Team Champions. They put those titles on the line this Sunday, January 19th in Dallas at TNA Genesis against the Rascals.
Also on the show, Nick Nemeth defending his TNA world championship against Joe Henry. It's live on pay-per-view. Or if you live in the Dallas area, you can grab tickets at tna wrestling.com. Snap a screenshot. Let us know you're listening. Let us know what stood out for you the most from this conversation and tag us. He's at Jeff Hardy brand. I'm at Chris Van Fleet. Here we go. Ladies and gentlemen, the charismatic enigma, Jeff Hardy.
It's been a long time. It's been a while. It's good to see you. You too, man. Congrats on everything. I mean, the championship's sitting right here, but... Yeah, it's so cool to be back in TNA, man. I had so many good moments and memories created my last run in TNA, and it's just so exciting to be back. There's something special about hearing that music hit. There is, yeah. Even when I returned, it was so weird how everything worked out. I had no idea Matt was going to go to TNA.
finished a workout one morning, went upstairs and my wife said, did you know Matt was going back to TNA? I said, no, I had no idea. Then I watched the footage and I was like, oh my God, that was amazing. And naturally, I asked him how it felt. And it's just so strange and bizarre how everything just worked out when my I had
My nose was broke when I was in A.W. and so my contract was a little extended, but it ran out the night before I was able to show up and save Matt once again in the world of professional wrestling back in TNA. Yeah, it's perfect timing. Perfect timing. And there's something about that music. And I know that people might
Not know this. That's like a song that anybody can find or use, right? For sure. I think it's titled loaded with the original. Yeah, I know. I'm hearing it in a like a commercial on it. And I was like, wait a second. The Hardy Boys song. That's what I want. That's what I want. That's amazing. Do you remember, do you remember when you heard it for the first time?
Yeah, I think I do like we had some wacky music our first music And it was I don't even I don't know what it was but I remember I liked it a lot more than the previous song that we came out to When did the the dancing that you were just doing there? When did that become part of the entrance? Oh God it definitely came from our our wrestling daddy Michael PSAs man when we hooked up with him, you know cuz back in the days the freebirds
I think he would do like a moon. He would do it and then do a moonwalk and make the tag to Jimmy Garvin. So that's where it came just the way he goes like this. So I might bust that moonwalk out at some point, man. But yeah, it came from Michael Hayes, man. I just modified it and it became such a big deal for me. Now it's impossible to hear that song and not start to do it a little bit. Yeah. Have you seen these memes where people will be like,
Every time I climb a ladder, and you're climbing the ladder, then you start to, you know, just the average person starts to hear your theme song. It's just for the Hardy Boys theme. For sure, and also when people don't have paper towels to dry their hands, I've seen that before. It works pretty well, man. Dry them off in the air.
What made TNA the right spot for you to land? I'm not sure like it was so weird when I left WWE in 2021. I think it was my dad had been real sick like 2017 like right after we went back to WWE at mania. That's my dad. That was probably around the time that he felt
good for the last time before slip back into this dark depression um... but yeah i've been taking care of him and it was it was just bad to where he did not want to be here he was ready to go and our mom died at a young age i was ten when she passed away so i've always told myself i'm like man when he needs me i'm gonna take care of him you know i just did everything i could to get him excited about life and
And all that stuff so that's definitely when you know my my drinking had got carried away during those times that I've never really talked about in wrestling the year 2021 is when I missed WrestleMania because my dad had just passed away somewhere oh yeah April 6 my wife's birthday is when my dad passed away which was strange in itself.
But yeah, it just got out of control and I needed something extreme to happen. And it's sad the way it worked out, but that I refused to go to rehab. And so I ended up waiting my 90 days out and showing up in AW and naturally screwed that up as well. And I feel so bad about Matt's position because now being in TNA, I feel like I can really kind of pay back for that to the fullest extent.
What's your headspace like now? Where are you at now? Oh, I'm super excited about wrestling again when we had the tables match against the system. And I did the Swanton bomb off the thing around all those people. It was so similar to me doing it to divan Dudley and Madison Square Garden. And I was so excited after all that worked out. It was a little, it was a lot more sketchy because the table was diagonal and it was scary. Like I was,
But it all worked out because that's the kind of stuff I live for, man. I do that. And just getting through that match and thinking about the possibilities in the future and the way I feel. I mean, it's just I'm so blessed to still be here. And I'm so grateful that I didn't kill myself through my drug and alcohol issues. Did you feel like you were ever close?
No, not really that there were there were times when I wake up and it was just so I was like, oh my God, what am I doing? And I would tell myself all the time and I never got to the point to where I had physical withdrawals from not drinking. So with that, I was like, okay, I must not be a alcoholic because I don't get sick from not drinking and I would be sober for weeks and then give into it again. But then man, when the DUI started happening, that's oh God, that's when it really got the got crazy how how much denial I was in.
Because, man, I never have any intention of hurting anybody. So I thought if I could have possibly hurt somebody else out there on the road, I'm so sorry for that, especially for people who have lost loved ones and DUI accidents. But I needed something big to happen, and that's what happened. And I went to rehab for the long haul.
And I miss exactly what I needed, man. And I've been so enlightened. There was a moment with the sun, actually, when I was in treatment in Florida. And I was like, OK, and the moon. And I'm like, OK, there's something very special going on here with me getting sober again, because every time my second time when I came back to TNA, I had gotten sober. And I was great. In 2012, it was one of my best wrestling years in my career, in my opinion.
Um, and that's, that's because of sobriety and to be back in that zone now approaching three years of sobriety man, I mean, it's just super exciting to keep doing exactly what I've been doing and you know, prove people wrong in the process. And look at the hardies now. How many times have you won a tag team championship?
I have no idea. I have no idea. Yeah. I know the Dudley's or 13 between you and Matt, but you guys, you've won with other people as well. Yes. Yeah. I'm not sure. This is great that it doesn't matter. It doesn't, man. I would say 12 or 13. That might be way off. Oh, it's more than that. Okay. How many is it? I don't know. Troy can look it up for you. He'll shout it out. Okay.
But that's amazing though. So is the way that you approach wrestling just like the match that's in front of you right now? Yeah, sure. And I get so excited. I've been watching rascal matches like crazy because we're going to be wrestling them at Genesis this year. And I've been watching like matches from the 80s, man, free birds, Von Eric's rock and roll express, midnight express. And I'm like, I feel like I'm pulling all of this
stuff from from the 80s and gonna make it cool again and in 2025 which is just super exciting and i'm starting to feel really good in the ring again like in that tables match so and it takes a while as you know to get conditioned again after you have you've been out of the ring for a while uh but yeah it's just super excited i'm even doing the portrait in motion like i used to do it throwing the leg
And it's feeling better and better and better. So yes, 2025 is going to be a super exciting year for the Hardys. Do you feel like there's anything in the ring that you can't do anymore?
Um, I can't do a shooting star press anymore. Well, what was the last time you did a shooting star prize? It's been a while. And the one that Phoenix splashed that reverse 450. I used to do that all the time, but I never could control it. Like it was always just a massacre straight face first into the mat. And people would always move. I could never hit it. I think I tried to hit it one time and completely missed the guy and just crashed. And that was the last first and last time. Pretty much. Yeah.
Yeah, and I used to do the 450 from time to time. I don't do that anymore. I don't care to do any of that stuff anymore, but the Swanton's feeling good again. And just other little combo type stuff that I'm kind of seeing, mainly like the way I see wrestling, I try to envision counters to like unique counters to certain moves. So that's why I've been studying the Rascals and all these crazy, fast combos they do, like trying to find some counters within that. Who's this version of Jeff Hardy now as a wrestler?
I feel more than ever and not even like the charismatic enigma light like the enlightened enigma like I'm so grateful for my the gift of life I am and have and and I mean I was I was born to be a pro wrestler and it's just It's crazy how it worked out, you know had such an opportunity to be a huge
Wrestling star man in my younger 20s, but you know, I just went another direction and it would be amazing if I wouldn't wouldn't have fell into that dark place in my life from you know drugs and alcohol To see what would have actually happened, but I've also had all these other hobbies that I just love I love motocross like crazy and that
I eventually broke my leg in 2015 and that pretty much ended my motocross career. But I just, oh, motocross, I got into music. I just had all these things. I never could commit fully to pro wrestling. And that's kind of, I guess that's kind of been a, it's hurt in my career, definitely a little bit. But again, that's kind of what makes me interesting as well. Well, how incredible is it that you've had a Hall of Fame career as a tag team, Hall of Fame career as an individual? And you're saying, yeah, I really didn't go all in on it.
it is it's crazy it's crazy and i think i brought that up by my dad i've never really spoke about that and there's so much dark times but uh... back in the day i i think nicky six wrote this book or put this book out called hair when diaries and i think it was nicky six and uh... but anyway i read that and so
The first time I went to rehab for alcohol, I started journaling every day. So I've got like five years of journal entries, man, throughout all the good and bad stuff. And especially those that year when my dad was slowly dying, I mean, I've documented it all and I started going back through.
That first journal entry today and the plan is to like just take my time and maybe in a couple of years I'll have my own alcohol diaries and it can be a very powerful thing for people that are going through tough times to kind of read and feel comfortable with knowing that they're not alone.
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During your toughest times, who do you feel like you let down the most? Was it your fans? Was it your family? Was it yourself?
Probably the fans, Matt, I feel bad about it because we were a team, you know, we started together and just letting him down always felt bad. But then again, myself too, and it's always weird when I think back to like, oh, eight and no nine, I was on top of the world in professional wrestling.
And just looking back at that now, oh my God, I had the opportunity to be this huge wrestling star, but sadly, man, and it's obvious. I mean, it's been public for a long time. I pretty much in O9, I pretty much chose drugs and alcohol over professional wrestling. The chance to be a huge wrestling superstar, just because I was scared I was going to fail another drug test or something. And that's sad, the kind of blur I was in.
But I can't dwell on that at all. And that's what I've been doing good about lately. I just don't focus on that at all. I know it is what it is. It was what it was. And I survived and got through it. And now here I am. I have this chance, this last chance to really make an impact approaching 50 years into this life. But you're not the person that you're sitting in front of me right now. If it's not for all of those things that happen.
And that's the amazing thing about life, right? For sure. If you didn't have these highs and these lows, then you don't become this person right now. Exactly. Yeah. That's so true. Yeah. So I think I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be and everything happened exactly how it was supposed to happen. And I think that why this book, man, that I started writing today is going to be extremely powerful and so rewarding if I can really pull it off. It's going to be tough, but
I'd set a gold for myself at home with my motocross track, because again, I love motocross. And I pretty much extended our front yard. The motocross track is part of our front yard now. And it is effing beautiful. But when I started cleaning it up, I was like, oh, I can do this. I'm going to do it.
every single bit of it. I'm going to do it on my own. And man, I'm very close to it being completely finished. And it's just gorgeous, man. I fly my drone up and get a shot of it. And I'm so proud of what I've created. And by the end of my wrestling career, I'm going to look back at it and be extremely proud of what I created with that as well, especially through the ups and the downs. And, you know, never giving up and always being so grateful of this gift of life I am and have.
I love when you're passionate about something. You're passionate about it. We see it with you in wrestling. We see it with you in art. We see it with you in motocross. We see it with you in music.
What part of your personality is it, do you think, that allows you to just dive into something? Well, there's a lot of really cool things have happened since this last time getting sober. One of the scary things that I've always loved, like translating what the music is telling me to write. And even the songs are kind of like journal entries. It's just been so therapeutic for me.
But I, about two years in, I was going, oh my God, I made, I don't think I'm that great of a singer. I was like, and this was from getting sober. Oh my God, shit, I quit. And I was like, no. And you can definitely listen to my old themes in TNA, like the first, you know, two or three. And I'm going to like rerecord those. And that'll be, that'll, it'll be obvious. Oh, wow, he has improved as a singer. He's improved a lot. So I just got. People love, people love those original versions.
Yeah, and I mean, the new version of modest is going to be incredible, man. So we just got to rerecord him. And that's my next goal in TNA to wear the music, the art, and the wrestling will all kind of be at one with each other. I just need to sing modest on the way to the ring before a full mental mayhem match reimagined with the artwork everywhere or something like that. And that's just, it's so exciting to imagine that.
It's funny, I'll show it to you after, but I got your autograph when I was 17, I think. So I was 2000. Your autograph then looks so different from now.
What are the components of your autograph now? It's art. It is. And Matt calls it an artograph. I think that's pretty slick. Yeah. But it's more of a symbol, man. I do these little paintings. I sell at Comic-Cons and all this stuff. And my autograph is in there. And then all these faces, I just get still to this day, get so much joy out of sitting down and getting to that peaceful zone of art.
and I'm able to make money off my artwork now. It's just so, so cool because I still love it just like I did in elementary school, high school. I still get so much joy out of painting my face even because I'm always coming up with these images that I know are possible to
to put on my face and a good example of that is when I did a tribute to the fiend. That just turned out incredible. And I said, oh my God, I've never painted teeth on my lips before. So this is naturally the fiend. Ray White, I had to, you know, show him some love. What did it mean to you to pay tribute to him like that? Oh, the feedback was incredible, man. Just
The love that uh, you know came back from that and people being grateful of that because he was such an amazing Human being and matt got to work where them naturally I would have loved to but I still watched the little pre tape we did backstage when I was coming back from shoulder surgery and uh, we did a little Thing back there. I was about to go out with fin balor and um Seth Rollins and and me matt and braid did a little thing back there and I just oh man it warms my heart every time I see that
What's the significance behind each time you have paint your face? It's like a blank a blank canvas for the day or night, you know, and and it's not really war paint I think it's just from the joy I get of like I call it my alien skin a lot Just because it's like nobody else's and but because of staying in the ultimate warrior I mean that that's why I paint my face to this day, but
The last time in TNA is when I really took it to the next level, when I'd gotten sober, you know, and I'd start painting eyes on my eyelids. And I was like, OK, this is my deal. Stone Cold has his ears and his middle fingers. The rock, which is so charismatic and great on the mic. And this is what I do. I paint my eyelids. And I come out and people touch me. And they reach out and touch me. And hopefully they feel like I felt when I would reach out and touch Sting when I was a kid. And it's just I get so much joy out of painting up each and every night. How do you paint your eyelids?
at one at a time. But it just feels like it'd be. And I guess I don't get that drawing me. Oh, so I can put the pupil in there on the next go around in the other side.
and people come in and out and it's the best when I'm getting to like a peaceful little private zone, a quiet bathroom, but like sometimes I paint it in that crowded bathroom. People are coming in to put hot stuff on and put baby old owner and they're like, oh my God, and there's sometimes, oh God, you're up next, you better put the house show paint on.
You know, things like, no, no, I can't do this. I got to like just take my time and getting that peaceful zone. And every time and naturally when I see it in action figures, that's when okay, that's why I do that. That's why I take because it's immortalized right here on the toy. Yeah. And I get so much. I'm so grateful for each and every action figure that's came out that has the design exactly like I did it on one night. And it's never the same. And so are you able to do it if you can't find a mirror?
No, I can't do it at all. If I can't find a mirror. I got a little mirror. I keep my bag just in case. And we did this thing in a fourth row wrestling a while. But it was the most uncomfortable I've ever been trying to pay my face. I mean, photography and people videoing was all around me. And it was this little bitty mirror. And I was just trying to pay half of my face. But it was all so uncomfortable. But I got it done. And it was good enough for that evening.
No, it's really good when I can get away and just getting that little peaceful zone in a bathroom to myself and just have me in the mirror and the creation evolve. Who's the person who walks into that bathroom with no makeup on their face and who's the person who walks out with a full face of makeup? It's definitely the charismatic enigma, Jeff Hardy and the enlightened.
in light and Jeff already I think now more than ever because I put that on and I just own it I'm not I feel right at home okay this is what I do and there's something about being all painted up and you know going out and just talking to people so normal and my a joke you know that I do from time to time all right after a match is over I say all right I'm about to go to the rodeo and distract some some balls
Here's the, here's this autograph. It was 2001. So you guys were promoting King of the Ring. It was at a pizza pizza in Pickering, Ontario, which is my hometown. Oh my gosh. And the line was so big and they wanted the line to move so quickly. We weren't allowed to take photos with you guys, but I snuck a photo of you guys.
Signing your autographs at pizza pizza. Wow. That is such a pitiful looking autograph. I'm sorry. Oh my god. Compared to what it is now, and it can be done fairly quick, man. That's a rush job. You only had like an hour or two, and there was a lot of people. Oh my goodness. I gotta give you an autograph painting, man, just to make up for that. Oh my gosh. It's so funny how different your autograph looks compared to that.
Yeah, it's evolved like crazy. For the longest time, I didn't put the face, the little profile face in there. It was just the swirls with the J&H and my daughter's an amazing artist, man. She paints stuff like realistic. And a couple of years ago, she started working on her autographs. She's got her own little, it's amazing to live vicariously through our children. And both of my daughters are just such amazing artists. Look at the stack I had to sign there.
Come on. It's not your fault that the autograph was rushed. Look at that stack of paper. Come on. Oh, my God. Yeah, that's a lot. Oh, my God. Yeah, there's a lot. There's no excuse for that. That is a big stack. And it just took me a while to make it what it is today. And I said it yesterday doing interviews. I was like, man, if nothing else,
I might have the in pro wrestling. I might have the coolest signature on planet Earth. And I, and I know that it is just that I feel that it's, it's completely unique and different. I hard to argue with that, right? It is for sure, man. Yeah. Can't think of a better autograph than that. Thank you, man. Yeah. And a lot of people don't see things the way I see them. So I know it's not going to, but I mean, for the most part, it's, it's pretty, it's pretty amazing. How do you see the world?
People don't see things the way you see them. I think I have an abstract mind, man. And I kind of see things in an abstract view, an abstract world. Oh, you're going to give me another autograph right now. Oh, yeah. Cool. OK. Wow. Yeah, this would be great. Let's see. How about. I'm about this guy. I mean, wow. Color here. Yeah. What color do you like to sign in?
This green might look good on this one like this now. It's turning into art. Yeah, maybe the pink will get on this one. Okay, maybe the pink and blue, you know, oh I do a thing with Matt a lot of times He like he'll do that little eye and I do the lips for me and I say man You remember how to do the eye and the lips like when we're these big signings You able to sign on your knees there? Oh, yeah for sure, man
You want to sign on top of the old one? Yeah. This was so cool to do the retro hardy that night. No face pain. No face pain. Yeah. That's old school Jeff Hardy just from the tag team ladder match. Yes. Days. That's like 2000 Jeff Hardy there. Yeah. So that felt so good, man. Artograph.
I've seen you guys at these conventions many, many times. The line is huge. There's no line like a Hardy Boys line. And you spend this much time signing an autograph. Amazing. You know how many wrestlers just do a quick little initial, a little scribble?
I know, man, I always think back to when I think about scribbles of flying Brian and Sting. We were in Fedville, North Carolina, and they were in a rush, got in their car, and flying Brian's autograph was Brian Pillman. It was just, it was like a circle, a little screw. And it was, I was, oh my God, this is what that was. That's, that's not an autograph. Oh, we're getting the second color here. Okay. Oh, man. This is great.
Yeah, I think that there's something about that. There's something about the idea of, like, you're meeting your hero, your legend, someone you've looked up to your entire life, and they're just gonna give you a little squiggle with their wrist.
And yeah, hold this up to the camera. That's more along the lines of the way I saw it now. Man, look at that. That's cool. Yeah, so I take pride in autographs, man. Did you want to personalize? Oh, my gosh. Yes. My one from 24 years ago was not personalized. Oh, my goodness. This is the 17-year-old of me is getting very excited.
Just Chris. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Did you ever have a gimmick name when you were doing Swanton's in the backyard? Chris Sharp. He's sharp talking, sharp walking, sharp dressing. Yeah. Chris Sharp versus Jeff Hardy. I would have been a pretty good match.
Oh, yeah. For sure was a battle of the Swanton. It would have been the first person to hit a Swanton wins. A Swanton match. There you go. Yeah. Oh, my goodness. Wow. That's cool. Thank you.
Yeah, it's hard to argue that there's a cooler autograph and rustler. Yeah, well, man. Yeah, for sure. And I always think about it in my career, my most favorite feud, man, was with a mug. And I had no idea that he used Posca markers to paint his face until I saw it one evening. I was like, whoa, what do you use to paint your face? Because I was just using some Halloween latex or the real greasy Halloween makeup just from Walmart or something.
From that point on, I ordered me some Posca markers and that's why I can do the eyes on my eyelids. Oh man. I was heavily, heavily inspired by the Hardy Boys when I was a backyard wrestler. The twist of fate was my setup move and the swanton was my finisher.
But I'm sure, I'm sure you have a lot of people telling you that like, oh man, I jumped off with a lot of high things because of you guys. Man, we're here all the time, man. And we were like a man, he asked to break, jump off my bunk bed and break the couch and all this stuff. And my mom was so mad. And you know, I broke my bone right in my arm because of you, man. But it's so cool to have to hear that. Oh my God, you were my childhood. We're here that so much. So I'll show you. This is like a compilation is when I showed
I showed Matt some of this, but you'll see some of my backyard wrestling highlights come in there. And this is probably where I saw this one time before. Yeah, let me know what you think of this one time bomb. You've got it, man. There's a few of them in there. Did you ever do the 450 bomb? Terrified. Something like that. Into a pool, maybe. Oh, okay. I always wanted to try that backflip.
Leg dry. There we go. What do you think? Oh, that's a good form, man. Okay. Spinning DDT, twist of faith. Whoa. Drop kick to the back. This is action pack, man. Wow. You know what, tables out there too? We were just jumping off. We weren't putting people through them. Yeah. Oh my God. Very impressive, man. And I'm just glad that I never got seriously injured.
for sure, yeah. Somehow, somewhere. You too, right? For sure, yeah. We started in the trampoline wrestling federation. I think it was called Teens Wrestling Federation at first, like the trampoline was actually a ring, but then we got more professional and just called it the trampoline wrestling federation because that's what it was. We were on the trampoline bouncing around. On a trampoline, you're fearless. Like I can, sure, I can do a 450 on a trampoline. Sure, yeah.
Anywhere else? No, I don't want to fall in my face. Yeah, man. I think the last one I did, I thought I broke my shoulder. I kind of over rotated. I think it was too cool if something was probably the last 450 I ever tried to pull off. You've had such good luck in the ring. It's actually pretty crazy to think that your major injury happened on a dirt bike, not in a wrestling ring.
Yeah, and the worst injury. That was the first time in my life that I could not get up on my own. And we had just won the T&A World Tag Team titles. And I'll never forget Lam. My buddy was out there. He was filming it. And he came up. And he said, I mean, you can walk it off. I mean, no, I can't walk it off. I can't get up.
I said, I thought both my legs were broke. It was just the impact was so. Oh my God, so powerful. But my and my wife coming out there and then oh my God, do I need to call Dixie? I said, yes, call Dixie. And I was like, oh my God, I just really screwed up. Like before an ambulance called Dixie. Yeah, I think it was before. No, I think we'd already called 911. Yeah, for sure. My buddy called 911. And then naturally, Dixie needed to know what happened.
And I think she might even have said, like, to post a video, which was smart, just because I mean, I was going to take a while before I was healed from that. And it did. It was a good year, man, before I was able to just referee that match when Matt won the title from EC3, I think. I was the referee. I tried to paint up all the zebra stripes and all that. But my leg was still like throbbing so bad. So it took me a good year to come back from that. And it was way worse than any wrestling injury.
What's your worst wrestling injury? Oh, there's not really one, man. I was just like, which is insane. It is. With the way that you've wrestled your entire career. Yeah, it is, man. It's there's not, it might be, I would say like when I had to have rotator cuff surgery, I'd, but I just threw an uppercut and heard a pop. Like, and I was, oh my God, it's something happening. That was my first surgery from, from pro wrestling. Um,
But I always say RVD, there's when I just admired and loved watching RVD and Saaboo, you know, in ECW. And that's like where the poetry and motion came from. And to be working with RVD, I just wanted to do something unique off a 14 foot ladder and go through the table vertical instead of sideways like you would normally put somebody through a table.
And I remember like Vance was like, why do you want to do like that? I've never seen him. I do it like this before. I just like to do it. But man, that table exploded. And that's I thought my back was all jacked up really bad after that. It just knocked the wind out. I mean, I was like, they carried me out on a stretcher, but I was all right. But that's probably the most pain I've ever been in from a wrestling, any kind of wrestling move. What's your relationship like with fear?
God, fear is part of the fun. I say that all the time and that's from motocross. But I've never, just because it's you, I'll just share this story too. Being I've already mentioned rehab and all that stuff.
There was three new jumps I'd made on my motocross track. Like right before I broke my TV and I was scared of all three of them. I just created the, it's kind of like, I always kind of viewed TLC matches like the X games of pro wrestling. Like we're going to create these obstacles and these situations and we're going to conquer them. Like, you know, I would conquer things on my dirt bike, these jumps I would create.
With with my dirt bike in the first two man that they were so scared, but they went so smooth and so great I've got the videos of them. I should compare them like at some point But anyway before those first two jumps I did I had two beers before each jump just because I guess like the liquid courage deal or something and I was like mad and they went so good and
When I went to jump that 100 foot triple, I was like, no, I'm going to wait till after I make this jump to drink two beers. And man, and I still tell myself, if I would have had them two, I would have probably, I might have overshot that thing just because I would have been that little whatever liquid courage that would have went in my system might have gave me the, you know, the, the, the belief to like make it over that jump. But who knows? I might not have, but I think I would have.
Because I did, I let off right at the tip of the jump, thinking I was going to overshoot and it was such a far gap. But yeah, I just wonder, like, something I can't change. But if I would have drunk two beers, I wonder if I would have broke my leg that night, that day. Because it was, oh my God, it was so the worst injury I've ever had. What's the most scared you've been in a wrestling match?
Definitely my first huge swan ton bomb and tea at my first run in in tna It was the one against the Biss and rhino I think from the top of the and it was over the stage Yeah, and and I even like there was one little area I don't think I told him that I was gonna go up to it But I just noticed that area about three foot taller that I might could get up to to just make it more impressive and and I jumped over and
I forget his name, the manager with the opera. James Fender. The sinister minister. Yeah, Jim Mitchell. And he was not in Mitchell, right? Yes. Yeah. And I made cleared it and it was so, so scary because when I got to that peak, I looked back down at like the monitor area where people were watching the show and I was like, oh my God, this, this might be it. Jeff, this might be the end of your career.
Let's go and and didn't and then I think I even made it back to the ring to take a power driver off the second rope from rhino But that was this I think the scariest I've ever been because that one's not just high it's far
Like, so you're jumping out as well. Yeah, and there was no padding, nothing either down there. It was just two tables. It might have been two tables. It might have just been one table. I can't remember, but luckily, man, it all worked out. And that's what I love about Pro Wrestling, because I do live for those moments when I'm scared of something, but then it goes so good. I'm okay.
That's what I do. That's what I do. That's why it was so exciting to wear that retro hardy gear when we had the tables match with the system. And for it all, it goes so good. It's just all the possibilities in the future. Before my career is over, I'm super stoked about it. What are you thinking about when you're in that moment about to jump, about to do a swan tone?
And dear God, please, please allow me to get up from this. Be with me. Holy Spirit, great Spirit, please be with me through this. You know, and the energy from the people too, I think is a strange connection I've always had. Just because man, I've never really
Acted that much you know in wrestling. It's always been me you see out there a guy that paints his face and you know goes out there and just Entertains people and and don't talk that much That just growing up kind of you know shy and you know just to myself and I just always love
creation, creating things, just whatever my brain and heart like tells me to create. But yeah, it's just I have such a good bond with the wrestling audiences for the most part. Naturally, I've heard that in a way throughout this time. And there's always going to be the disbelievers and the people that doubt me. But that's good. That's going to make it even better as long as I stay on the straight and narrow.
You know, nothing will stop me. You said earlier that your swan tons are hitting better now. What were they hitting like for a while? It was the crouton bomb for the longest time. I was like killing me. I just could not control it anymore and I didn't know it. It must have been. I was just too anxious to get to that next bottle or something. I don't know. It was out of control. But now, man, the portrait emotions back. Swan tons haven't been croutons. So I'm in such a good place, man. Am I?
My wife and daughters, man, without them. I mean, I would not be here. They are my, they are my existence, man, for sure. And my world, you know, in itself. So yeah, I'm glad I'm not crew ton of people anymore, but every now and then it's probably going to happen to me. Have they been the ones who've really helped the most with your recovery? Oh, for sure, man. Yeah, just believing in me and not giving up on me. That's and I've wrote a lot about that in music.
And I think what I'm trying, I think something's happening in my brain to where I'm starting to understand range and tone a little more vocal lessons would really help. But man, I just, I love like, and I say things differently too. I've noticed even when I was doing those journal entries and when I just write songs, okay, I say things a little differently. Kind of like backwards sometimes, but this is good. This is who I am and what I do. But yeah, just them believing in me has been, oh my God, everything. If she would have left me, I mean, it was,
I would probably be dead man for sure, especially after my dad. She was such a hero in all that too. When I went there to help my dad, she did some crazy things to be there for my dad to get him through some tough times and situations that are very, just a lot of trauma throughout all that time leading up to my dad's death. Yes, she is, oh my gosh, she is the love of my life and I'm so grateful for her and my daughters.
before the WWE came out with the women's tag team championships. I was like, man, I have the Hardy girls. They might be the first tag team, women tag team, and they can be literally be the Hardy girls. This might be cool. And then it was soon after that, that thought.
Uh, that WWE came out with the women's tag team championships. I was like, oh my god, it must be meant to be. They're going to be the Hardy girls. Do they want a Russell? No, but they don't have any interest in it. Well, you're probably like, thank God. Yeah. And I'm like, Hey, if y'all ever, even my oldest daughter Ruby, like she's so creative and just beautiful and grown up. Uh, she's mentioned about like wanting to maybe get in a ring and try some stuff. So she ever like gets serious about it. I mean, of course, I'll.
that her and my youngest daughter would be the only people I'd probably ever train. I say that now, but just to give some secrets away to what's helped me along the way. But yeah, the way everything now, it don't seem like the Hardy girls are going to be a thing in the pro wrestling future. When you say your wife believed in you so much, was there a point when you didn't believe in yourself?
Oh yeah, I think so for sure. And it was probably through that time with my dad because as I mentioned earlier, you know, I was 10 when my mom passed away from cancer and I think she was diagnosed like a year later is when she passed away and me, Matt and my dad were right there in the hospital room when she took her last breath and
And I've always thought I was, oh my God, especially now having kids. I was like, there's going to be a time I was just so amazed at how he took care of us as a single parent. And and got us to where we needed to be to succeed in life, especially with this pro wrestling thing. Because at first, he had no idea why I was working my ass off landscaping, saving up to buy a ladder. He had no idea. And then destroying it. What are you doing? Why are you doing? That's a perfectly good ladder.
But ultimately, when we succeeded in wrestling, he started seeing the ladder matches. I mean, he was our biggest fan, for sure. But when that time came, for me to take care of him, I did my best, but he was ready to go. He'll be the legend hero for the rest of my existence here.
And I see it now as my human creators being out in the stars, man. And we will, my soul will reunite with them when it's time. And I believe that. I believe we're out there in the stars when we pass away if we deserve an afterlife. So, you know, I'm very, I feel like I have a very enlightened soul and look, especially with this crazy world and social media now, like I,
I try to use it a little bit, but I'm still kind of like afraid of it. I don't really understand it now, especially seeing raw Netflix. I'm like, what is happening here? This looks so huge. And a friend of mine sent me a video package. And I was like, Oh my God, if that night, the Netflix, the first role in Netflix. And I was like, Oh my God, this is powerful. The future is here. And that's what it looked like. I was like, Oh my God, this is the future. Like where does it go from here?
It's difficult because your name is Jeff Hardy. You wrestle as Jeff Hardy. They're one and the same. At the same time, they're also different people, right? Is it difficult because your life is on display as Jeff Hardy?
I don't know. It's weird too because my personal life kind of became my professional life back in oh wait no nine with the you know and that a lot of people you know that's messed up they're going there man but I mean in a way I think it
It held me, but also, looking back at it now, I go, oh my God, was that the right thing to do? Because that is my personal life. And now here we are in my professional. It's super interesting, like me and the storyline and the feud with CM Punk was just so amazing. And that kind of helped make it that way, because we were complete opposites. But yeah, it's just like there's really no difference in Jeff Hardy. That's why I'm excited, too.
alter ego of mine author Nero of mine named willow and he appeared in tna my last run in tna and there's a new mask with a brand new face plate and man i haven't tried it on yet but when i go pick it up and if it fits real good i'm sure i'm going to get excited about possibilities with you know a way darker side of jeff hardy or way more uh...
just spiritual, innovative character that Willows never actually been in the past. The original idea with Willows, like nothing makes sense because he's not human. And he's just some alien and he's the God of my imagination. That's kind of where it all started. But for him to be like my dark passenger and kind of guy, Jeff Hardy, into this, you know, different zone and pro wrestling, I think there might be something pretty powerful within that idea.
So that's something we might see this year in TNA? I feel like it. I feel like it for sure. Yeah. So if I throw up a willow promo on social media or something and it's decent, I mean, that'll be the test, I guess, to see the feedback and then, you know, go from there. You delivered one of the hardest chair shots in the history of pro wrestling to Brock Lesnar.
walked me through what that was like. Oh man, I had been taking the three power bombs so much, like night after night. And I just felt like it was my chance to get it in, you know. And we were out there and Matt followed up with a chair shot with the echo in that building that night was just crazy. And then Matt followed up and he just, you know, went out of the ring. And I was like, the adrenaline was flowing, you know, because it was such a loud chair shot.
He didn't go down. Yeah, he didn't go down. He could see he is a beast of a man But then I think after that I found out through Paul Heyman that that was the first chair shot he had ever took to the head. Oh my god. I had no idea But I got some sorry He's gonna expect them to all be like that. Oh my god
Like you hit him like he owed you money or something. I mean it's almost half a second of silence doing the bill and people are like, it's like a time stop for half a second. It just, it echoed through the bill. Oh my God, that was extreme. You've had a lot of those moments where time has stopped, it's gotten silent because people are like, is Jeff okay?
You probably had a few dozen of those moments. Yeah, for sure. And I still, even I think me being older now, I'm 47 years in. And even I've always took pride in selling. And I've always said, I shine when I say, oh man, just get into the heat quick. I'm that kind of guy. And then I'll make a killer comeback.
And it's worked for me man, it's how to exaggerate reality just right and that's another thing I'm really excited about with the rascals, you know, I've been watching some of these matches that they've had and all these combos they do and just trying to envision some counters and it's going to be super interesting Genesis and I feel like it's going to be the genesis of a new Hardy Bob as well.
There's a little bit of hearties in what they do, I feel like. Maybe it's not like a new generation of hearties. So you put you guys in there with the rascals. That's gonna be good. Yeah, for sure, it's exciting, man. So yeah, I look forward to...
Genesis being the first big main match of 2025 and oh my god and by the time by the time January 2026 rolls around who knows like where TNA is going to be at how good the shows are going to be how much it's evolving and grown and
what are Matt and Jeff Hardy like. As pro wrestlers, we manifest all the time and that's one thing in recovery. This go round. I really studied meditation and really took time to learn about meditation.
just out of fear of having to do a long stint in prison. Now I finally understand what meditation is, just giving your brain a break. And when you can do that, now I'm able to do it.
like so kind of flawlessly and out being out in nature it helps a lot but just man I can 30 minutes can feel like two minutes man when I get in that zone of actually giving my mind a break from all the daily stressors and worries that all of us human beings have the meditation is huge and along with meditation I
I kind of met a fest as well. I think about my wrestling future and what I would like to achieve and visualize. And I see it exactly like it's going to happen. And it's been so far, so good. Well, like things I've seen and they end up coming into reality and just like I saw them before.
What does it look like right now? Do you think about how much longer you can do this? Not at all. No, I just I just said a joke a few weeks ago at this show we did and my humor is different to even if my music shows I'm like I know a lot of people don't get my humor and it can be I don't I guess it can be dark at times but I just said that I you know I by the time I'm 50 I might you know go back to
to the E and, you know, retire seeing punk, and then maybe go in the hall of fame. But there were things like it was like, that was seriously what I'm manifesting, which is not the case at all. I just said that thinking I was being funny. And I think that was right after I painted my face so uncomfortably in front of all those people. But everybody took that as gospel. Yeah. That party says he's going to retire seeing punk. Yeah. And that becomes like a run over. I didn't mean that at all. I just thought it might be funny.
But it could happen. And yeah, and the reality is it could happen, man, because our feud meant, still, I get so many compliments on that, man. With people that are adults now, you know, say, oh, man, that's you and punk. The feud was amazing. So even in AW, I felt like there was a moment for me and punk.
Like at least just some kind of face off or uncomfortable like us running in each other in the backstage or something. But we never got to do that. But man, ultimately, I would love to revisit that feud in some way. And who knows, man, if CM Punk is such a superpower in the pro wrestling game.
But man, if Jeff Hardy getting sober made him like an asshole, I mean, come on, Jeff, he'll Jeff Hardy against the one and only popular CM Punk. I mean, I feel like that's completely possible. Well, there's a working relationship with TNA and WWE. It seems completely plausible that the Hardy boys would be in WWE at some point this year.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. And man, there's never been a real heel, hardy run. And I was so excited about that in AEW. But I know I own what I've done. And it was my fault. I really let Matt down with the whole AEW thing. I think even AEW, man, before I broke my nose, wrestling Sammy Guevara.
My my my thinking was like man, we're not being used up What if I can be like a hill on social media and send out some tweets and that it evidently wasn't Professional it but again it was not like I was being serious. I just said something like you know Collision was designed for punks and and that just I but I ended up getting getting three matches out of that would squirt strickling John Moxley and
And then Sammy and I, in that match, in all those matches, I had that feeling, that passion, I could feel it again with them myself. Oh my God, this is, I love this. I can still, I got a lot more left in the tank. And I experienced that, but then naturally injury happens and my nose was broken naturally. That was going to take a while to.
to heal and things just worked out the way they worked out. I'm so glad to be back in TNA and I'm super excited, man, because TNA has been there for me in dark times, man. When I left the pro wrestling world in 09 and gotten my situation, man, TNA employed me and they supported me.
Oh my god, like I said earlier, 2012 was one of the best years of my career. I was from sobriety. I was doing really good. And I just eventually eased into that drinking alcohol again. It took a while, but it just slowly, it slowly caught up to me and got me. Was 2012 such a great year because 2011 was.
Not probably yeah, it took the little as everybody knows the the thing with staying my hero You know that oh my god the embarrassment from that I was really able to to go home and get straight before my conviction from the the arrest and in 2009 and God just coming back from that it was
It was such a good feeling to know that I still could offer TNA a lot, you know, and I still had a lot left to prove. But yeah, that's definitely why, because 2011 was, yeah, all that was stressful leading up to that conviction. So I needed to go home for a while. And yeah, my daughter had just been born too. So it was, yeah, yeah, that's definitely what made it such a good year, because 2011 was still kind of dark. Do you remember anything from Victory Road?
I remember going out there and I remember, I remember just Sting roughing me up and like throwing me to the mat. So I remember, and naturally we say like, he shot on me, but Eric Bishop told him to pin me because I was a zombie. And it was obvious when you watched the tape. Face paint and I was kind of in my A throughout that whole evening. Sting had talked about this one killer spot I was gonna do. It was something like the twist of hate with the head and the chair.
But I was going to take his finish, the reverse thing in a chair. And I was scared of that because I was, oh my God, I'm going to break my neck. I don't know if I should do this. But anyway, I remember sobering up after that. And Jeff Jarrett and even Hogan, man, and knowing I had to go home and get straight. And they gave me another chance, man. When I did go back, I did this song called Resurrected. And Bruce Pritchard was there, I believe.
He made me go in the locker room and apologize to everybody. And I don't think I've ever been that nervous in my life. I was so nervous in front of all these professional wrestlers that I admire and love so much, but I had to go in there and just, you know, say I'm sorry for what I did on pay-per-view. But that was good for me. It helped me heal.
And yeah, so I just moved on from there and had a really good 2012. But yeah, such a such a dark time with Sting and every time I've seen Sting since, I mean, he's just such a such a good good dude and such a support. And then yeah, so I've just had a lot of dark dark times from the alcoholism and the drug addiction stuff. It feels good to be on the other side of that. And you're an amazing redemption story.
Cause when you think about, your lows were really low, but your highs have been really high as well. Yeah. For sure. And that's what that, that's what's so exciting about, I think life right now is when I do get up in the mornings and I'm a big ice bathroom now and I've been doing it for about two years. Uh, I was about a year sober when I did my first ice bath and, uh, I stayed in for about two or three minutes and went under and just held my breath for as long as I could. Came out of the cold water and, and stood up and I was like, whoa.
Wow, there was something about this in my head. Even if I thought, well, this is OK. I might start doing this on a regular basis. And now I don't do them every day. I do them every other day, for sure. But oh my god. And I still
I haven't got used to it at all after two years. I still hesitate sometimes to get in that cold water, especially even the other day at home. It was raining outside and I've been doing it in my pool because my pool is crazy freezing now and I'll go out there in the rain and the cold water to be good spiritually after nature and all that stuff.
It took me forever to go out there. I just went in there out there and dove in, did a little swim and then it was so uncomfortable and then just kind of meditated for three or four minutes and got out and I felt so much better. I was ready to conquer the day. So yeah, I'm a huge believer in ice baths.
Yeah, after a cold plunge, you feel like you could fight a bear. Like that dopamine hit is crazy. Yeah, for sure. And even man, when you and Matt talked about the kangaroos, I was the first one and it was so surreal. I had to do it first and I locked up. You fought a kangaroo smoking Joe and he was Jack, man. And I was.
And he locked up really good. It was like a legit lockup. And I'm sitting here looking this kangaroo in the eye. Oh my God, what are we doing? Then he started kicking me to the knee. He started kicking my knee. And we were still locked up. And it was his head was so still and zoned in on me.
My god, that was it's not fun for him right like yeah, he probably did serious business route torture trauma for him It's like what are these humans doing to me? But just the footage from that and one of my funniest moments of the broken universe without a doubt was when Matt went around with smoking Joe You can see a mouse in that gold kind of Egyptian get up and he said he said punish me punish me
he said punish me and I fell out oh my god. Jeremy Barash was such a genius with the way he saw everything and God there was even a point eventually to where I was going to be more like broken mat and some footage is probably somewhere but it never aired but it was I think I was this song called redemption I just started writing.
And I was singing redemption to a donkey, I think. Like, right in his face, and I was sitting here in the donkey. After all this stuff, and I was going, you and I surrender to me. And I'm not sure what the outro was like on that. But yeah, I was singing to a donkey, but that never aired. Well, you need to put that out somewhere. If it's still, oh, definitely. Because it felt super insanely good.
It's great seeing you back in TNA because like you said, TNA has been willing to give you opportunity after opportunity. And now I feel like you're able to give back to TNA when you're in a headspace where you're really able to do it. For sure. Yeah. And that's why I'm so grateful for TNA. And I think everything did work out exactly how it was supposed to with me being able to go back. And there was even one moment.
When I found out Matt went back to TNA and I watched the footage and I was like, oh god, maybe I need to stay with AW to continue to prove myself. I would then really have some of these killer matches. Some of these guys are on a different level with these matches they're having.
But then I was like, wait, what am I? I had such a good run in TNA last time. And the merchandise they came out was so cool. I started doing the eyelid paint and everything was so good. The last time in TNA, what am I? There were so many innovative bumps I did throughout that run.
And I said, no, this is exactly the way it's supposed to be. So naturally, I called Matt and agreed to show up. But yeah, at this time, I'm glad I didn't try to run and do the Duke at the same time. That's one of the, I can't believe I still do the same. Why would I try to do Duke and run, save my brother my first time in AEW? Hey, it's so bizarre. And I've even practiced it since to see if it's possible. And I don't think it's not smoothly possible at all.
Well, people were like, does he really want to save him or does he want to dance? Yeah, yeah. Oh, my God. So that was crazy. So yeah, when I returned to TNA, it was kind of stone cold time just out with a new thing. I painted a chair, me and my daughter painted a chair when I came back to AW.
And um to see that chair in an action figure now, it's just it's kind of immortalizing. It's just oh my god It's so rewarding because the hairs on that little the little man on the chair and my daughter Nira So he picked some hairs on his chest and that I took my time with that one too. So it's really like it But to see that in action figure man, that was so cool So I painted a chair that day when I returned so that was my thing and I just came out with the chair and just
cool, calm, cool, and collective, and here I am, total nonstop action, I was back. Before we wrap this up, Devon recently told a story of WrestleMania 18. You guys are both up there hanging on. He's terrified of heights. Take me to that moment where you're both hanging up there before the spear off the ladder.
man that was even in that first tag team ladder match i think i had that in my mind if a human being could hang up there on that thing i've been seeing that for a long time if that was even possible uh... so that was the night we got to you know we got to actually to do it uh... and two people to be up there and uh...
I think maybe the spear was the first thing, wasn't it? Yeah, I guess there were different spots. Yeah. Yeah, the spear was the first time I sang up there. But anyway, Devon were like two humans were holding on to the thing up there. And he took such an impressive bump. I just saw that recently. Yeah, it was pretty clean. How he got so flat and went down. I was kicking the hell out of him.
I think we're in North Carolina, too, and that might be why I was so excited. But I think it just artistically looks so cool when he does take the bump, and I'm just going to spin in there and then, you know, Edge and Christian hit me with the ladder. But he had props to Devon on taking a killer bump. But what a moment for me. And he was
Oh, no, no, stop it. I'm not ready. You know, those moments. If you ever loved me. Yeah. And I was like, oh, kind of upper body jacked and, you know, hanging on up there like real strong and kicking him. But yeah, watching back, that was, wow, that was a breakthrough moment for TLC matches. That was a memory for the books.
talking about that other moment. Did you think that he was even possible to land a clean bump off of that spear from the ladder? Oh, for sure. 100%. I know it was going to be scary. The scariest thing was like over rotating and then on my head, I think. But the way all that worked out, bub, but pulling that ladder back. And then that gave me the little momentum into edge and edge really like took care of me. He really grabbed on it.
And but it was just so impressive man. It's so so cool to hear like rig flare he'll say oh my god that spot was so amazing and it's and it has been a mortalized and professional wrestling you you see it replayed all the time Even watching Netflix the first row on Netflix. I was all that bumps gotta be in there But I don't think despair was in there, but there was a I think when I swamped on Spike Dudley and Rhino was in there. I was like oh
I'm a little microscopic piece of this show. So that was pretty, pretty cool to see. You might be more than a, you know, you might be a bigger piece of that show at some point in time. For sure, man. And speaking about recovery, man, I don't know if you, I'm sure you realize this, but in your phones, you know, we're always deleting pictures. And, you know, but then when you delete something that, you know,
It shouldn't have been deleted. You can go back and review it before it's deleted if 30 days passes by or something. And it says recovery. You can recover it. So I've had this in my brain for a while, and I've even wrote out some ideas for a match. But it's kind of like a spinoff from the final deletion. But it would kind of be switching roles to where it would kind of be my deal. And it would be called the final recovery.
But it was it so who knows man the possibilities are so exciting and I'm going to keep writing you know ideas out and keep seeing these images in my head and that's what I love about the craft of pro wrestling because when you can see something you can manifest and you really manifest and bring it into a show in front of thousands millions of people I mean that's just so rewarding and I was definitely born to be a professional wrestler and and I know that now more than like more than ever so
I know that gratitude is a big part of your life. It's a huge part of my life as well. And that's what we're going to wrap this up on. By the way, thank you for everything. I can't thank you. Great to be able to sit down with you 14 years later. 14 years since our first interview together. Yeah, it was that in Detroit. It was in Cleveland. It was in Cleveland. In what looked like a boiler room, like back alley looking thing. There was like a cave, or not a cave, but a fence that looked like a cage. Oh yeah, I remember that.
And I do remember the Ring of Honor after seeing that clip. I kind of remember that. I was kind of in brother Nero had space with that. But what are three things in your life you're grateful for as we sit here right now, Jeff? Oh, God. Three things I'm grateful for. Man, it's just, I mean, health is naturally one, but it's got to be my family. I mean, my wife, my daughters, I mean, those three human
beings or three things that I need to survive and live on. And yeah, so I'm so thankful for my family for sure. I couldn't do none of this without them. If that gave up on me, I would for sure gave up on myself.
I love that, Paul. So good to see you. You too, man. Appreciate you, man. Yeah, I'm grateful for Earth, too. Earth is kind of God, in a sense, when I think about life and the sun and the moon, I'm like, OK, Earth is definitely a sphere because the sun and the moon appear to be a sphere. And that's got to be a sphere. Oh, these flat earthers. Anyway, Earth, I'm just very grateful to be on this planet at 47 years old. Yeah, I love that. What a great way to end it. Thank you, man.
Big thank you to Jeff for sitting down with us and for just being so open and honest during this conversation. And as always, thank you for listening and listening all the way until the end. Jeff actually left a comment on the video, like that we were previewing, like this video is coming up, this interview is coming up. He left a comment on there and he said, oh man, I wish that I had given you these three things as the three things I was grateful for. So he says, my family, pro wrestling and dogs.
hard to argue with those three. I know that we love our little pupper Luna. It's just the cutest little thing, but my family pro wrestling and dogs. I think those are three very solid answers. TNA Genesis this Sunday, January 19th in Dallas, the hardies defending their TNA world tag team championships against the rascals. Grab your tickets at tna wrestling.com. This was a conversation that was a long, long time in the making.
Like I said in the intro, 14 years since we did that first one. And I'm so glad we were able to bring it back around here. And I feel like we got a lot more to talk about. So round three at some point, hopefully soon, hopefully not in what that be.
Hopefully not in 2039. Well, that would be 14 years from now. Crazy. Snap a screenshot and tag us and let us know that you're listening. He's at Jeff Hardy brand. I'm at Chris Van Vliet and I will leave you with this quote from Heraclitus. Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become.
be great and be grateful, my friends. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. We got Matt Hardy joining us on Thursday. We'll see you back here for that one.
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