Jeffrey (Jeff) Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler currently performing on the RAW brand of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he is the reigning Intercontinental Champion. He is also known for his original run in World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment with his brother Matt Hardy as the Hardy Boyz from 1998-2002.
Matt and Jeff Hardy had a dream of becoming the best wrestlers since a young age. They watched wrestling often and by the time Jeff was 16, he had been on WWF TV as a jobber. Jeff, along with Matt and friends, started their own federation, the TWF (Trampoline Wrestling Federation) and mimicked the moves they saw on TV. Later on, the federation went under several different names, eventually being integrated into a county fair in North Carolina, USA. Jeff, Matt, and friends then began to work for other independent companies. They drove all over the East Coast of the United States, working for companies such as ACW and other small promotions.
Before arriving in the World Wrestling Federation, Matt had formed his own wrestling promotion, OMEGA (Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts) with Thomas Simpson. The promotion was a more successful version of the original TWF and included such talent as Matt, Jeff, Shannon Moore, Gregory Helms, Amy Dumas, Joey Matthews, Caprice Coleman, and many others. In OMEGA, Matt and Jeff each had several different characters. Jeff portrayed such characters as Willow the Wisp, Iceman, Mean Jimmy Jack Tomkins, Wolverine, and The Masked Mountain.
The Hardy brothers eventually caught the eyes of the World Wrestling Federation, and after being signed to a contract in 1998, they were trained by former wrestler Dory Funk, Jr. in his Funkin' Dojo with other notable wrestlers such as Kurt Angle, Christian, Test, and A-Train. When the team were finally brought up to WWF TV, they formed the acrobatic tag team called The Hardy Boyz.
The team of Matt and Jeff won the WWE Tag Team Championship on five occasions, ensuring they would be known as one of the most successful tag teams in WWE history. In 2000, Matt and Jeff found a new manager in their real-life friend Lita. Together, the three became known as "Team Xtreme".
Jeff Hardy standing atop a ladder.Jeff would gain attention for his high risk stunts in the TLC matches in the year 2000 and 2001 (the Hardy Boyz) and 2002 (Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam) and made a name for himself as one of the most seemingly reckless and unorthodox WWF performers of his time. In 2001, Jeff would also hold both the WWE Intercontinental and Light Heavyweight Championships.
In early April of 2002 The Hardy Boyz began a feud with Brock Lesnar after Lesnar gave Matt an F-5 on the steel entrance ramp, which led to an angered Jeff seeking revenge on Lesnar. At Backlash 2002 Jeff faced-off against Lesnar in his first televised match. Lesnar dominated Hardy and won the match by knockout.
Lesnar and the Hardys would continue to feud over the next few weeks, with Lesnar coming out victorious every time. At Judgement Day 2002, Lesnar gained the upper hand on the Hardy Boyz before tagging, his partner, Heyman in to claim the win for the team.
After years in the tag team division, Jeff stepped up and took on The Undertaker in a Ladder match for the Undisputed Championship. Jeff came up short, but earned the Undertaker's respect. Jeff competed for singles titles on several occasions, but was unsuccessful. Finally, the Hardy Boyz split apart, as Jeff continued to pursue his singles ambitions and brother Matt was drafted to SmackDown! and Jeff continued on RAW. After this he would tease a heel turn by attacking several superstars.
Jeff was in few angles after that. He first teamed with Shawn Michaels and then hooked up with Trish Stratus after saving her from Steven Richards and Victoria. In his last match before being released, Jeff was defeated by The Rock. Jeff was released from WWE on April 22, 2003. The reasons given for the release were Jeff's erratic behavior, deteriorating ring performance, increasing drug use, and refusal to enter rehab as well as constant tardiness and no-showing events
After his original run in WWF/E, Jeff returned to wrestling to perform with the Ring of Honor. Jeff first appeared at ROH's 2003 show, Death Before Dishonor, under his "Willow the Wisp" gimmick, wearing a mask and trench coat. Jeff was quickly unmasked and lost his jacket, wearing attire similar to that he wore in WWE. Jeff was booed and heckled before, during, and after the match by the ROH audience, who chanted "We want Matt!" and "You got fired!" during his match with Joey Matthews and Krazy K, which Jeff won.
Hardy debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on June 23, 2004 at the TNA Second Anniversary Show in a match against TNA X Division champion A.J. Styles, for the title. He also debuted his new entrance theme "Modest" and his nickname was the Charismatic Enigma. The match ended in a no-contest when Kid Kash and Dallas interfered. Hardy returned to TNA on July 21, 2004, and was awarded a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy challenged for the title on the final weekly TNA pay-per-view on September 8, 2004, losing to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett.
Hardy teamed with A.J. Styles and Ron Killings throughout mid-2004. In October 2004 he won a tournament, earning a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on November 7, 2004 at Victory Road 2004. Hardy was defeated by Jarrett once again in a ladder match at Victory Road following interference from Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. One month later on December 5, 2004 at Turning Point 2004, Hardy, Styles and Randy Savage defeated Jarrett, Hall and Nash (collectively known as the Kings of Wrestling). Hardy went on to defeat Hall in a single match at Final Resolution 2005 on January 16, 2005.
At Against All Odds 2005 on February 13, 2005, Hardy lost to Abyss in a "Full Metal Mayhem" match for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. However, he went on to defeat Abyss in a falls count anywhere match at Destination X 2005 on March 13, 2005. Hardy then went on to feud with Raven, with Hardy defeating Raven in a steel cage match at Lockdown 2005 on April 24, 2005. Hardy was suspended from TNA after no-showing his "Clockwork Orange House of Fun" rematch with Raven at Hard Justice 2005 on May 15, 2005, allegedly due to travel difficulties. Hardy's suspension was lifted on August 5, 2005, with Hardy returning to TNA at Sacrifice 2005 on August 14, 2005, attacking Jeff Jarrett. He wrestled his first TNA match in four months at Unbreakable on September 11, 2005, losing to Bobby Roode following interference from Jarrett.
Throughout October 2005, Hardy became embroiled in a feud with Abyss, Rhino and Sabu. The four way feud culminated in a Monster's Ball match at Bound for Glory 2005 on October 23, 2005, which was won by Rhino. In the course of the match, Hardy delivered a Swanton Bomb to Abyss from a height of approximately seventeen feet (5.18 meters). Later that night, Hardy competed in a ten-man battle royal for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which was also won by Rhino. At Genesis 2005 on November 13, 2005, Hardy lost to Monty Brown in another number one contender match.
Jeff Hardy as the Intercontinental Champion in 2006Hardy was scheduled to wrestle on the pre-show of Turning Point 2005 at December 11, 2005, but once again no-showed the event, again citing traveling problems. Hardy was suspended as a result and did not appear in TNA again. In March, April and May 2006, Hardy appeared on several house shows promoted by TNA in conjunction with Dave Hebner and the United Wrestling Federation.
On August 4, 2006, WWE announced that Hardy had re-signed with the company. In the following weeks, Jeff Hardy vignettes aired hyping his return on the August 21, 2006 episode of RAW. At his return he defeated Edge by disqualification. After failing to capture the Intercontinental Championship from Johnny Nitro over the next few weeks, including at Unforgiven 2006, Hardy finally defeated Nitro to win his second Intercontinental Championship on the October 2, 2006 edition of RAW. On the November 6, 2006 episode of RAW, Hardy lost the Intercontinental Championship back to Johnny Nitro, after Nitro hit him with the Intercontinental Championship title belt. Just a week after he lost the Intercontinental title to Nitro, Hardy regained it on the November 13, 2006 edition of RAW, with a crucifix pin. This marked Hardy's third reign as Intercontinental Champion.
On the November 21, 2006 episode of ECW on Sci Fi Jeff teamed with his brother Matt for the first time in almost five years. They had their old titantron video and music and defeated the Full Blooded Italians. At Survivor Series 2006, these two were in team DX against Team Rated-RKO, over whom they gained the victory with a sweep. Jeff and Matt then got their first opportunity since teaming up to win a tag team championship. They competed in a 4-team, for the WWE Tag-Team Championship in a Ladder match at Armageddon 2006, but came up short in their attempt.
With Jeff Hardy still feuding with Johnny Nitro and MNM into 2007, Jeff was challenged once again by Johnny Nitro at New Year's Revolution 2007 in a Steel Cage Match for the Intercontinental Championship, Hardy once again defeated Nitro. At Royal Rumble 2007 the Hardyz once again defeated MNM in a tag team match.
Matt and Jeff Hardy had a dream of becoming the best wrestlers since a young age. They watched wrestling often and by the time Jeff was 16, he had been on WWF TV as a jobber. Jeff, along with Matt and friends, started their own federation, the TWF (Trampoline Wrestling Federation) and mimicked the moves they saw on TV. Later on, the federation went under several different names, eventually being integrated into a county fair in North Carolina, USA. Jeff, Matt, and friends then began to work for other independent companies. They drove all over the East Coast of the United States, working for companies such as ACW and other small promotions.
Before arriving in the World Wrestling Federation, Matt had formed his own wrestling promotion, OMEGA (Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts) with Thomas Simpson. The promotion was a more successful version of the original TWF and included such talent as Matt, Jeff, Shannon Moore, Gregory Helms, Amy Dumas, Joey Matthews, Caprice Coleman, and many others. In OMEGA, Matt and Jeff each had several different characters. Jeff portrayed such characters as Willow the Wisp, Iceman, Mean Jimmy Jack Tomkins, Wolverine, and The Masked Mountain.
The Hardy brothers eventually caught the eyes of the World Wrestling Federation, and after being signed to a contract in 1998, they were trained by former wrestler Dory Funk, Jr. in his Funkin' Dojo with other notable wrestlers such as Kurt Angle, Christian, Test, and A-Train. When the team were finally brought up to WWF TV, they formed the acrobatic tag team called The Hardy Boyz.
The team of Matt and Jeff won the WWE Tag Team Championship on five occasions, ensuring they would be known as one of the most successful tag teams in WWE history. In 2000, Matt and Jeff found a new manager in their real-life friend Lita. Together, the three became known as "Team Xtreme".
Jeff Hardy standing atop a ladder.Jeff would gain attention for his high risk stunts in the TLC matches in the year 2000 and 2001 (the Hardy Boyz) and 2002 (Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam) and made a name for himself as one of the most seemingly reckless and unorthodox WWF performers of his time. In 2001, Jeff would also hold both the WWE Intercontinental and Light Heavyweight Championships.
In early April of 2002 The Hardy Boyz began a feud with Brock Lesnar after Lesnar gave Matt an F-5 on the steel entrance ramp, which led to an angered Jeff seeking revenge on Lesnar. At Backlash 2002 Jeff faced-off against Lesnar in his first televised match. Lesnar dominated Hardy and won the match by knockout.
Lesnar and the Hardys would continue to feud over the next few weeks, with Lesnar coming out victorious every time. At Judgement Day 2002, Lesnar gained the upper hand on the Hardy Boyz before tagging, his partner, Heyman in to claim the win for the team.
After years in the tag team division, Jeff stepped up and took on The Undertaker in a Ladder match for the Undisputed Championship. Jeff came up short, but earned the Undertaker's respect. Jeff competed for singles titles on several occasions, but was unsuccessful. Finally, the Hardy Boyz split apart, as Jeff continued to pursue his singles ambitions and brother Matt was drafted to SmackDown! and Jeff continued on RAW. After this he would tease a heel turn by attacking several superstars.
Jeff was in few angles after that. He first teamed with Shawn Michaels and then hooked up with Trish Stratus after saving her from Steven Richards and Victoria. In his last match before being released, Jeff was defeated by The Rock. Jeff was released from WWE on April 22, 2003. The reasons given for the release were Jeff's erratic behavior, deteriorating ring performance, increasing drug use, and refusal to enter rehab as well as constant tardiness and no-showing events
After his original run in WWF/E, Jeff returned to wrestling to perform with the Ring of Honor. Jeff first appeared at ROH's 2003 show, Death Before Dishonor, under his "Willow the Wisp" gimmick, wearing a mask and trench coat. Jeff was quickly unmasked and lost his jacket, wearing attire similar to that he wore in WWE. Jeff was booed and heckled before, during, and after the match by the ROH audience, who chanted "We want Matt!" and "You got fired!" during his match with Joey Matthews and Krazy K, which Jeff won.
Hardy debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on June 23, 2004 at the TNA Second Anniversary Show in a match against TNA X Division champion A.J. Styles, for the title. He also debuted his new entrance theme "Modest" and his nickname was the Charismatic Enigma. The match ended in a no-contest when Kid Kash and Dallas interfered. Hardy returned to TNA on July 21, 2004, and was awarded a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy challenged for the title on the final weekly TNA pay-per-view on September 8, 2004, losing to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett.
Hardy teamed with A.J. Styles and Ron Killings throughout mid-2004. In October 2004 he won a tournament, earning a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on November 7, 2004 at Victory Road 2004. Hardy was defeated by Jarrett once again in a ladder match at Victory Road following interference from Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. One month later on December 5, 2004 at Turning Point 2004, Hardy, Styles and Randy Savage defeated Jarrett, Hall and Nash (collectively known as the Kings of Wrestling). Hardy went on to defeat Hall in a single match at Final Resolution 2005 on January 16, 2005.
At Against All Odds 2005 on February 13, 2005, Hardy lost to Abyss in a "Full Metal Mayhem" match for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. However, he went on to defeat Abyss in a falls count anywhere match at Destination X 2005 on March 13, 2005. Hardy then went on to feud with Raven, with Hardy defeating Raven in a steel cage match at Lockdown 2005 on April 24, 2005. Hardy was suspended from TNA after no-showing his "Clockwork Orange House of Fun" rematch with Raven at Hard Justice 2005 on May 15, 2005, allegedly due to travel difficulties. Hardy's suspension was lifted on August 5, 2005, with Hardy returning to TNA at Sacrifice 2005 on August 14, 2005, attacking Jeff Jarrett. He wrestled his first TNA match in four months at Unbreakable on September 11, 2005, losing to Bobby Roode following interference from Jarrett.
Throughout October 2005, Hardy became embroiled in a feud with Abyss, Rhino and Sabu. The four way feud culminated in a Monster's Ball match at Bound for Glory 2005 on October 23, 2005, which was won by Rhino. In the course of the match, Hardy delivered a Swanton Bomb to Abyss from a height of approximately seventeen feet (5.18 meters). Later that night, Hardy competed in a ten-man battle royal for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which was also won by Rhino. At Genesis 2005 on November 13, 2005, Hardy lost to Monty Brown in another number one contender match.
Jeff Hardy as the Intercontinental Champion in 2006Hardy was scheduled to wrestle on the pre-show of Turning Point 2005 at December 11, 2005, but once again no-showed the event, again citing traveling problems. Hardy was suspended as a result and did not appear in TNA again. In March, April and May 2006, Hardy appeared on several house shows promoted by TNA in conjunction with Dave Hebner and the United Wrestling Federation.
On August 4, 2006, WWE announced that Hardy had re-signed with the company. In the following weeks, Jeff Hardy vignettes aired hyping his return on the August 21, 2006 episode of RAW. At his return he defeated Edge by disqualification. After failing to capture the Intercontinental Championship from Johnny Nitro over the next few weeks, including at Unforgiven 2006, Hardy finally defeated Nitro to win his second Intercontinental Championship on the October 2, 2006 edition of RAW. On the November 6, 2006 episode of RAW, Hardy lost the Intercontinental Championship back to Johnny Nitro, after Nitro hit him with the Intercontinental Championship title belt. Just a week after he lost the Intercontinental title to Nitro, Hardy regained it on the November 13, 2006 edition of RAW, with a crucifix pin. This marked Hardy's third reign as Intercontinental Champion.
On the November 21, 2006 episode of ECW on Sci Fi Jeff teamed with his brother Matt for the first time in almost five years. They had their old titantron video and music and defeated the Full Blooded Italians. At Survivor Series 2006, these two were in team DX against Team Rated-RKO, over whom they gained the victory with a sweep. Jeff and Matt then got their first opportunity since teaming up to win a tag team championship. They competed in a 4-team, for the WWE Tag-Team Championship in a Ladder match at Armageddon 2006, but came up short in their attempt.
With Jeff Hardy still feuding with Johnny Nitro and MNM into 2007, Jeff was challenged once again by Johnny Nitro at New Year's Revolution 2007 in a Steel Cage Match for the Intercontinental Championship, Hardy once again defeated Nitro. At Royal Rumble 2007 the Hardyz once again defeated MNM in a tag team match.
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