A few weeks back, we looked at the impending departure of Matt Hardy and what was next for him as he closed this chapter of his career. Now we turn our attention to his little brother Jeff, and what could await him as he makes his return to WWE programming after being cleared to compete in time for WrestleMania 36. Whether WWE will hold off on bringing ‘The Charismatic Enigma’ back to TV until after the spectacle in Tampa is something that only time will tell, but realistically, what is there for Jeff Hardy to accomplish upon his return?
Now that Matt Hardy has confirmed his choice to not resign with WWE and explore other avenues elsewhere in the wrestling industry, it leaves a big question mark over Jeff Hardy’s status with the company and whether they’ll continue to see him as a big draw for the company in these rapidly evolving times. Where Matt was originally the less-popular of the two Hardy Boys, momentum has well and truly shifted in his favour with the teased return of the ‘Broken’ gimmick. Jeff has been left to fend for himself without his brother to fall back on.
This might not bode well for the daredevil superstar, who has to now fight for a reason to be featured regularly on TV. Prior to his untimely injury, Jeff captured the SmackDown Live Tag Team Championships alongside Matt in a thrilling series with fellow sibling duo, The Usos. Jeff has always thrived in the tag division, often being paired with fellow high-flyers to help elevate the star power of the scene in general. Hardy could easily find himself a budding athlete to side with, maybe a Shorty G or Mustafa Ali, and help build them as part of a new Hardcore Tag Team.
Maybe Jeff could even realign himself with fellow returnee from his era, ‘The Rated R Superstar’ Edge. Edge has recently been at the receiving end of a con-chair-to from Randy Orton, and his rivalry has started to develop into something a lot more complex and intriguing than the usual drawl WWE churn out around WrestleMania season. Jeff’s brother Matt was also brought in to help progress the feud, giving Hardy enough reason to insert himself into the programme over the coming weeks and help avenge his two fallen comrades.
Afterwards, there’s nothing to suggest that these two bastions of Tag wrestling wouldn’t go on to either fight together as partners or as opponents. Edge and Jeff have a timeless chemistry that has been exploited on several occasions throughout their respective careers. One last battle between the two former rivals would not be something to turn your nose at.
Perhaps Jeff could stray into heel territory and claim that Edge doesn’t deserve the fanfare he’ll receive after dispatching Orton; Jeff has remained active in spite of his injuries and hasn’t received nearly as much hype as Edge. Either that or the two could truly shake-up the Tag Team roster by combining forces to show these young’uns what for.
The great thing about Jeff Hardy is that he can easily slip in between being a tags and solo performer. Jeff is a natural babyface that has excelled in the mid-card, often competing for the Intercontinental Championship or putting on thrilling series’ of matches with fellow veterans, most recently his incredible feud with Randy Orton that culminated with a cringe-inducing Hell in a Cell match.
Hardy could easily slot himself back into the mid-card scene, putting on one-on-one bouts with the likes of AJ Styles, Aleister Black, Sheamus and more. There’s plenty of dream opponents left for Jeff to tick off the list, maybe we’ll even finally get that balls-to-the-wall spot-fest between Jeff Hardy and Shane McMahon somewhere down the line.
Jeff might not be living in the prime of his career, but there should be nothing stopping him from putting together some expertly-told in-ring storylines. Jeff has always had that uncanny ability to have any crowd in the palm of his hands, whether that be through his natural charisma or his inventive characters. Hardy has remained relatively normal in recent years, briefly dipping into his ‘Brother Nero’ archetype but remaining true to his standard self in his promos and in-ring presence.
With characters like ‘The Fiend’ and Aleister Black now showing a more darker side to WWE, this should provide Jeff Hardy with a big enough opportunity to delve into the darkest depths of his creative genius and come up with some spine-chilling, mind-bending new alter-ego to help freshen up his career. Hardy has been the mastermind behind such gimmicks as ‘Willow’ in his IMPACT days, and the rainbow-painted extremist who took the likes of Triple H, Edge and The Undertaker to their limit in 2008.
Of course there’s nothing stopping Jeff Hardy in following suit and joining Matt as he embarks on his next journey. With Matt Hardy teasing a newfound relationship between him and AEW, there could certainly be room for one more Hardy in the AEW Tag Team division.
Of course this requires Jeff to outlast his WWE contract, which seems to be significantly longer than Matt’s. Whether WWE decided to extend his contract to make up for lost injury time, or whether Jeff himself has chosen to remain in WWE for the foreseeable future is beyond me. But I’m sure no wrestling fan would turn down the idea of another series of matches between the Broken Hardys and The Bucks of Youth.
Wherever Jeff Hardy decides to spend his next few years as an active competitor, he will forever find himself in the hearts of all wrestling fans, young and old. He’ll always have this uncanny ability of becoming the most beloved babyface on the card, that’s something that WWE should take advantage of while he’s still under contract with them.
What would you like to see Jeff Hardy get up to next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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