My World w/ Jeff Jarrett - Jeff Hardy [Show Notes] (Patreon)

While Jeff Hardy was an on and off enhancement talent in the WWF from 1994-1998, he was never paired up against you until one night in Bakersfield - for a Shotgun taping - where you & Owen team up to take on the Hardy Boys which aired on March 20th, 1999. Looking back - what was your thoughts on the Hardys and working with them?

The Hardys first big moment in the spotlight where people began to really take notice was the night you finished up in the WWF in the ladder match with Edge & Christian at No Mercy in October 99. Did you see there was something there with those two and all they needed was a shot?

The Hardys, Edge & Christian and the Dudleys reinvented the WWF tag team division for the next two years but when the WWE attempted to push Jeff Hardy as a singles star it never really worked out to plan. Why do you think it was hard for Hardy to get that push even though he was so over in the WWE?

Hardy was released from WWE in April 2003. How active were you in the pursuit of Jeff? Was there a worry about his demons?

How often did you talk with him about coming in?

After only a couple of matches on the indies, Hardy debuted in TNA on June 23, 2004 at TNA’s second anniversary show against AJ Styles, for a one off and not signed to a deal yet. More than a year later - that’s a lot of time in between - was it just Jeff resisting, budget, what do you remember?

From the Observer

“Jeff Hardy’s debut was a nail-biter, since they were afraid he wouldn’t come, and he was hardly in the shape they wanted, but he got an incredible reaction. They are doing a storyline where they are pushing him as the hottest free agent on the market. Not sure if he’s signed or not, or if he is, how long he’ll last. The last thing they need is to start pushing a guy and have it turn out to be another Hogan tease. Hardy was telling everyone how thrilled he was because of the crowd response, and was telling other wrestlers he was coming in weekly.”

The pop is gigantic Jeff - and he literally blows the roof of the Aslyum. How amazing was this debut?

Why the one time deal? Was that all you felt comfortable with or all he felt comfortable with?

“Hardy agreed to the match on the Sunday before the show after company officials found out Kid Kash had a broken lower leg. Hardy got an incredible reaction, one of the biggest in company history (in fact, people there said it was the biggest in company history). They didn’t boo Styles, but it was clear once again they saw Hardy, a WWE mid-carder, as a real superstar. Hardy, considered a little guy in WWE, was way bigger than Styles, considered a medium sized guy in TNA, which only shows the illusion of size in that it’s all perspective. Hardy had not trained at all and didn’t show much, other than he was in the right place all the time and Styles’ stuff looked good.”

There’s a lot going on supposedly at this time with Kid Kash - do you know what the original plan was with Kid Kash?

Is size an illusion as Meltzer says?

“Hardy wasn’t advertised ahead of time because the company was never 100% condent in him coming, and then, he missed two flights the day of the show. To his credit, he was constantly in contact with the office and assured them he would be there. Still, they went with a back-up plan of Styles vs. Titus (Ryan Wilson under a mask), managed by Jonny Fairplay. However, Fairplay also missed his flight coming in, so they were even considering a plan C when Hardy arrived, a couple of hours before his match was scheduled.”

Was Hardy - AJ a dream match that you wish you could’ve advertised?

How stressful was this day with travel issues? Is this one of the more important moments in TNA looking back?

Was there anything Jeff could’ve done that would’ve made you confident to advertise it?

“Jarrett had spoken at one point with Hardy and talked with him about how he and Styles would tear the house down, but Hardy told him he was hardly in shape to do it, and please don’t expect it. That’s why they decided to only go 7:00 with the match. They also told them to just do a slow build because they wanted people to see Hardy live, but didn’t want them to see Hardy do a lot, with the idea that fans should take it as Kash screwing up a dream match that was just starting to get going, and the heat would be on him instead of the promotion. I don’t know that it works that way these days. They played a video, put together by Jeff, which was way out there, throughout the show to build for his debut as a surprise. It was only a deal for one shot, but because of his name and the reaction, it’s expected TNA will try to get him to work more dates.”

When it’s over - did you try to sell TNA on Jeff as to how easy, and how good, and how amendable you all can make it?

How important was a good first night to secure Jeff for more bookings?

Hardy is signed by the July 21 show - how did the deal finally come together?

“Jeff Hardy was at the show, and they are pushing him for a title match with Jeff Jarrett. He first has to get through Monty Brown, who is starting to get over as a cult deal. Hardy got a good reaction, but nothing close to his debut appearance. They are pushing him like he's a huge superstar, but now he has to deliver the goods.”

This has long been talked about online about how Jeff coming in was the worst timing for Monty. Without Jeff - do you think Monty is in a different spot in TNA?

The Observer would continue

“At least he hasn't no-showed yet, although he had everyone scared again on 7/21 as he canceled two flights and arrived late. The next morning, all the wrestlers take a van from the hotel to the airport to take the first flight out to Orlando. Hardy wasn't there, and when they woke him, everyone had to wait 25 minutes for him to be ready. They've now put Frankie Kazarian in charge of Hardy to make sure he gets up on time, and have Dusty Rhodes do his promos because they don’t have faith in him talking. But the crowd sees him as a real star.”

You’re doing pay-per-views in Nashville and TV in Orlando at this point - was putting Kazarian & Dusty with him to make sure the investment was worth it?

Where was Jeff on the payscale? On the higher end of things or the highest do you remember?

“They are pushing a feud between Dusty Rhodes and Vince Russo on TV as the biggest deal on the show. The storyline hasn't really been explained, but it goes something like Rhodes promised Jeff Hardy an NWA title shot if he signed. Hardy then beat Monty Brown on 7/28 to earn the shot, which is probably going to be on 8/11. Russo came out and while he's never said Hardy isn't getting the shot, he and Rhodes continually fight over mysterious reasons revealed only as Rhodes gave his word to Hardy and Russo is making him look bad.”

The feud between Dusty & Vince Russo - and having Jeff involved. Was it too much of an authority figure story? Did you really need this for Jeff Hardy?

It’s been said that Jeff coming in was like when Kurt came in a few years later - the opportunity to launch TNA - but was it ever really there with Jeff early on?

“Hyped up as the biggest match in TNA history, the first Hardy vs Jarrett singles match finally takes place on September 8 at the final weekly PPV show in Nashville, billed as “Date with Fate”

This is was a moment and a happening - probably bigger than Raven and Sting - why do you think that was or is that just hyperbole?

Did you need a big match as you were switching from weekly to monthly pay-per-views?

This is a hell of a time to have your first singles match together isn’t it?

“Jarrett-Hardy was a match everyone realized was going to be tough. Jarrett laid it out shorter than most NWA title matches (11:15), booked much of it as brawling outside the ring, as well as put a lot of the focus on Dusty Rhodes and Vince Russo outside the ring because he recognized Hardy's limitations. Jarrett won with a guitar shot while Rhodes and Russo argued outside, distracting Hardy.”

That’s directly from the Observer Jeff. Was it Hardy’s limitations - or wanting to leave something for more?

Do you think a match between you two could’ve been bigger farther down the line?

The plan is to build to a ladder match at the very first Victory Road pay-per-view on November 7th, 2004…but according to the Observer it was a rough road to it…

Observer:

“The plan was Jeff Jarrett vs. Jeff Hardy, and not Monty Brown as was originally planned, with the idea Hardy's name means more mainstream, for 11/7. Of course, Hardy was doing everything possible to make sure it didn't happen. After the decision was made to go with Hardy, he not only no-showed the 9/28 Impact taping (he was scheduled for a squash match win over David Young), but also never even called in before the show to let them know or have an explanation. They still pushed him for the show the next week even though they hadn't heard from him. He did come on 10/5, and pinned Abyss while Brown pinned Raven in the semifinals of the tournament, so it appears they are going with the plan. Hardy had told people that he left a miserable company to come to another miserable company.”

What were the issues with Jeff? Did you ever get a chance to discuss them with him and did you know he was miserable?

“He was excited at one point about being here but quickly realized the whole promotion was just a vehicle for Jarrett and quickly was losing interest. It was a risk pushing him to begin with. Some people in wrestling just don't get that there was a very good reason he was let go by WWE, and as we've written before, unless he goes for help himself, nothing is going to change simply by pretending to see and hear no evil, although that's a common theme in wrestling nowadays.”

What do you say to all of that from the Observer?

“The PPV main event is Jeff Jarrett vs. Jeff Hardy, so they went with the original plan. Hardy asked for a ladder match. The final on 10/12 in Orlando saw a ref bump, Hardy using a swanton but no ref, Abyss hitting Hardy with a black hole slam and Raven hitting Brown with a chair and a DDT, allowing Hardy to win. Always good to make sure your challenger going for the belt has somebody else win it for him.”

Why do you think Jeff asked for a ladder match?

Why the schmoz finish? Did you need a back up in case he no-showed?

“Jarrett and Hardy made up, as evidenced by Hardy winning the deal. As it turned out, Hardy never did return a call after no-showing the 9/27 taping. After not hearing from Jeff, they called Matt Hardy, who is at home rehabbing his knee. Matt was the intermediary and apologized for his brother's not calling. They finally got a hold of Jeff, who gave an excuse that was said to be beyond lame, but they accepted it because it's see no evil, hear no evil here. As it turned out, the Orlando crowd turned bad against Hardy in the match with Abyss, which wasn't very good.”

Do you remember who reached out to Matt to check in on Jeff? Was this the reputation at the time in the business?

Did you discuss and hash things out with Jeff? What was that conversation like?

The crowd rejecting Jeff - was this the first time you remember Orlando doing that?

At Victory Road 2004 - a show that needs its own show:

“9. Jeff Jarrett beat Jeff Hardy in a ladder match in 18:37 to keep the NWA title. The body of the match was much better than expected, but the match and really the end of the show were such a downer after what had been good to that point. Even though they had billed Kevin Nash in Hardy's corner and Scott Hall in Jarrett's, neither came out. Hall had done a promo earlier saying Nash wasn't there, and the announcers were selling they hadn't seen him in a way where you knew he was coming at the end. Hardy, who looked by far the best he has in years, gave Jarrett a swanton off the ladder. Hall came out at this point to save Jarrett. People were cheering Hall like crazy.

Because the crowd was almost all out-of-towners, it was very different from the usual TV taping crowd, and Hardy was not being booed. Fans cheered both men, though. Hardy did a ladder teeter totter like spot where Jarrett got a ladder to the face. Hardy did a running whisper in the wind over the top rope onto both Jarrett and Hall. Both guys took a crazy bump off the ladder and landed on Hall. Match was really cool at this point, but then it fell apart. Twice, once on the ladder and once on the apron, Hardy went to do the dangerous high sunset flip powerbomb move. Since Jarrett was calling the match, it was really weird when, both times, he blocked taking the move when Hardy was going with it like he was doing it. It looked like Jarrett pussed out twice, but it was confusing because if you don't want to take it, more power to you, but don't call it and change your mind. Fans booed both spots heavily like they could see they were bad misses. Jarrett hit Hardy with a chair and went for a guitar. Nash came out holding two guitars. Nash walked out, and it was one of those time stood still moments where they had to wait for him because he was taking his sweet time. He's aged a lot as well, and looks like a real tall old man. He was carrying two guitars and treated it all like comedy. He gave one to Hall and all three guitar shotted Hardy, leading to Jarrett climbing up and getting the belt for the win.”

The Kings of Wrestling are formed - but I want to discuss the match itself. Did you call it? What were the issues with the spot Meltzer points out there was a lot of - weirdness?

Working with Jeff in a ladder match…chat me up.

Forming the stable with Kevin & Scott - who’s idea was that?

We’re not done yet as there’s a beatdown and a debut…

“Nash then did a terrible promo about how he's making tons of money again, and that Jeff Hardy was envious of him because they were in urinals next to each other earlier. That is sure the visual you want when watching wrestling. They were beating on Hardy. Styles came in for the save, and they sold a little for him before destroying him, so were careful not to bury him. Well, being that he's a face in the main event, that was mighty nice of them. Next, all three members of 3 Live Kru came out. They sold momentarily for them, but soon had them laid out and made the tag champs look like minor leaguers. This was just plain dumb booking because it hurt your guys and you didn't need the spot. But it made it seem like WCW, since Nash & Hall were totally clowning at this point and were being attacked by so many people and easily beating them up like they were nothing. The heels continued their three-on-five backwards psychologically beat down until Randy Savage showed up and they went off the air. **¾”

Jeff - RANDY SAVAGE. We have yet to discuss this - but beating down a lot of babyfaces before it’s Randy Savage making the save - what can you tell us about this?

How was Jeff after the match?

-There’s a steel cage rematch at the Best Damn Wrestling Event period - taped on October 27, but aired November 11 on Fox Sports Network. How big were these specials for TNA on Fox Sports Network?

“The second show main event was Jarrett vs. Hardy in a cage match. The idea of this was for the fans to see two moves off the top of the cage. I was told fans hated Hardy so much they were cheering Jarrett. I'm told they want to do a major sound sweetening here because I was told you couldn't believe live the hatred for Hardy, particularly since at this point, you only had the die-hards left in the building. They got out of the cage and brawled around the building, which wasn't good. Jarrett bled a little. The finish saw Hardy miss a swanton from off the top of the cage. Jarrett hit Hardy with Hardy's necklace for the pin. The second top of the cage move saw Styles come off the top with a crossbody onto Jarrett. It wound up with a big Battle Royal of guys fighting each other, with the cameras mainly focusing on another brawl with Arnold and Puppet.”

My goodness Jeff. Why do you think Hardy was rejected so badly by the TNA crowd? Was this the first time there was resentment in the back of a rejection of a star or product?

Hardy is part of Randy Savage’s return and final appearance at Turning Point 2004, but Hardy is more of an afterthought

“7. Jeff Hardy & A.J. Styles & Randy Savage beat Kevin Nash & Scott Hall & Jeff Jarrett in 17:52. Nash & Hall & Jarrett before the show, being that they're the Kings of Wrestling, dressed up like Elvis in jumpsuits and Elvis wigs. They also did this angle where a car drove away, and they acted as if they had beaten up Savage, threw him in a car and he was kidnapped. It was actually because Savage couldn't wrestle and they were trying to hide the fact. So when the match began, it was a 2-on-3. Hall & Nash wore the jumpsuits, so they looked like giant clowns. They even came out to the old Flying Elvises theme music. Hall tried, but it was like an out of shape guy trying to keep up. Jarrett and Styles were there to carry the match. Styles worked for five people, but that wasn't enough, although the match was more than decent when he was in, and that was most of the way. He made a cold tag to Hardy and the match fell apart from there. Hardy had Hall pinned when Nash pulled ref Andrew Thomas out of the ring. Hall hit Hardy with a guitar shot. Savage finally showed up and he made Hall & Nash look youthful. Backstage I was told Savage looked 100 years old. I thought on TV he didn't look more than a day over 60, although he did look older then Lou Thesz did when I saw him at a show in 1996 when Lou was 80. Savage threw a few punches and put Jarrett in a sleeper. Jarrett tried a sunset flip, Savage blocked it, punched Jarrett to the head, and got the pin. *”

I mean - wow Jeff. Hardy is much more of an after thought and his work isn’t great…but all everyone remembers is the Elvis jumpsuits and Randy Savage. Chat me up!

You and Jeff have a handful of tag matches on Impact in 2005, but Hardy is suspended more than once for no-showing events and eventually is released from TNA in 2006, and returned to WWE in August the same year. Was this his demons - or something else?

Were you surprised to see the WWE take another chance on him?

Do you think he was ready to go back to the WWE?

Did you talk with him for his release?

Hardy eventually reached the top in WWE becoming WWE and World Champion several times in 2008-2009 before leaving when his contract expired in September 2009 before Hardy returned to TNA on the first live Monday Impact on January 4, 2010. Were you surprised to see him back in TNA coming in with Hulk & Eric?

What was your relationship like with Jeff at this point? Amicable?

Jeff would team with you as part of Team Hogan, who defeated Team Flair at Lockdown 2010. Did you see Jeff being level headed and straight at this point?

At Bound for Glory, Hardy turned heel with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff and with their help defeated Angle and Anderson to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. They were then joined by Jeff Jarrett and Abyss, revealing the group that Abyss had been referring to as "they" for several months. We will discuss this in more detail at another time - but would you had turned Jeff?

Where is your head at during this time in TNA?

Were you there at Victory Road in 2011 when he had issues getting to the ring for the main event with Sting? What were your feelings on the situation?

Hardy is suspended and gone until August. Were you saddened by everything you had seen? What’s your hindsight point of view on things after your battles with addiction?

When Jeff would return he then began feuding with his former stable Immortal, attacking Eric Bischoff on the October 6 episode of Impact, and engaging in brawls with Jeff Jarrett at Bound for Glory and on the October 20 episode of Impact. Were you worried about getting into the ring with him?

At Turning Point - November 13, 2011:

“8. Jeff Hardy pinned Jeff Jarrett three times. Hardy hasn’t done much in the ring either here or at house shows, so he may be really banged up these days. He came out with a monster mask on. He hit the twist of fate and got the pin in :06. Jarrett attacked him after the match and wanted an immediate rematch. Hardy agreed.

The crowd did the dueling chants and while Hardy’s were louder than those for Jarrett, it wasn’t by as much as you’d think. Hardy pinned him a second time at 5:41 when Jarrett went for the figure four and Hardy used an inside cradle. Hardy then attacked Jarrett again after the match, nailing him with a chair shot and following with a stroke in the ring. Jarrett told Earl Hebner to count to three after the stroke even though the match had ended twice. Hebner went down to count but Hardy hooked Jarrett in a crucifix and Hebner counted three. Backstage, several of the faces were congratulating Hardy, and in particular A.J. Styles, who said he never wanted Hardy back in the company after what he did, congratulated him and endorsed him. The way the match was done is an old Southern wrestling angle that always seem to work in getting a big pop for the babyface. It didn’t get any special reaction here. **

This is quite selfless for yourself Jeff. Why the booking here? Were you looking to get Hardy back on track?

Impact - November 24, 2011:

“There was a backstage segment with referee Rudy Charles holding up the turkey suit, as it was the annual Thanksgiving day loser wears a turkey suit gimmick. The match was announced as Robbie E vs. Young loser having to wear it. It appeared Hardy came out next, wearing his mask. But when unmasking, it was Jarrett dressed up as Hardy. Jarrett started doing a promo when Hardy attacked him. They brawled until Bully Ray and Daniels came out. This led to RVD, Styles and Anderson making the save.”

This is one of those classic angles - but you’re just so good at being a shit-eating grin heel Jeff!

“Main event was a Survivor Series style elimination match. Probably the single last type of gimmick match I’d do on rival TV this week because it just makes you seem like you’ve just copying for the sake of copying. RVD & Styles & Hardy & Anderson beat Roode & Jarrett & Daniels & Ray. Storm was in the face corner and Angle was in the heel corner. It started as a four-on-three with no Hardy. Anderson was pinned first. Roode was then eliminated via DQ from a low blow. Daniels pinned RVD using the tights. This left Styles alone with Daniels, Jarrett and Ray. This was when Hardy came out and he pinned Daniels. Hardy followed by pinning Jarrett. This meant Ray was left with both Hardy & Styles. Angle and Storm started fighting and they brawled to the back. While this was going on, Styles pinned Ray. Roode went back out and attacked both Hardy and Styles, so it looks like Hardy is going to be in the world title picture soon.”

Why do you think the company trusted putting Jeff back into the main event scene again? Did you?

At Final Resolution - December 11, 2011:

Jeff Hardy vs. Jeff Jarrett in a STEEL CAGE (FULL MATCH) - YouTube

“7. Jeff Hardy pinned Jeff Jarrett in 10:18 in a cage match. The only winning by escaping stip was changed to being able to win by pin, submission, or escaping the cage. Sting was handcuffed to Karen Jarrett. Crowd was into Hardy from the start and this had the most heat on the show. Jarrett used a figure four and weakened Hardy and went to climb. Hardy recovered and pulled Jarrett down. Jarrett was on the top rope and Hardy scooped his leg so Jarrett crotched himself and fell into the ring. Hardy climbed and looked like he could win, but instead used a Vader style splash. Hardy used the twist of fate and climbed to the top. Instead of climbing over the top, he came off the top of the cage with a swanton that missed. They’ve got a really high cage and he took a back bump into the ring on an already bad back that limits greatly what he can do. Crowd went crazy. Jarrett tried to climb out but Hardy recovered and pulled him back in. Jarrett used the stroke and tried to crawl out the door but Hardy dived and grabbed his leg to pull him back in. The door to the outside was open and Jarrett threw Hardy at the door where he knocked Sting off the apron. Karen then got the key to the handcuffs out of Sting’s pocket and uncuffed herself. Karen then slammed the door on Hardy’s head but Hardy kicked out of the pin attempt. Karen then grabbed the guitar to give it to Jeff, but Sting recovered and pulled the guitar away. With Jeff Jarrett distracted, Hardy hit another twist of fate and got the pin. ***¼”

This show saw a late stipulation change, as the Jeff Hardy vs. Jeff Jarrett cage match here if Hardy won, he’d get a title shot at Genesis (1/8) and if he lost, he’d leave TNA, was countered with either Jeff or Karen Jarrett being fired by Sting at the 12/15 TV show if Jeff Jarrett lost. The firing was either done backstage or not taped at press time, but it is believed that Jeff Jarrett will be the one fired, since he had to leave for the taping for the new India-based offshoot promotion that he’s in charge of.”

Jeff - the cage match is quite the match - the swanton is insane - and you two pulled out all the stops. Did you know at this point in time it would be your last TNA match on pay-per-view for 4 years?

It would be the last time you are in a ring with Jeff Hardy one-on-one…until that is - the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Death Match! What a reaction this got online…and in the building. What can you tell us about this match?