Mid 20th Century
162-454: Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and musician . He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is one-half of the reigning TNA World Tag Team Champions in his third reign . He is best known for his tenures in WWE and All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time and of
324-456: A Ladder match at One Night Stand on June 3. However, the next night on Raw , the Hardys lost the titles to Cade and Murdoch, competing through injuries sustained in their previous night's ladder match. The Hardys earned a rematch at Vengeance: Night of Champions on June 24 but were defeated. In the midst of feuding with Umaga, who defeated Hardy at The Great American Bash on July 22 to retain
486-472: A Side Effect from Matt Hardy, and a Twist of Fate from Jeff Hardy. Despite that, it distracted Eddie Edwards , who then received a Last Call super kick from Storm. At the Lockdown episode of Impact Wrestling , Hardy suffered a minor concussion which was set as a storyline injury when he fell on the door of the cage; James Storm hit Hardy off the door onto the steel steps below with a cowbell. The falling off
648-591: A Six sides of steel match at Lockdown in April. Hardy was suspended from TNA after no-showing his "Clockwork Orange House of Fun" rematch with Raven at Hard Justice on May 15, allegedly due to travel difficulties. Hardy's suspension was lifted on August 5, and he returned at Sacrifice approximately a week later, attacking Jeff Jarrett. He wrestled his first TNA match in four months at Unbreakable on September 11, losing to Bobby Roode following interference from Jarrett. Throughout October 2005, Hardy became embroiled in
810-562: A ball-peen hammer . This was done to write Hardy out of the tapings in the United Kingdom, as the UK would not allow him to make appearances due to his criminal convictions. Hardy made his in-ring return on the February 28 episode of Impact Wrestling , teaming with his new number one contender Bully Ray to defeat Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian ). On March 10 at Lockdown , Hardy lost
972-472: A jobber . His first WWF match was against Razor Ramon on May 23, 1994, in Youngstown, Ohio , with Randy Savage mentioning on commentary, "Welcome to the big time". His ringname that night, Keith Davis, was the name of Razor's scheduled jobber, who backed out on short notice. Gary Sabaugh , who had brought Hardy in a group along with Davis, suggested him to agent Tony Garea , who agreed after Hardy claimed he
1134-579: A ladder match for the WWE Undisputed Championship on the July 1 episode of Raw . Hardy came up short in the intense match, but earned The Undertaker's respect when he displayed courage by attempting to rise to his feet after the bout and challenge The Undertaker to continue. Hardy competed for singles titles on several occasions and defeated William Regal for the European Championship on
1296-446: A " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of
1458-498: A Falls Count Anywhere match. On the June 5 episode of Impact Wrestling , Willow won his match against Bram by DQ when Magnus came to the ring and attacked him with a Steel Pry Bar. At Slammiversary XII , Willow was defeated by Magnus. On the July 10 episode of Impact Wrestling , Director of Wrestling Operations Kurt Angle asked Willow to bring Jeff Hardy back for a 20-man over the top rope battle royal later that night. Hardy competed in
1620-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
1782-527: A broken leg in a legitimate dirt bike accident. Hardy returned from injury on the July 29 episode of Impact Wrestling , making an announcement that his brother, Matt, would face TNA World Heavyweight Champion Ethan Carter III in a Full Metal Mayhem match, in which Matt was unsuccessful. After a brief hiatus, Hardy returned on the August 26 episode of Impact Wrestling , where he and Matt made an agreement that if Matt would lose his second match against Carter for
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#17328918572941944-520: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
2106-513: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
2268-574: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
2430-447: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . List of Yamaha motorcycles#2 stroke 5 The following is a list of motorcycles , scooters and mopeds produced by
2592-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
2754-401: A feud with Abyss, Rhino and Sabu . The four-way feud culminated in a Monster's Ball match at Bound for Glory on October 23, which Rhino won after delivering a second rope Rhino Driver to Hardy. In the course of the match, Hardy delivered a Swanton Bomb to Abyss from a height of approximately 22 ft 0 in (6.71 m). Later that night, Hardy competed in a ten-man battle royal for
2916-524: A frustrated Hardy announced he could no longer work in TNA with Dixie Carter's backstage politics, and quit TNA. In February 2014, strange vignettes began airing advertising Hardy's return to TNA under his OMEGA character, Willow. He made his TNA return at Lockdown , in the Lethal Lockdown match as part of Team MVP . He then appeared on the following episode of Impact Wrestling , facing Rockstar Spud . In
3078-414: A genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has a more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for
3240-587: A jobber as late as May 1998 (including a match against Rob Van Dam during the ECW "invasion" storyline that had Hardy billed as being from Virginia instead of Cameron, North Carolina ) The Hardy brothers eventually caught the eyes of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). After being signed to a contract in 1998, they were trained by Dory Funk Jr. in his Funkin' Dojo with other notable wrestlers such as Kurt Angle , Christian , Test , and A-Train . When
3402-546: A ladder match to regain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy held the championship for less than two weeks, defending it once against Rob Van Dam, before losing it to the returning Sting on February 24, at the tapings of the March 3 episode of Impact! . On March 13 at Victory Road , Hardy received a rematch for the title under No Disqualification rules, but was defeated in ninety seconds. TNA had made
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#17328918572943564-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
3726-754: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
3888-496: A month later when he saved Stacy Keibler from an attack by then-villain, Christian . In February, he had a brief program with Michaels, which saw the two team up. Then, in storyline, Hardy began dating Trish Stratus after saving her from Steven Richards and Victoria in March. Hardy and Stratus had a brief on-screen relationship that saw the duo talking backstage and teaming together in matches. Hardy competed in his final match (his first departure) against The Rock and lost. Hardy
4050-497: A motocross race, injuring his arm. He also played football during high school as a fullback and linebacker . He briefly competed in amateur wrestling in high school. He had to stop playing football in high school, after he was ordered to pick between professional wrestling and football, and he chose wrestling. Hardy's favorite subjects in school were U.S. history and art, which he did for extra credit. Hardy, along with his brother Matt and friends, started their own federation,
4212-483: A new champion, after A.J. Styles left the company with the championship. Hardy defeated Chris Sabin and Bobby Roode in the first two rounds of the tournament, to reach the finals at Final Resolution . In the championship match, Hardy was defeated by Magnus after interference from Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud . The following week on Impact Wrestling , Hardy teamed up with Sting to face The BroMans , Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud, which they lost. Afterwards,
4374-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
4536-472: A non-title match on the following SmackDown to earn the right to choose the stipulation for their rematch at Extreme Rules on June 7 and chose a ladder match . At Extreme Rules, Hardy won the match to become World Heavyweight Champion for the first time. Immediately after the match, CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and defeated Hardy to win the championship. He received his rematch against Punk in
4698-554: A non-title match. On the April 5 episode of Impact! , Hardy was introduced as a member of Team Hogan for the annual Lethal Lockdown match , where they would face Team Flair. One week later, however, Hardy was injured when James Storm spewed a volatile liquid against a flame from his lighter, forming a fireball that singed most of Hardy's face. At Lockdown , Team Hogan (Hardy, Abyss, Jeff Jarrett and Rob Van Dam) defeated Team Flair ( Sting , Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm ). At Sacrifice , Hardy defeated Mr. Anderson . After
4860-572: A part of Team D-Generation X , which gained the victory over Team Rated-RKO with a clean sweep. The brothers then received their first opportunity since Hardy's return to win a tag team championship at Armageddon on December 17. They competed in a four-team ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championship , but they came up short in their attempt. In the course of the match, however, they inadvertently legitimately injured Joey Mercury 's face. With Hardy still feuding with Johnny Nitro and
5022-516: A rematch, contested inside a steel cage. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling , Hardy and Mr. Anderson were defeated by Rob Van Dam in a three-way number one contender's match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. During the first "Open Fight Night" the following week, Hardy teamed up with Anderson to unsuccessfully challenge Magnus and Samoa Joe for the TNA World Tag Team Championship . On May 13 at Sacrifice , Hardy
Jeff Hardy - Misplaced Pages Continue
5184-415: A result the title remained with Roode. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling , a rematch between Hardy and Roode ended in a no contest, following interference from Bully Ray. The following week, Hardy was entered into a number one contender's match against James Storm, which ended in a no contest following interference from Ray and Roode. On February 12 at Against All Odds , Hardy was unable to capture
5346-572: A show for the promotion OMEGA. There, he used his old gimmick , "Willow the Wisp", and challenged Krazy K in a match for the OMEGA Cruiserweight Championship, in which he was defeated. This same year, he also appeared on Ring of Honor (ROH) at the event Death Before Dishonour , once again as "Willow the Wisp", wearing a mask and a trench coat. As Willow, he participated in a triple-threat match against Joey Matthews and Krazy K, having
5508-598: A singles match, substituting for Héctor Garza at Final Resolution on January 16, 2005. At Against All Odds in February 2005, Hardy lost to Abyss in a "Full Metal Mayhem" match for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy returned the favor by defeating Abyss in a Falls Count Anywhere match at Destination X in March. On March 25, 2005, Hardy teamed with Shocker defeating David Young and Lex Lovett. Hardy then went on to feud with Raven , Hardy defeated Raven in
5670-493: A special guest, but ended up attacking Jericho. This led to an Intercontinental title match on the following Raw where Hardy dropped the title to Jericho. Off-screen, Hardy dropped the title after he was suspended for sixty days, as of March 11, for his second violation of the company's Substance Abuse and Drug Testing Policy . Hardy was also removed from the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXIV on March 30 in which he
5832-406: A surprise member of Immortal and defeated Rob Van Dam to prevent him from receiving a match at Hardy's championship. That same night, Hardy gave Anderson a match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, immediately following Anderson's victory in a number one contender's match. Despite Matt, Flair, and Bischoff interfering in an attempt to help Hardy, Anderson defeated Hardy for the championship. On
5994-515: A team, and there was never any mention of their previous storyline split. In early April, 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 Hardy seeking revenge on Lesnar. At Backlash on April 21, Hardy faced-off against Lesnar in Lesnar's first televised match. Lesnar dominated Hardy and won the match by knockout. Lesnar and
6156-411: A three-way elimination match on January 13, 2013, at Genesis , where Hardy defeated both Aries and Roode to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On the January 24 episode of Impact Wrestling , Hardy successfully defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Christopher Daniels . Afterwards, Hardy was jumped by a masked member of Aces & Eights who then injured Hardy's left leg with
6318-550: A tournament, earning a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on November 7 at Victory Road , TNA's first monthly pay-per-view. 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 at Turning Point , Hardy, Styles and Randy Savage defeated Jarrett, Hall and Nash (collectively known as the Kings of Wrestling ). Hardy went on to defeat Hall in
6480-508: A triple threat match also involving Edge on the June 15 episode of Raw , but failed to win. Hardy got another rematch at The Bash on June 28, and won the match via disqualification after Punk kicked the ref in the back while feigning an eye injury with Punk still retaining the title. At Night of Champions on July 26, however, Hardy defeated Punk to win the championship for the second time. He made his first successful title defense five days later on SmackDown by defeating John Morrison . After
6642-497: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
Jeff Hardy - Misplaced Pages Continue
6804-575: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
6966-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
7128-428: Is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain
7290-455: Is the 18th Triple Crown Champion and 9th Grand Slam Champion in WWE history (one of five men to complete both WWE Grand Slam formats, and one of two to win all original Grand Slam titles). He has headlined numerous pay-per-view events for WWE and TNA , including TNA's flagship event, Bound for Glory , on two occasions. Readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated named him " Most Popular Wrestler of
7452-498: The Impact! Zone ramp. He later appeared in backstage segments throughout the evening. The following day, it was reported that Hardy had signed a new contract with TNA. Hardy would make his next appearance for the company on the March 8 episode of Impact! , saving D'Angelo Dinero , Abyss and Hulk Hogan from A.J. Styles , Ric Flair and Desmond Wolfe . The following week, Hardy defeated then TNA World Heavyweight Champion A.J. Styles in
7614-509: The Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23 on April 1. During the match, Matt threw Edge onto a ladder and encouraged Hardy, who was close to the winning briefcase, to finish Edge off. Hardy then leaped off the 20-foot-high (6.1 m) ladder, drove Edge through the ladder with a leg drop , injuring both Edge and himself. The two were unable to continue the match and were removed from ringside on stretchers. The night after WrestleMania on
7776-609: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
7938-501: The Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA) as they became older. As a tag team, the Hardy Boyz worked as enhancement talents for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1994, and were signed to full-time contracts in 1998. They gained notoriety in the tag team division, partly due to their participation in Tables, Ladders and Chairs matches . With the addition of Lita ,
8100-526: The Royal Rumble on January 25, Hardy lost the WWE Championship back to Edge after Hardy's brother, Matt, interfered and turned on Hardy, hitting him with a steel chair . The buildup to this feud involved Matt implying that he was responsible for all of Hardy's accidents over the past few months, and at WrestleMania 25 on April 5, Matt defeated Hardy in an Extreme Rules match and in a stretcher match on
8262-587: The TNA X Division Championship . He also debuted his new entrance theme "Modest", a song performed by Hardy himself, and a new nickname, "The Charismatic Enigma". The match ended in a no contest when Kid Kash and Dallas interfered. Hardy returned to TNA on July 21 and was awarded a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . Hardy challenged for the title on September 8, losing to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett . In October 2004, he won
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#17328918572948424-762: The United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including a distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by
8586-772: The WWE Championship , in 2008, and going on to hold WWE's World Heavyweight Championship twice and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship three times. Within WWF/WWE, he has also won the Intercontinental Championship five times, the Hardcore Championship three times and the European , Light Heavyweight , and United States Championships once each. Having won the required championships, he
8748-577: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
8910-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
9072-506: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
9234-411: The 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance the spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from
9396-428: The April 10 episode of SmackDown . In a rematch at Backlash on April 26, however, Hardy defeated Matt in an "I Quit" match to end the feud. On the following episode of SmackDown , Hardy won a fatal four-way elimination match to become the number one contender for Edge's World Heavyweight Championship at Judgment Day on May 17, but lost to Edge after Matt interfered and attacked him. Hardy then defeated Edge in
9558-642: The April 2 episode of Raw , the Hardys competed in a 10-team battle royal for the World Tag Team Championship . They won the titles from then WWE Champion John Cena and Shawn Michaels by last eliminating Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch . They then began a feud with Cade and Murdoch, with the Hardys retaining the Championship in their first title defense against them at Backlash on April 29 and again at Judgment Day on May 20. The Hardys then defended their titles against The World's Greatest Tag Team in
9720-641: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
9882-694: The Brood, the Hardys joined forces with Gangrel as The New Brood and feuded with Edge and Christian . This stable did not last long, however, and on October 17 at No Mercy , the Hardy Boyz won the managerial services of Terri Runnels in the finals of the Terri Invitational Tournament in the WWF's first ever tag team ladder match against Edge and Christian. They competed in the first ever tag team triple threat ladder match against The Dudley Boyz , and Edge & Christian at WrestleMania 2000 on April 2, 2000, in which Edge & Christian won. During
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#173289185729410044-475: The December 17 episode of Raw and lost. After the match, The Undertaker was scripted to attack both Hardy and Lita, injuring them. On the next episode of SmackDown! , The Undertaker attacked Matt as well, also injuring him, in storyline. The Hardys and Lita were not seen again until the Royal Rumble on January 20, 2002, because WWF did not have another storyline for their characters. The Hardys later came back as
10206-726: The Dudley Boyz but lost to Edge & Christian. Hardy gained attention for his high risk stunts in the TLC matches, such as doing Swanton Bomb frontflips off of the top steps of 10 and 20 foot high ladders, making a name for himself as one of the most seemingly reckless and unorthodox WWF performers of his time. In 2001, Hardy received a push as a singles competitor, and he held the Intercontinental (defeating Triple H ), Light Heavyweight (defeating Jerry Lynn ) and Hardcore Championships (defeating Mike Awesome and Van Dam on two occasions). At
10368-542: The Hardys agreed to. At Destination X, the Hardys lost against the Wolves, but shook hands after the match. On October 22, 2014, The Hardys entered a number one contenders tournament for the TNA World Tag Team Championships defeating The BroMans ( Jessie Godderz and DJ Z ) in the first round of the tournament. On October 29, episode of Impact Wrestling , The Hardys defeated Team Dixie ( EC3 and Tyrus ) in
10530-430: The Hardys continued to feud over the next few weeks, with the Hardys coming out victorious only once by disqualification. At Judgment Day on May 19, Lesnar gained the upper hand on the Hardy Boyz before tagging his partner, Paul Heyman , in to claim the win for the team. In July 2002, Hardy won his third Hardcore Championship by defeating Bradshaw . After years in the tag team division, Hardy took on The Undertaker in
10692-568: The Intercontinental Championship title belt. One week later, Hardy regained the Intercontinental Championship from Nitro on the November 13 episode of Raw , with a crucifix pin . This marked Hardy's third reign as Intercontinental Champion. On the November 21 episode of ECW , Hardy teamed with his brother, Matt, for the first time in four years to defeat The Full Blooded Italians . At Survivor Series on November 26, they both were
10854-413: The Intercontinental Championship, Hardy was abruptly taken off WWE programming. He posted on his own website and in the forums of TheHardyShow.com that it was time off to heal, stemming from a bad fall taken in a match against Mr. Kennedy on the July 23 episode of Raw . He made his return on the August 27 episode of Raw , defeating Kennedy by disqualification after Umaga interfered. The following week, on
11016-461: The January 13 episode of Impact! , the Hardy Boyz reunited and defeated Anderson and Van Dam in a tag team match, following interference from Beer Money, Inc. On the February 3 episode of Impact! , Hardy received his rematch for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. The rest of Immortal interfered in the match, but were stopped by Fortune, which led to Anderson retaining the championship. On February 13 at Against All Odds , Hardy defeated Anderson in
11178-601: The January 14 episode of Raw and seemed to have all the momentum after coming out on top in their encounters. Hardy, however, lost the title match at the Royal Rumble, but was named as one of six men to compete in the Raw Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out on February 17, where he survived to the final two before being eliminated by the eventual winner, Triple H. During the March 3 episode of Raw , Hardy appeared on Chris Jericho 's " Highlight Reel " segment as
11340-470: The July 4 episode of SmackDown , defeating John Morrison . Hardy participated in the WWE Championship Scramble match at Unforgiven on September 7 and also challenged for the championship at No Mercy on October 5 and Cyber Sunday on October 26, but failed to win each time. He was originally scheduled to be in the WWE Championship match at Survivor Series on November 23, but, in storyline,
11502-588: The July 8 episode of Raw . Hardy was defeated a few weeks later by Rob Van Dam on the July 22 episode of Raw in a ladder match to unify the European Championship and the Intercontinental Championship , and the European Championship was retired. Finally, the Hardy Boyz split apart, as Hardy continued to pursue his singles ambitions on Raw and his brother, Matt left Raw for his own singles pursuits signing with Stephanie McMahon's SmackDown! brand. On Raw, Hardy would compete in WWE's Hardcore division until
11664-493: The Mic check. On the May 8 episode of Impact Wrestling , Willow's match against Magnus ended in a DQ when Bram interfered and handcuffed Willow to the bottom rope and started to hit him with a metal turnbuckle. On the May 15 episode of Impact Wrestling , Willow defeated both Magnus and Bram in a two on one handicap match. On the May 22 episode of Impact Wrestling , Willow defeated Magnus in
11826-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
11988-477: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
12150-601: The October 25 episode of Impact Wrestling , defeating Kurt Angle to retain his title. On November 11 at Turning Point , Hardy defeated Austin Aries in a ladder match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On the December 6 episode of Impact Wrestling , Hardy was attacked by the Aces & Eights who were revealed to be paid off by his number one contender Bobby Roode. Three days later at Final Resolution , Hardy defeated Roode to retain
12312-522: The October 27 episode of Impact Wrestling , defeating Immortal member Bully Ray . On November 13 at Turning Point , Hardy defeated Jeff Jarrett three times, first in six seconds, the second in six minutes, and the third in ten seconds. On December 11 at Final Resolution , Hardy defeated Jarrett in a steel cage match to become the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On January 8, 2012, at Genesis , Hardy defeated TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode via disqualification and as
12474-489: The September 3 episode of Raw , Hardy captured his fourth Intercontinental Championship by defeating Umaga. This was the start of a push for Hardy, and at Survivor Series on November 18, Hardy and Triple H were the last two men remaining to win the traditional elimination match . Hardy began an on and off tag team with Triple H, which eventually led to a respectful feud between the two. The rivalry continued at Armageddon on December 16, when Hardy defeated Triple H to become
12636-401: 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. On the following episode of Impact! , the stable was named Immortal , as it formed an alliance with Ric Flair's Fortune . Meanwhile, Hardy debuted a new dark character, using cryptic messages as he explained
12798-412: The TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Roode in a four-way match, which also included Bully Ray and James Storm. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling , Hardy lost his shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, following interference from the returning Kurt Angle. On March 18 at Victory Road , Hardy was defeated by Angle in a singles match. On April 15 at Lockdown , Hardy defeated Angle in
12960-428: The TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Ray in a steel cage match, following interference from the Aces & Eights, ending his reign at 147 days. On the March 21 episode of Impact Wrestling , Hardy defeated Kurt Angle, Magnus, and Samoa Joe in a four-way match to become number one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy received his title opportunity on the April 11 episode of Impact Wrestling , but
13122-484: The TNA World Heavyweight Championship, after which, both men were attacked by the Aces & Eights. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling , Aces & Eights member Devon revealed Austin Aries as the man who outpaid Roode for the Aces & Eights to interfere in their match, which led to Hardy issuing Aries a title challenge. The following week, Hardy was successful in retaining his title against Aries, following interference from Bobby Roode. The rivalry culminated in
13284-472: The TNA World Heavyweight Championship, then Jeff would become his personal assistant. Matt was unsuccessful, and Jeff was forced to be Carter's assistant. On the September 23 episode of Impact Wrestling , after refusing to hit Spud, then hitting Carter with a Twist of Fate , Hardy quit as Carter's personal assistant, therefore also (storyline) quitting TNA. On the September 30 episode of Impact Wrestling , TNA President Dixie Carter announced that Hardy would be
13446-448: The TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling , Hardy defeated Ray in a rematch to reaffirm his status as the number one contender. On October 14 at Bound for Glory , Hardy defeated Austin Aries to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the third time, and, according to TNA, completing his "road to redemption" following the events of March 2011. Hardy made his first televised title defense on
13608-652: The Trampoline Wrestling Federation (TWF) and mimicked the moves they saw on television. Later on, the TWF went under several names, eventually being integrated into a county fair in North Carolina . The brothers and their 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
13770-485: The United Wrestling Federation. Hardy was later released from his TNA contract in June 2006. On August 4, 2006, WWE announced that Hardy had re-signed with the company. In the following weeks, vignettes aired hyping his return on the August 21 episode of Raw . On the day of his return, Hardy confronted then WWE Champion Edge , before an altercation between the two that ended when Lita pulled Edge out of
13932-444: The WWF, Jeff and Matt formed their own wrestling promotion , the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA) with Thomas Simpson. The promotion was a more successful version of the original TWF and included talent such as both Hardy brothers, Shannon Moore , Gregory Helms , Joey Matthews , and Steve Corino , among others. In OMEGA, each of the brothers portrayed several characters; Hardy portrayed such characters as Willow
14094-587: The Wisp, Iceman, Mean Jimmy Jack Tomkins, and The Masked Mountain. While there, Hardy held the New Frontier Championship (NFC) as a singles competitor and the Tag Team Championship with Matt. The promotion folded in April 1998 when they signed contracts with the WWF. Hardy cites Hulk Hogan , The Ultimate Warrior , Sting , and Shawn Michaels as his childhood inspirations to wrestle. He started on World Wrestling Federation (WWF) television as
14256-547: The World Heavyweight Championship back to Punk. On the August 28 episode of SmackDown , Hardy lost to Punk in a steel cage rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship with the stipulation "loser leaves WWE", resulting in Hardy leaving WWE, in storyline. This storyline was put in place to allow Hardy to leave WWE to heal his injuries, including a neck injury . Hardy also had two herniated discs in his lower back and
14418-470: The Year " on two occasions. Outside of professional wrestling, Hardy is involved in motocross , as well as artistic endeavors, particularly music and painting. He is currently a member of the band PeroxWhy?Gen , with whom he tours and has released three studio albums and four extended plays. In 2003, Hardy, along with his brother Matt, co-wrote an autobiographical book of memoirs titled The Hardy Boyz . Their book
14580-519: The announcement of the Ultimate X match for the X Division Championship at Bound for Glory . On October 20, 2013, at Bound for Glory, Hardy debuted a new theme song and competed in his first Ultimate X match for the TNA X Division Championship but was unsuccessful as Chris Sabin won the match after an interference from Velvet Sky . In November, Hardy entered the World Title Tournament to crown
14742-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
14904-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
15066-497: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
15228-412: The broader public. In the United States, wrestling is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as
15390-516: The cage spot was covered in mainstream media such as USA Today and TMZ . Hardy returned after TNA United Kingdom tour. In March, The Hardys participated in a tournament for the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship. On March 16, 2015, The Hardys won an Ultimate X match for the belts for the first time as a team and individually. On May 8, 2015, the Hardys were forced to vacate the TNA World Tag Team Championship due to Jeff suffering
15552-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
15714-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
15876-494: The championship in a rematch against Morgan after incapacitating the special guest referee Mr. Anderson and having a replacement referee count the pinfall. On January 4, 2011, Hardy made his debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) at Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome , where he successfully defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Tetsuya Naito . On January 9 at Genesis , Hardy's brother, Matt, made his TNA debut as
16038-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
16200-461: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
16362-468: The competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on the independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in
16524-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
16686-405: The decision to cut the match short after deeming that Hardy was too intoxicated to wrestle, coming out visibly under the influence during his entrance. The following day it was reported that TNA had sent Hardy home from the week's Impact! tapings. On the March 17 episode of Impact! , Immortal severed their ties with Hardy. On August 23, 2011, TNA announced that Hardy would be making his return to
16848-408: The end of 2001, the Hardys began a storyline in which they began to fight, which led to Matt demanding a match at Vengeance on December 9, with Lita as the special guest referee. After Hardy beat Matt by pinfall at Vengeance, while Matt's foot was on the ropes, Hardy and Lita began feuding against Matt. In the middle of the feud, however, Hardy faced The Undertaker in a Hardcore Championship match on
17010-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
17172-400: The event, Anderson turned face and eventually managed to convince the skeptical Hardy that he really had changed, after which the two went on to form a tag team. At Slammiversary VIII , Hardy and Anderson, now known as Enigmatic Assholes, defeated Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm) in a tag team match. On the August 19 episode of Impact! , the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
17334-597: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
17496-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
17658-450: The following weeks, he would continue to feud with Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud, leading to a tag-team match between them (with Kurt Angle as Willow's partner) at Sacrifice on April 27, Willow and Angle would go on to win that match. On the May 1 episode of Impact Wrestling , Willow defeated James Storm by disqualification when Storm shoved the referee and as Storm made his way up the ramp, Mr. Anderson appeared and hit Storm with
17820-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
17982-455: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
18144-605: The highest risk-takers in the industry. Together with his brother Matt , the tag team The Hardy Boyz are widely regarded as one of the major teams that revived tag team wrestling during the Attitude Era and one of the greatest tag teams in professional wrestling history. Born and raised in Cameron, North Carolina , Hardy started his career as a youth performing in the Trampoline Wrestling Federation, which he started alongside his brother Matt Hardy. Eventually, that would transition into
18306-513: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
18468-492: The individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in a professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
18630-471: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
18792-487: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
18954-470: The match as himself and won, earning a match with Lashley for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship the following week, which Hardy lost. On the July 24 Impact Wrestling , Hardy told the audience that we had not seen the last of Willow and then brought out Matt Hardy , his brother, to reform The Hardys. The Wolves joined them in the ring and challenged them to a match for the TNA World Tag Team Championship at Impact Wrestling: Destination X , which
19116-483: The match, Hardy performed a Swanton Bomb to Bubba Ray Dudley off a 20-foot ladder. In 2000, the Hardy Boyz found a new manager in their real-life friend Lita . Together, the three became known as " Team Xtreme ". They continued their feud with Edge and Christian throughout 2000, defeating them for the WWF Tag Team Championship on two occasions. At SummerSlam on August 27, the Hardy Boyz competed in perhaps
19278-469: The match, he was attacked by Punk, who invoked his rematch for the following week, where Hardy retained the championship after interference from Matt Hardy, who was the special guest enforcer. Punk again attacked Hardy post-match, resulting in Teddy Long announcing a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match between the two for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam on August 23. At SummerSlam, Hardy lost
19440-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
19602-578: The most physically demanding type of match they had competed in thus far- the first ever Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match (TLC match)- in their hometown of Raleigh , for the Tag Team Championship against the Dudley Boyz and Edge & Christian, but were unsuccessful. The second TLC match at WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1, 2001 in Houston , which is regarded as one of the greatest matches in WWE history they faced off once again against Edge & Christian and
19764-446: The number one contender for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble on January 27, 2008. In the weeks leading up to the Royal Rumble, Hardy and Randy Orton engaged in a personal feud, which began when Orton kicked Hardy's brother, Matt, in the head in the storyline on the December 31 episode of Raw . Hardy, in retaliation, performed a Swanton Bomb on Orton from the top of the Raw set on
19926-542: The number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which Rhino also won. At Genesis in November, Hardy lost to Monty Brown in another number one contender match. Hardy was scheduled to wrestle on the pre-show of Turning Point in December 2005, but once again no-showed the event, again citing traveling problems. Hardy was suspended as a result and did not appear on TNA television again. In March, April, and May 2006, Hardy appeared on several live events promoted by TNA in conjunction with Dave Hebner and
20088-450: The other members of MNM , he was challenged once again by Nitro at New Year's Revolution on January 7, 2007 in a steel cage match for the Intercontinental Championship. Hardy once again defeated Nitro. Hardy then teamed with Matt to defeat MNM at both the Royal Rumble on January 28 and No Way Out on February 18. The next night on the February 19 episode of Raw , Hardy lost the Intercontinental Championship to Umaga . Hardy competed in
20250-489: The process. Hardy wrestled his first match in six months on September 15 at a live event in York, Pennsylvania , defeating Jeff Jarrett. Hardy then began feuding with his former stable Immortal, attacking Eric Bischoff on the October 6 episode of Impact Wrestling and engaging in brawls with Jeff Jarrett at Bound for Glory and on the October 20 episode of Impact Wrestling . Hardy wrestled his first televised match since his return on
20412-533: The promotion at the Impact Wrestling tapings on August 25 in Huntsville, Alabama . The return would take place only five days after Matt Hardy was released from his TNA contract. In his return, which was taped for the September 8 episode of Impact Wrestling , Hardy spoke to the audience, acknowledging that he had hit rock bottom at Victory Road in March, before asking the fans for "one more shot", turning face in
20574-714: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
20736-439: The purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise a bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether
20898-515: The reasons behind his turn. At Turning Point , Hardy retained his title in a defense against Matt Morgan , a replacement for Mr. Anderson, who was sidelined after suffering a concussion during an attack by Hardy. On the following episode of Impact! , Hogan presented Hardy with a new design of the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, which he dubbed the TNA Immortal Championship. At Final Resolution in December, Hardy successfully defended
21060-438: The ring, preventing Hardy from delivering a Swanton Bomb. After failing to capture the Intercontinental Championship from Johnny Nitro over the next few weeks, including at Unforgiven on September 17, Hardy finally defeated Nitro to win his second Intercontinental Championship on the October 2 episode of Raw . On the November 6 episode of Raw , Hardy lost the Intercontinental Championship back to Nitro, after Nitro hit him with
21222-511: The semi-finals and finals of the TNA World Title Series , which Matt had later lost. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling
21384-468: The semi-finals. Three days later at No Surrender , Hardy defeated Joe in a rematch to advance to the finals of the tournament. Before the finals took place, Hardy suffered a storyline injury after taking part in a brawl between the TNA locker room and the Aces & Eights stable. Despite the injury, Hardy defeated Bully Ray in the finals to win the 2012 Bound for Glory Series and become the number one contender to
21546-432: The semifinals to advance to the finals of the tournament where they defeated Samoa Joe and Low Ki to become number one contenders for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. On the January 7 episode of Impact Wrestling , Hardy along with his brother Matt were at ringside for The Wolves vs. James Storm and Abyss ; during the match, The Great Sanada and Manik attempted to interfere in the match, but then ended up receiving
21708-541: The special guest referee in the three-way dance TNA World Heavyweight Championship match between Carter, his brother Matt, and Drew Galloway at Bound for Glory . At the event, Hardy turned on Carter by hitting him with a steel chair with Matt hitting the Twist of Fate , thus giving Matt his first TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy made an appearance on January 5, 2016, episode of Impact Wrestling on its live Pop TV debut backstage and ringside to support his brother Matt in
21870-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
22032-454: The team became known as Team Xtreme and continued to rise in popularity. After splitting up as a team in 2002, Jeff's popularity as a singles wrestler began to grow. However, the brothers still teamed up sporadically in the years afterward, and together they have held twenty-one world tag team championships between WWE, TNA, ROH and other promotions. Hardy had great success in his singles career, capturing his first of six world championships ,
22194-454: The team was finally brought up to WWF television, after months of " jobbing " and live events, they then formed the acrobatic tag team called the Hardy Boyz. While feuding with The Brood in mid-1999, they added Michael Hayes as their manager . On July 5, they won their first WWF Tag Team Championship by defeating the Acolytes , but lost it back to them a month later. After the dissolution of
22356-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
22518-421: The title's unification with the Intercontinental Championship . In late 2002, Hardy had been teaming with Rob Van Dam and Bubba Ray Dudley. He along with Bubba Ray and Spike Dudley defeated 3-Minute Warning at Survivor Series on November 17 in a six-man tag team elimination tables match. In January 2003, Hardy briefly turned into a heel (villain) after he attacked Van Dam and Shawn Michaels . It ended
22680-486: The tournament. Hardy's participation in the Bound for Glory series ended on the September 5 episode of Impact Wrestling , when he was eliminated from a twenty-point battle royal by Kazarian. On the September 19 episode of Impact Wrestling , Hardy defeated X Division Champion Manik in a non-title match. On the October 3 episode of Impact Wrestling , Hardy teamed with Manik defeating Kenny King and Chris Sabin which led to
22842-505: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
23004-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
23166-405: The venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as a performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in
23328-604: The victory and during the which he was quickly unmasked and lost his jacket, being left in an attire similar to the one he wore in WWE. Because of this, he was booed before, during, and after the match by the ROH audience, who chanted "We want Matt!" and "You got fired!". Hardy debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on June 23, 2004, at the Second Anniversary Show , in a match against A.J. Styles , for
23490-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
23652-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
23814-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
23976-510: Was 18 (he was in fact, only 16). The next day, he wrestled under his real name against The 1–2–3 Kid , and the match aired on the June 25, 1994, episode of Superstars . Later on faced against King Kong Bundy and Jim Neidhart , Owen Hart and Triple H . Hardy defeated Razor Ramon by countout on WWF Superstars January 13, 1996 (taped December 19, 1995) when Goldust's handler distracted Razor and Razor chased after him. In 1996, he would be teamed with his brother, Matt and occasionally wrestled as
24138-438: Was a New York Times Best Seller . Jeff Nero Hardy is the son of Gilbert and Ruby Moore Hardy, and the younger brother of Matt Hardy . Their mother died of brain cancer in 1987, when Jeff Hardy was nine. He developed an interest in motocross at age 12 and got his first bike, a Yamaha YZ-80 . He had his first race when he was in the ninth grade . Hardy played baseball when he was young, but had to stop after he crashed during
24300-540: Was again defeated by Bully Ray in a Full Metal Mayhem match. Hardy returned to TNA on June 2 at Slammiversary XI , teaming with Magnus and Samoa Joe in a winning effort against Aces & Eights ( Garett Bischoff , Mr. Anderson, and Wes Brisco ). As a result of previously winning the Bound for Glory Series, Hardy and Bobby Roode were entered into the 2013 Bound for Glory Series on the June 13 episode of Impact Wrestling . The following week, Hardy defeated Roode in his first BFG series match via pinfall to earn seven points in
24462-456: Was booked to win after the suspension was announced. Hardy returned on the May 12 episode of Raw , defeating Umaga. This reignited the rivalry between the two, and they met in a Falls Count Anywhere match at One Night Stand on June 1, which Hardy won. On the June 23 episode of Raw , Hardy was drafted to the SmackDown brand as a part of the 2008 WWE draft . Hardy made his debut for the brand on
24624-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
24786-498: Was defeated by Anderson in a singles match. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling , Hardy defeated Anderson in a rematch. On the live May 31 episode of Impact Wrestling , Hardy won a fan voting to become the number one contender to the TNA Television Championship . However, his title match with Devon ended in a no contest, following interference from Robbie E and Robbie T . On June 10 at Slammiversary , Hardy
24948-484: Was defeated by Mr. Anderson in a three-way number one contender's match, also involving Rob Van Dam. On the June 14 episode of Impact Wrestling , Hardy entered the 2012 Bound for Glory Series , taking part in the opening gauntlet match, from which he was the first man eliminated by Bully Ray. Hardy wrestled his final group stage match of the tournament on the September 6 episode of Impact Wrestling , defeating Samoa Joe via submission, thus finishing fourth and advancing to
25110-470: Was found unconscious in his hotel stairwell, allowing the returning Edge to replace him in the match and win the title. At Armageddon on December 14, Hardy defeated Edge and Triple H in a triple threat match to capture the WWE Championship, his first world championship . In January 2009, Hardy's next storyline led to his involvement in scripted accidents, including a hit-and-run automobile accident and an accident involving his ring entrance pyrotechnics . At
25272-568: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
25434-404: Was released from WWE on April 22, 2003. The reasons given for the release were Hardy's erratic behavior, drug use, refusal to go to rehab, deteriorating ring performance, as well as constant tardiness and no-showing events. Hardy also cites "burn out" and the need for time off as reasons for leaving WWE. On May 24, 2003, Hardy made his first wrestling appearance after being released by WWE during
25596-432: Was ruled that Angle was unable to continue and the match ended in a no contest. After wrestling a draw on the September 16 episode of Impact! , it was announced that both Hardy and Angle would advance to the finals at Bound for Glory , where they would compete with Mr. Anderson in a three–way match. At Bound for Glory, Hardy turned heel with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff and with their help defeated Angle and Anderson to win
25758-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
25920-406: Was suffering from restless legs syndrome . Jeff Hardy's contract with WWE expired that week thus ending his 3 year stint with the company. On TNA's first live Monday episode of Impact! on January 4, 2010, Hardy made his return to TNA, along with Shannon Moore . He was attacked by Homicide after emerging from the crowd, but hit Homicide with a steel chair and performed the Twist of Fate on
26082-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
26244-426: Was vacated after Rob Van Dam was injured by Abyss. Hardy was entered into an eight-man tournament for the championship, defeating Rob Terry in his first round match. At the semi-finals at No Surrender , Hardy first wrestled Kurt Angle to a twenty-minute time-limit draw, after which Eric Bischoff ordered a five-minute period of extra time. After that and a second five-minute extra time period also ended in draws, it
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