New Jeff Hardy Interview

[Guest Polish_Rifle]

Credit wwe.com

_________________

With Jeff Hardy’s autobiography, “Exist 2 Inspire,” just hitting bookstores, WWE.com thought it would be a great time to chat with the former Intercontinental Champion, which we did prior to Monday’s RAW in Sacramento, Calif.

 

WWE.com: How are the book signings going?

 

Jeff: They’ve been great. The turnouts have been great. At the last one we did, about 300-400 fans waited out in the rain to get our autographs. And everybody’s been really happy with the book.

 

WWE.com: So you have been getting good feedback to the book?

 

Jeff: People have enjoyed it to the max, man. Neither Matt nor I have heard anything bad about it so far.

 

WWE.com: One of my favorite parts of the book was the fact that you guys didn’t seem to sugarcoat anything. You really told the truth – you said some critical things about Matt and vice versa; you admitted if you messed up.

 

Jeff: Matt and I agreed on avoiding that; we both wanted to stay away from sugarcoating stuff. We told the truth. We told how we feel. (We mentioned) differences in opinion and different views that we have. We wanted that to get across.

 

WWE.com: A couple of different times in the book you mentioned how fans expect you to jump off ladders, and how you need to get beyond that. It seems like you’ve come to the realization that you have to slow down.

 

Jeff: Yeah, and I never thought I was going to do it forever. I’ve slowed down a lot, and I know Matt has too. We knew that it’s not going to go on forever. But the fans do expect it. Once you do it once, and you develop a reputation of being a daredevil – which I have – they’re going to continuously want to see that stuff. But I think they know that it can’t go on forever.

 

WWE.com: Are you concerned about the reaction you’re going to get from people you talk about in the book?

 

Jeff: Yeah, actually, Michael Hayes is one of those people. And I heard it through the grapevine that Michael was reading the book and he questioned, “Did he really say that?” And that he was kind of upset. I don’t know how true that is. But there were so many stories that were in there, like about when we (Hayes and the Hardy Boyz) had to break up, and he came into our hotel room with two cups of coffee, and he said, “They’re not gonna break us up boys! We’ve got to stand together and fight this!” It meant so much to him being with us at that time. But also at that time, he was driving us crazy. We were just honest about it.

 

WWE.com: What if he comes up to you and says something about the comments you made in the book?

 

Jeff: I’d probably just say, “I didn’t say that! The writer must’ve added it in!”

 

WWE.com: You guys talked about gifts you’ve gotten from the fans. Matt mentioned the best gift he’s ever gotten, a DVD player. What was the best present you’ve ever received from a fan?

 

Jeff: Man, we got a lot of good stuff. At both of those signings we did last week, I had to get a new bag just to take the stuff home because there was so much good stuff. The best thing I’ve ever got was probably this pair of motocross pants that were really expensive – over $100. That was just sent to me by a fan. There’s been a lot of clothing that was real cool. Matt’s actually got more impressive stuff, like a DVD player.

 

WWE.com: One of my favorite parts of the book is when you say that you wanted to get out of Cameron when you were growing up, but now that you’ve traveled around, you appreciate home more than ever.

 

Jeff: That was a big part of the book, as far as Matt talking about moving to Raleigh and buying a house there. We’ve got 100 acres of land that my dad owns. To me, that land is ours, and it’s so cherished. They’re not making any more land; that’s obvious. As far as I’m concerned, you need to hold on to whatever kind of land you have the opportunity to hold on to. But anyway, Matt finally changed his mind and built a beautiful house across from my dad. Now, it’s good to see that we’re both there. If something were to happen to my dad, we’d be there to take care of the land.

 

WWE.com: I think some people, after reading the book, will get the impression that you don’t care about wrestling, and that you’ll only be around for a little while longer. Can you comment on those things?

 

Jeff: One of the things is with the Internet, and the stories that are told on there – Jeff’s got chronic fatigue syndrome, or Jeff’s got an eating disorder, or Jeff’s a drug addict that’s on all these pills and is out of control. There’s just so much bulls*** on the Internet as far as I’m concerned. Some little kid can post something about me, and then that spreads so rapidly, and people believe the first thing they hear. But I’ve seen some of the feedback on the book. I think the majority of stuff I’ve seen and heard, people were saying that I’ve answered the questions that they were wondering about. I think it illustrates that I have more interests than just wrestling. I love wrestling, but I don’t love it as much as Matt does. When he says he loves wrestling more than he loves life, then that’s what he feels. I also love motocross and songs and music and all that stuff. I think I got that across in the book. I was really open with the fans, and if they’re truthfully my fans, they’ll be interested in me in other areas as well. Hopefully, that’s all-around good for WWE.

 

WWE.com: Do you plan on sticking around in WWE?

 

Jeff: Oh definitely. I’m going to stick around, and still be a part of WWE. But maybe not just wrestling. With shows like Confidential now, and the music – I couldn’t imagine the show without music – we can collaborate somehow, I’m sure.

 

WWE.com: Matt made a comment about your match at Vengeance 2001, that you were in your “I don’t care about wrestling” frame of mind. Do you have an “I don’t care about wrestling” frame of mind?

 

Jeff: Oh, I was (in that frame of mind) big time at that point. I think that was right around the time that they were going to make me kiss Lita. I was in a crazy mood. I remember we were almost going to fight after the match that day. It was a decent match, but Matt acted like I had forgot so much, and I just wasn’t in it because I didn’t care anymore. I remember saying something to the effect of, “Tell me what I forgot! Tell me!” And he couldn’t. He was just like, “You don’t care, man!” My whole thought that whole time was that he didn’t want the Hardy Boyz to break up and he was thinking I wanted to do something on my own, so I wasn’t putting in my share. He thought I was being selfish. I was feeling kind of held back, I guess, to a certain extent, because say if I wanted to paint my arm back in those days. I couldn’t do it because I was with Matt and Lita.

They weren’t doing it, and I couldn’t look cooler than them. This is a good example: I ride dirt bikes. A lot of people, when they think “Hardy Boyz,” they think both of use dye our hair and do all of the extreme stuff, which is not true. I’ve always been into dirt bikes and all the craziness. Matt and Amy (Lita) have never been involved in much of that, to where it comes across on TV that all of us are.

 

WWE.com: I’d like to get your reaction to one of the comments Matt made in the book: “Jeff used to listen to what I say, before he became a household name.”

 

Jeff: A lot of times I present an idea, and I think it’s so good. That kind of hurts when it gets shot down. When I spend all this time on a plane or in a car or whatever thinking about an idea, and you get a feeling inside you like, “Oh man, that’ll be sweet.” But then when it gets shot down, that gets so frustrating. That happened to me so many times. I feel like I present something and people automatically just go, “You’re crazy! You’re just a maniac!” They don’t even take time to listen to me. With that said, I’m going to start carrying action figures in my pockets, so when I present something, I can actually illustrate it with my hands and two action figures. But basically with Matt’s comment, I think he was just saying that I’m getting a little more independent and confident in myself after being on TV for so long, and getting big pops after he would tag me in. (I’ve) just started to rebel against him. I think it’s natural. I think it was time for me to. It’s like standing up for yourself kind of, because there were so many times where I would just give in. A lot of times I’ve said, “Man, I wish I could just give Matt the talent that I have.” Because he’s dedicated for life. A lot of times I feel crazy because I know I’m good at this, and sometimes I wish that I could just give it to him because I see how much he is devoted to it.

 

WWE.com: Is your ultimate goal to be WWE Champion? Matt said in the book that both of you had the goal. I know he does. Do you?

 

Jeff: Yeah, it’s definitely a goal before I quit altogether. And honestly, I’d love to do it before he does it, just to beat him to the race. That’s the competitive fire between us.

 

WWE.com: What’s your relationship like with Matt right now?

 

Jeff: It’s great. I don’t see him as much as I used to, but in a way that’s good. We get along. We talked on the phone pretty frequently. It’s kind of cool to be on different shows, but then to stay in touch with what we’ve done. On every Monday, he’s always calling to find out what I’m doing because he’s interested. We’re fans of each other. Man, he’s doing great on SmackDown! And Shannon (Moore) owes him a lot for helping him out.

 

WWE.com: So you’re an MFer?

 

Jeff: I don’t know if I’m all about that. (Laughs) No, I am. I enjoy it. He’s doing great. But he does -- he talks about himself so much. I don’t even think he realizes it, but he does. Other people will tell you that. Amy would tell you that.

 

WWE.com: Do you think the release of the book will bring you closer together, drive you farther apart or have no effect?

 

Jeff: I think it will bring us closer together. The signings we’ve done, they’ve been fun. It’s been fun to be in that atmosphere again. Being on separate shows, we heard it all the time: “Are y’all going to get back together.” Yeah, eventually we probably will. But right now, we’re happy with what we’re doing separately. We’ll keep that up for a while.

[Guest Just call me Dan]

Jeff is too big for his own head in this interview. He's got balls to take some of this risks he does, but you can't say that he has more talent for wrestling. Matt can hold a 20 minute match and use psychology and dictate a pace. Jeff looks lost and throws shitty spots together and doesn't time things well. He wants to do all of his own shit but sounds like he won't take guidance. Him going out there with all that shit on his arms can't make it easy for guys to comfortably execute moves/spots and he just goes out there not looking professional. He sounds like a down to earth guy, but I thik his perception of the business and what makes it good is about as fucked up as Jim Hellwig's.

[Guest bob_barron]

I must've missed all those 20 minute psychologically sound matches Matt had.

 

I hope Jeff can get his shit in order- I was upset that they aborted his heel turn

[Guest Just call me Dan]

You're getting rather annoying. Matt can go 20 minutes and although he hasn't had any 20 minute psychologial thrillers where he works on the leg or something. He is a great heel and uses great heel psychology in my opinion. Jeff just kind of ent out there and di the same thing in the ring with no mannerisms, etc. whether he was a heel or a face. Matt also hasn't been given very many 1 on 1 PPV matches or any matches over 20 minutes where he wasn't tagging. Hopefully we can see more of that, and hopefully you can stop jumping on everyone's asses and just voice your feelings on the story and move along.

[Guest bob_barron]

You're getting rather annoying. Matt can go 20 minutes and although he hasn't had any 20 minute psychologial thrillers where he works on the leg or something. He is a great heel and uses great heel psychology in my opinion. Jeff just kind of ent out there and di the same thing in the ring with no mannerisms, etc. whether he was a heel or a face. Matt also hasn't been given very many 1 on 1 PPV matches or any matches over 20 minutes where he wasn't tagging. Hopefully we can see more of that, and hopefully you can stop jumping on everyone's asses and just voice your feelings on the story and move along.

Have you seen a Matt Hardy 20 minute singles match? No

Have you seen a psychologically sound 20 minute match involving Matt? No

 

He is a good heel and all but I don't know if he could go out there for 20 minutes. Excuse me for picking apart something that you said. Next time I'll just reply with: I agree with everything you said. Those Mattitude 20 minute matches are the best! Matt's a good wrestler but we really don't know if he can go out there for 20 yet.

 

Jeff hasn't really been a heel since 1999. I wouldn't really count his aborted heel turn this year since it lasted about 3 minutes. I just wish they would've followed up with instead of having JR go 'Well bah gawd Jeff is a conflicted complex character.'

[Guest NoCalMike]

After seeing up to now what Jeff and Matt can do as singles wrestlers, I'd say it was Matt being held down by the tag team, rather than Jeff. All the Hardys really were was a sideshow attraction in the first place that could put together a decent match as long as the other team could carry them, and then they would hit some highspots(ala TLC1,2,3). Matt Hardy has successfully moved on from that and created a character for himself which is pretty good and different from your typical heel, while Jeff has remaned the same damn thing minus the tables, ladders, and chairs. Almost on a weekly basis Jim Ross has to come up with some new name for the "jeff hardy specimen" and it always fails to get over, except for with the females who can care less about anything than looks.

[Guest Fook_Hing_Ho]

I guess, to a certain extent, because say if I wanted to paint my arm back in those days. I couldn’t do it because I was with Matt and Lita. They weren’t doing it, and I couldn’t look cooler than them

 

Wait a minute, he actually thinks dipping his whole arm in a paint canister looks good?

Wow, he's more fucked up than I thought...

[Guest edotherocket]

Anyone have a review of this book?

[Guest Repo Man jr]

He seems really honest like he'd say whatever he wanted and not give a shit. The book could be good.

[Guest TheHulkster]

I just finish the book a half an hour ago. It's a great read. They don't hold back their opinions on people or situations that have occured in their careers. Jeff comes off as a pretty down to earth guy (as strange as that sounds), while Matt, particularly in the last half of the book, comes off a bit pompous. They don't hold back on their opinions on the creative directions of their characters either. In the 2001-2002 section, their side of the story of their disappointments with the creative team coincides with a lot of similar stories of wrestlers who have left the WWE around this time. They go into detail about backstage rituals and hazing practices too. These sections shed a pretty bad light on Bradshaw and Taker, whether they intended that or not. Anyway, if you're looking for a new book about wrestling, i'd definitely pick it up.

[Yuna_Firerose 0]

It really is a damn good read. Matt mentions how winning the Tag Titles diminished each time they won them....how the Dean/Lita-Hardyz/Radicalz storyline was a bit of a hassle for them...and there's a FUNNY story in there about E&C, Jeff, Matt, and JERICHO, most in their boxers and socks, getting drunk and JUMPING OUT OF A HOTEL WINDOW DURING WINTER! Crazy bastards. At the moment, I'm at the Invasion..uh...chapter? ... and it's very interesting.

 

EDIT: Not sure if it's a 'bad light' on Bradshaw and Taker, Hulkster. They just mention how they got ribbed by 'em first. I was trying not to giggle during the "Wrestler's Court" chapter. They also discuss Tough Enough, and how Maven got ribbed his first night there.

[Guest TheHulkster]

The parts about Taker turning down a few of Jeff's ideas, even when they didn't involve him, kinda put Taker in a bad light for me.

[Guest Kotzenjunge]

I'm holding off on reading any more wrestler's books that have ghostwriters. I really want to see their own words.

[Yuna_Firerose 0]

At first it doesn't sound like them [has Jeff ever said 'fabuously?' before??] but after a while, it seems more and more like their own words.

[Guest Kotzenjunge]

Trust me, it's all ghostwritten if it says "With (so and so)" under the name of the "author."

[Guest Just call me Dan]

Well bob, hopefully this match at Wrestlemania will be an example of that. I didn't mean for you to agree with what I said, that's no fun. I just noticed lately that you've been a bit jumpy, case in pont: When a fellow asked about the Hennig sigs and why people haven't moved on. You replied like you should have except for the fact that before you decided to ask him why "the fuck" he cared.

I meant (perhaps it is pure speculation) that Matt can hold together a match, go for 20 without Chris Jericho holding his hand and actually pick apart his opponent or at least do his part to make a good match, whereas Jeff has shown me in the past few months he most certainly cannot. I am sorry for getting annoyed with your comments and it appears we had a small difference of opinions.

[Guest Steviekick]

I think it's about time Jeff Hardy defended himself. He's had more than enough crap said about him, so he deserves a rebuttal.

[Guest Polish_Rifle]

I finished the book last night and it seems like Jeff is not very fond of Stephanie. He said something about Stephanie yelling at him like she was the god damn principle and how she was on a power trip when she wanted to force him to kiss Lita.

 

He also mentioned that he was very frustrated because all of his ideas keep getting rejected and that has caused him to become disinterested in wrestling.

[Yuna_Firerose 0]

I finished the book today. Very good read, but too short in my opinion.

 

Jeff also mentions how the titles mean shit to him and he really doesn't care about winning or losing...he just likes performing. Since he's not involved in any important angles at the moment, I'm hoping he gets the time off that he needs so he can work on his music.

 

Polish_Rifle, since we've both read the book, what did you think of Jeff's idea to use 'Taker's old DeadMan gimmick?

[Guest subliminal_animal]

Weird a WWE book would have anything really juicy in it. And this already came out? You people should've waited the two months and paid half-price.

 

And that "Drugs" in the the topic description was so misleading. Weak, my good man ... ultra-industrial-strength weak.

 

You're getting rather annoying.  Matt can go 20 minutes and although he hasn't had any 20 minute psychologial thrillers where he works on the leg or something.

Tommy Lee Jones has had psychological thrillers that were about six times that long. And he's old and worn, too.

 

Hopefully we can see more of that, and hopefully you can stop jumping on everyone's asses and just voice your feelings on the story and move along.

Yo, Bobbo! Tone down your sass before they get wild on your ass!

 

I meant (perhaps it is pure speculation) that Matt can hold together a match, go for 20 without Chris Jericho holding his hand and actually pick apart his opponent or at least do his part to make a good match, whereas Jeff has shown me in the past few months he most certainly cannot.

I agree with you.

 

I am sorry for getting annoyed with your comments and it appears we had a small difference of opinions.

WHAT?! Don't apologize ... MARGINALIZE AND PARALYZE!!

[Yuna_Firerose 0]

You people should've waited the two months and paid half-price.

It's advertised on Shopzone as being $24.95, yet I got it at Wal-Mart for only $17.47. Weird, especially for a new release.