Jeff Hardy Shoot Interview

[Guest TSMAdmin]

This week's update is slightly late because I was drafting my fantasy football team. I'm hoping I do better than LAST year, which shouldn't be too hard.

 

Next week's shoot will be with Perry Saturn and the week after will be a repost, possibly with Al Snow.

 

 

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Jeff Hardy Shoot Interview (7-19-2003)

 

How he got into the wrestling business- He and his brother, Matt Hardy Version One, watched Randy Savage win the WWF title at Wrestlemania 4 then decided to start doing backyard wrestling.

 

What promotions did they watch? They mainly watched WCW because they lived in the South and, as a result, saw a LOT of Ric Flair. One of the few times the WWF ran their area, they went and saw Andre the Giant, which was worth it because of how impressive it was to see Andre live.

 

What was TWF? Originally, it was Trampoline Wrestling Federation. It was later Teen Wrestling Federation, but it was all a bunch of backyard wrestling. They used to do a lot of moves on the trampoline, which he feels is responsible for their high-flying moves today.

 

Were there any wrestlers he tried to pattern himself after? He patterned himself after The Ultimate Warrior and Sting at first.

 

When did they finally get trained? They were trained by working shows for Stallion and George South, although they got ripped off on booking fees. As an example, they’d drive from North Carolina to New York to work tapings for three Monday Night RAWs and would get paid $150 each, but had to give up $100 each in booking fees. They didn’t really care too much at the time, as Jeff was still a junior in high school and it was an experience to be on national TV while still in school.

 

Matches they had at WWF tapings- Jeff’s first match was against Scott Hall while Matt’s first match was against Nikita. “He beat the living shit out of me” and was about to cry afterwards. Apparently, Hall was having a bad day and decided to take it out on him. The next night, he faced 1-2-3 Kid (Sean Waltman, X-Pac) and had a good time.

 

Training before they went to the WWF- Stallion taught them some main things like how to work a leg but, after that, they just threw themselves into it and learned as they went along.

 

Who was his mentor early on, psychology-wise? Michael Hayes, because they met him around the time they began jobbing. “He was our wrestling daddy.”

 

Other promotions they worked early in their careers before OMEGA? They worked Steve Corino’s promotion, which he thinks was called NWA 2000. They loved the experience of working shows for small crowds in pissant towns then, when they came back for their next show, the buildings were overflowing with people to see them wrestle.

 

OMEGA- Matt came up with a lot of that stuff and, while it was strange, it really took off. “Matt did most of the work” and kept the promotion afloat through sponsorships while Jeff was still working as a landscaper part-time.

 

What style did he think the promotion would be? They’d just started breaking tables and stuff like they’d seen on Sabu’s tapes, so they started doing hardcore stuff. They began mixing it up with Lucha Libre after they saw tapes of Rey Misterio’s matches in ECW.

 

Early goals when OMEGA started? To be in competition with Vince McMahon, to do PPVs, etc., which are the thoughts of every independent for the long run.

 

What happened at the first show they had with Manny Fernandez? Manny had been booked in some town that sounded similar to the one he ended up in, such as Sanford and Stanford. He tried to intimidate them into booking him on the show but, finally, Matt stood up to him and said that the card was full and, besides that, they didn’t have any money to pay him. Manny then decided that he just wanted space to set up his gimmicks table for the night.

 

How did he come up with the name Will O’ the Wisp? It was based off a character from the Spider-Man comics, although he spelled it differently. He loved doing that gimmick because, in the end, the promos didn’t have to make sense. (This is different from his Jeff Hardy gimmick HOW exactly?) At that time, it was a tweener character and he feels it was release for him to be in that gimmick.

 

Other gimmicks he used? They’d sit around the house thinking up gimmicks ever since they were about 10.

 

Early matches with Matt in OMEGA- The best match they had, which he’s watched recently, was him and Matt against the Serial Thrillers, Shane Helms (The Hurricane) and Mike Maverick. The Thrillers were the faces that night because the show was at their old high school. Jeff drifts off the point to put over Matt’s creativity, how he believes that Matt will be in wrestling until he dies, and that Matt would make a great agent.

 

What did he learn when he was booking back then? That he didn’t want to book, he just wanted to wrestle. His big part in OMEGA was playing two different characters and keeping them separate, such as selling differently depending on which one he was at the time.

 

Working with Matt- He loves working with him, especially alongside him instead of against him. When they wrestled each other the last time, they were beating the crap out of each other.

 

Favorite matches in OMEGA- They did a bunch of ladder matches, although his favorite was a 2 of 3 falls match with a different stipulation for each fall (submissions for the first fall, hardcore for the second, and a ladder match for the finale). It was a title vs. mask match in which Jeff won Matt’s title, but he chose to unmask anyway.

 

Shane Helms and Shannon Moore- Shannon was about his age but was very small and didn’t think he could pull off wrestling. Jeff decided that Shannon was capable of doing it and decided to train him. They met Helms at an indy show where they were trying to make connections by giving out tapes. Helms was “a toothpick” at the time and became fast friends with Matt. Helms was always up for a fight back then, despite his size. Moore was quieter and concentrated on motorcycles.

 

Was there anyone in OMEGA who he feels had talent that didn’t make it? He feels that Joey Abs of the Mean Street Posse had potential but that he had an ego problem that killed his career. He was sent from the WWF to Memphis in order to teach him a lesson but he only got worse.

 

Making themselves stand out- Jeff feels that, if he’s going to job, he’s practically going to kill himself so that he’ll be remembered. He starts talking about how much they wanted to go to the WWF but he finds himself in a weird situation now where he’s gone from there because he got burned out. “It’s not like I left on bad terms or anything.”

 

Music City Wrestling- He remembers driving out there and thinks that Chris Hamrick got them booked but not much else. He thinks that he and Shannon Moore had a match out there that got them noticed, as Dr. Tom Pritchard lived out in that area.

 

IWA Puerto Rico- He thinks that Victor Quinones liked him because, in his demo tape that he was sending to everyone, there was some scene that he filmed in the spirit of a Brian Pillman bit from ECW where he happened to be bare-ass naked with his back to the camera. He makes a motion indicating some of Victor’s personal preferences and thinks that those, in conjunction with the video, got him hired. “He’d kinda creep me out.”

 

Working in Japan- He’d seen tapes and was somewhat prepared although it was unusual to have quiet crowds during the match. That’s changed, as the crowds were MUCH louder when he came back with the WWE during a recent tour. It wasn’t hard working the Japanese style because he’d worked out with the two guys he wrestled over there and had laid out both matches beforehand.

 

Puerto Rico- They were just about to start WWF TV, so he went down there to drop the title. Super Crazy, Tajiri, and other stars were there at the time.

 

How did they get their jobs with the WWF? They’d been jobbing there for a few years when they got news from Bruce Pritchard that they were going to get developmental deals.

 

The ECWA Super Eight tournament in 1998- He thinks he lost in the first match. The main thing he remembers was that there was a wrestler there sick with cancer that later died, but they helped him have a good time that night by putting on a good show. He also puts over Tenacious Z as a similar story.

 

Did they ever think about going to ECW? He was a big ECW fan. Sandman called him after he sent a Will O The Wisp tape to Bill Alphonzo. Sandman brought them in for a tryout match that they thought would be with ECW but, instead, was with Soul City Wrestling. Sandman told them before the match that they better not do punches or kicks because theirs were “the shits.” He thinks that was the closest they ever got to ECW although he wonders what could have happened if they’d gone there.

 

Did they have any dealings with WCW? No, they just went to one show and hung out in the back in case anything happened.

 

Did he lie about his age when he got into the business? Yes, because Stallion practically forced him to say he was eighteen in order to get work.

 

Did the WWF send him anywhere after they got signed? They were sent to Dory Funk’s Funkin’ Dojo training camps along with Edge, Kurt Angle, and others. He remembers trying to do a reverse 450 one night and knocking himself out.

 

Did anyone try to work very stiff with him because he was small? He feels that it was a common thing in his career but, since he could take it, he was able to get some respect.

 

When were they actually signed to contracts? He thinks it was June of 1999 or 2000. The developmental deal was for only about two years but their contracts when they made the main roster about a year and a half after that were for five years.

 

What did they think of the ideas for their gimmick? He thinks it was Vince Russo’s idea to have Michael Hayes give them a makeover and insist that they grow some facial hair. They loved having Hayes as their manager because it meant that they were going to get their big chance on RAW.

 

Michael Hayes- He and Matt are big Freebirds fans, although they mainly saw the Hayes and Jimmy Jam Garvin version of the team. Great guy and has a good mind for the business, as he taught them a lot about ring psychology. He then starts into a monologue about psychology and his views on it, which I’m not going to transcribe but can be boiled down to saying that he doesn’t believe in traditional psychology and, as a result, people think that he doesn’t know psychology at all.

 

Did the road agents tell them to tone their style down? A little bit, but that was mainly because they’d have to clear spots with them before matches. He says that the agents would usually come up to him and ask him if he wanted to do certain crazy spots.

 

Memories of their tag match against Rob Van Dam and Sabu- They had to call the match in the ring because of Sabu selling his gimmick. He wasn’t sure how much of Sabu’s gimmick was really him so, when they started brawling into the crowd and got near a lot of glass, Jeff started getting scared. Sabu then said something like “Shit, there’s glass… let’s get out of here”, which started to put him at ease. As for RVD, “I always did the job to Rob” and RVD is one of his favorite singles opponents. He takes time out of the interview to thank RVD, if he’s watching, for letting him job in their matches.

 

Memories of winning the tag titles from the Acolytes- They won them in Fayetteville, North Carolina, which was the closest arena to their hometown and their dad was there to see it. He practically slept in the belt the first time they won them. He then starts talking about a post-match interview where Hayes was going to talk for them but Vince McMahon insisted that they speak for themselves since they’d just won the belts. “Matt said some of his Mattitude shit” and Jeff just started talking about how it was a dream come true.

 

Were they surprised they won the titles that quick? Yes. They’d heard they were going to win a week before it happened but didn’t think that it would happen because things have a way of changing at the last minute, especially things planned for TV. Bradshaw, for the longest time afterwards, would tell them to go to Hell, which he figures was a part of the locker room’s way of testing them out.

 

Matches with Edge and Christian- They knew the ladder match was going to happen once they started feuding with them and they all knew that match would make their careers. Hayes was the agent for that match and was the one who suggested the spot where Matt would jump on a ladder and see-saw Jeff towards Edge so he could DDT him. He wishes that he could do ladder matches every night for the rest of his career. “I want to be known as the master of the ladders before I retire.”

 

Memories of the Terri Invitational Tournament- “Terri’s pretty sexy” and is cool because she and Matt like a lot of the same kinds of music. It didn’t feel right to have her as their manager, though.

 

Lita joining the act- She trained with them and they knew that she’d catch on fire with the fans.

 

Was there any pressure going into the ladder match at No Mercy 99? He’s always nervous before a match, although he thought it would fade over time.

 

Royal Rumble 2000- It was great to wrestle in Madison Square Garden. He feels sympathy for the ring crew when they’re there because he wonders how they can even fit the ring into the building.

 

Did the WWF ever encourage them to do crazier bumps? Only at PPVs, when they’d come up with crazy ideas for bumps that the agents thought no one else would do. The only thing he ever did shoot down was kissing Lita, as he and Matt had agreed that they wouldn’t do an angle between them playing off the Matt-Lita relationship.

 

Did he think he could do that style forever? He knew that he’d have to change it eventually and says that Matt has adjusted to the change in style much better than him, as proven by his recent match with Chris Benoit on Smackdown.

 

Memories of the ladder match with the Dudleyz and Edge and Christian- It was a memorable match but he screwed up his collarbone, his knee, his shoulder, his tailbone, etc. He was pretty nervous going into the match because of all that could possibly go wrong.

 

Preparations for that match- It’s pretty hard to top each one of those matches so it’s very hard to keep coming up with spots to top it.

 

Were they expected to come up with more dangerous spots to pop the crowd? Yes, but it was from the crowd’s expectations being raised by all of those matches.

 

Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 1 at Summerslam 2000- He wishes that they’d won the belts that night because they were in Raliegh, NC, which is an hour away from where he lives. He was very happy with that match.

 

Did the WWF office tell them to slow down? In a way, as the road agents had veto power on crazy spots. The house shows were used as practice sessions for all the stuff that they’d do on TV.

 

The Unforgiven 2000 cage match- He thought it was a good cage match that has been forgotten over time although it was on their video, Hardy Boyz: Leap of Faith.

 

Edge and Christian- Awesome to work with. They worked with them so often that they didn’t even need to go over spots before the match. They’d just go to the ring and have fun.

 

The Dudley Boyz- Not quite as good as Edge and Christian. Bubba Ray Dudley’s a perfectionist so they had to do everything just right. They still had good matches with them.

 

Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2 at Wrestlemania 17- “How can you continue to top this?” He says that management’s figuring that out right now and trying to slow down the matches because of all the injuries.

 

Who thought up most of the spots? Everyone did, as they’d start planning once they heard they had a TLC match. He says that they usually got several weeks notice but, at least once, they only got a day’s notice (That would be TLC 3 in mid-2001, with Edge and Christian, the Hardyz, and the Dudleyz against the newly crowned champions Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho.)

 

How hurt was he at that point in his career? Not too bad, although it was a warning sign to him that he needed to slow down.

 

Feuding with Steve Austin and Triple H- It was awesome but it sucked that it never went anywhere. He wonders what Austin and Trips were thinking since the crowds loved it. “Come on, Triple H.”

 

Was he ever able to talk to Vince or an agent why it never went anywhere? No, although he thinks Matt wanted to. If he ever goes back, that’s one thing he’s going to do because it pissed both him and Matt off intensely.

 

Was he surprised he won the Intercontinental Title from Triple H? Yes, as he only found out about it when he walked in the building that night. It was cool to win it from him and he was very thankful that he even got that one week with it.

 

Did he and Matt ever have a rivalry? Matt’s more competitive and “jealous of me” because of his ability, which is why he created Mattitude.

 

Working with Triple H- He just listened to Trips because Trips had a good idea of what he could do. He figures that Trips does have a lot of power in the company because he’s dating Stephanie McMahon and thinks that he may own the company one day. He remembers Triple H telling him once “I’m gonna make a lot of money with you one day”, which he thinks was a sign of where Trips is headed in the company. (I’d tend to agree with him but it could also have the alternate meaning of “I’m going to get a big paycheck because I worked against you some day.”) He’s wondering what would happen if something ever happened to Vince McMahon because Shane McMahon hasn’t been around much lately.

 

Did he think he was going to get a big singles push around the time of the Triple H feud? Yes, if only because he was the Intercontinental Champion.

 

Does he think anyone ever tried to hold him back? No, although tag wrestling held him back because he wanted to do more singles work.

 

Working with Steve Austin- “He’s a serious player.”

 

Has Rob Van Dam changed over time? It doesn’t seem like it. They’ve always just brainstormed on spots and come up with a lot of cool stuff because they think alike.

 

What does he think about Perry Saturn complaining about Matt scripting out the Hardyz-Radicalz matches and presenting them to the road agents without consulting himself or Dean Malenko? Before he answers, he tells a story about a house show match against the Radicalz where he missed Perry by a mile with a moonsault so Perry stretched him a bit. As for Matt scripting the matches, he can believe it but that Matt and Perry had other disagreements anyway.

 

Why did Matt ask for the original Hardyz split? He doesn’t know, as Matt’s the one that kept them together for so long. They never fully broke up until the WWF draft in mid-2002 which put himself, Matt, and Lita on RAW for the time being. The original split failed because they were fighting each other and no one wanted to see that instead of them teaming.

 

Why were they taken off of TV in late 2001 and early 2002? That was when they were given the plan of him kissing Lita in a pre-taped segment. He went up to Stephanie McMahon and refused to do it and believes that it was a part of the office testing him because he’d never shot anything down before. Michael Hayes got the job of telling them that they were still expected to be at TV but that they were now off the house show circuit.

 

Locker room politics at this time-

 

Their appearance in wrestler’s court- They ended up there because Kane and D-Lo Brown were late for a flight and they were pretty much told to sit in the empty first class seats. They figured they were being set up but it got settled out of court by buying some beer and probably carrying the Acolytes’ bags around.

 

The brand extension- It was an unusual feeling at the time. They had no idea of where they’d end up because the office didn’t tell them, which made it like REAL draft. This was around the time he was getting sick of the business but Matt was able to run with the opportunity and make his mark with the Mattitude gimmick.

 

The Mattitude Gimmick- It’s a great heel gimmick and it’s a lot of fun. He thinks that the office isn’t pushing him quite as hard as they could, as he feels Matt is World Champion material. He feels it will happen in time.

 

The WCW sale- He compares it to aliens shaking hands with the President at the White House, by which he means that it’s something you never expect to see.

 

Did Vince screw up the Invasion? He REALLY dropped the ball with it. It ended up being ass-backwards, as he feels that the brand extension should have lead to the Invasion and not the other way around.

 

How did the influx of new wrestlers change the locker room? A lot of people were scared for their spots, although he just wanted to meet Sean O’Haire because O’Haire did a great Seanton Bomb. When O’Haire met him, he said “Thanks for letting me use your move, buddy”, but Jeff told him it was cool as long as he did it well, which he did.

 

Travel schedule- He was leaving on Friday and getting home on Tuesday. He’d either travel with Matt, Justin Credible, or just by himself. He and Credible used to sit around playing the guitar all the time.

 

His burnout- It was a combination of the travel and the matches, as he would be leaving home as fast as he got back. He asked for time off at one point and Jim Ross gave him some weekends off here and there.

 

Drugs in the business- You don’t have to have them to make it in the business but the road schedule will raise the chances that you’ll use them. He admits experimenting with drugs but denies being heavily addicted like many fans think he is. He talks about how addiction can completely change a person and brings up how Eddy Guerrero was sent to rehab in 2001. He talks about how he got surprised with a drug test, which he came up positive for and got released as a result. He says that it was a good thing for him because he needed to leave the WWE for a while. “They acted like I was going to die” and tried to send him to rehab, but he refused. He says he’s changed his drug use and that he doesn’t have a problem now. He refuses to name his drug of choice but says it was the one thing he kept testing positive for. Jeff also bitches about how everyone claims he was on drugs, plural, while he was only on one type of drug. (That’s just semantics, Jeff… When a fan says someone’s on drugs, it means they know someone’s screwed up on SOMETHING but can’t pinpoint exactly what, so they use a blanket term.)

 

Memories of his ladder match with Undertaker- It built his confidence as a singles wrestler because of the comeback he made in that match before losing. For a long time afterwards, the road agents would tell him that he did a good job in a match but that he needed to have a comeback like in the match with Undertaker. He says that it’s hard to do that when you’re facing someone like Stevie Richards who isn’t as legendary as Undertaker but that he still appreciates how highly they thought of that match.

 

Working with Undertaker- Awesome. He isn’t sure how he stayed on top for so long as Jeff attributes his own success to luck more than anything.

 

What does he think of his critics who say he shouldn’t take as many sick bumps? He feels that they don’t know what they’re talking about but that they inspire him to keep going just to prove them wrong.

 

Did he think he’d get a push after the Undertaker match? Yes, but he wasn’t sure if he even still wanted to be wrestling at that point. He feels that match could have been even better if he’d been able to put his heart into it.

 

Being put in the Hardcore division- He liked it because you could be more creative with the props you were allowed to use in the match.

 

How did he feel about being in the Light Heavyweight division? He didn’t mind it but he finds it a bit funny that Matt was the Light Heavyweight champion for so long despite wanting to hold a heavyweight title instead.

 

X Pac- Hothead. Awesome worker though.

 

Jerry Lynn- Excellent worker. He was shocked that both him and K-Kwik got released because they’re so good.

 

Matches with William Regal for the European Title- It was a style clash. Regal was a bit of a hardass about his style and insisting that he do his comebacks a certain way, such as insisting that he fight back right after he’d taken a punch in the corner. He respected Regal but didn’t appreciate being told what to do.

 

The makeup he wore- It was all his idea and he’d wanted to do it for a long time. He liked Marilyn Manson’s makeup so he based his off of it. The paint would make a mess as there would be paint all over the building after a show.

 

Did the WWE exploit his willingness to take sick bumps? He doesn’t think that they exploited him as he came to them with some of the sicker ones, such as jumping off a ladder to try and hit Rob Van Dam on a table and missing because Van Dam moved. That particular bump was sick because the table broke in a way that shards of wood flew everywhere.

 

The McMahon family- Very rich and that wrestling is their priority, which may have caused their personal lives to suffer.

 

The book about him and Matt- Matt spent more time talking with the writer than him, so the book was more about him than both of them. He was still happy with how it turned out though.

 

Was the WWE concerned with his motorcross activities? After the piece on him riding a bike near a “volcano” aired on Confidential, Jim Ross sat him down for a talk about risks being taken on his personal time.

 

Was he ribbed a lot for being so young in the WWE? Yes, partially because they didn’t drink. One of their assignments after their appearance in wrestler’s court was to drink beers on the way home that night.

 

Road stories that stick out- One time when the were riding with the Headbangers, they hydroplaned badly in a rental car and he feels that they should have wrecked but it didn’t end up happening.

 

Is there anyone he wished he’d more with in the WWE? Hulk Hogan, just because he’s a legend.

 

Is there any interest in him going to NWA TNA? He’s kind of interested in it as he loved their Genesis show, but he would rather go back to the WWE.

 

Is he still a wrestling fan? Yes, but politics make him sick. “I wish I’d had a couple of terms in the White House” before working in the WWE.

 

Where does he see himself in five years? Back in the WWE, but he wants to try the music business first. He thinks he may be the WWE champion at the end of that five years.

 

Who does he want to work with? Rey Misterio for one because he was very influential on his career. He talks about watching the Rey vs. Matt match at Wrestlemania but also being heartbroken to be at such a big show but not even being booked on the card.

 

Has he had any recent contact with the WWE? He’s talked with some people but he hasn’t negotiated yet. He’s looking forward to working the Ring of Honor later that night.

 

What rumors about him that he’s heard that he wants to disprove? Mainly the ones about drug use, as he was only on one thing and says he’s got it under control now. He also talks about how he was taken off some house shows because he was considered a liability in the ring. He also feels that, if he’d never been late, he’d never have been scrutinized by everyone else. He’s also a little pissed that people who’ve never wrestled criticize his matches. (I can see his point but you also don’t have to be a filmmaker to know that Ishtar sucks.) One thing that particularly pissed him off was when some random fan was talking about how, in their book, he said his mother, who died of cancer when he was young, was proud of everything he’d done. The fan was wondering if his mom was proud that he got released. He hates the Internet as a result because the fans are so negative.

 

 

 

After the Ring Of Honor card that night-

 

 

He was interested to see the combination of ECW fans on one side and all the young girls cheering for him on the other. He jokes about how he was chanting “I fucked up” along with them at one point.

 

Did the fans have it in for him from the start? They weren’t fair. He feels he deserved more respect for having wrestled some of those TLC matches he’s done. (Playing Devil’s advocate, I’ll have to bring up that that Jeff had been, admittedly, skirting along with minimal effort for quite some time, which tends to wear down the fans’ respect after a while.)

 

Does he think he’d make a great heel in Ring Of Honor? Yes, and he loves how the business has changed to the point that you won’t know how people will react to anything anymore.

 

Did he always want to have a run as a heel? Yes, but Vince McMahon shot it down because he didn’t think they could pull it off.

 

Did anything stand out from Ring of Honor? Matt had a copy of the first show that he watched. He remembers Eddy Guerrero’s match against Super Crazy as well as the controversial gay gimmick in the first match (the Christopher Street Connection).

 

How come he decided to work for Ring of Honor? He had decided after watching that tape that he wanted to go to ROH if he ever got fired.

 

Did he start losing his passion from being on the road so much? No, it was from being beaten up so bad. When they first made it in the WWF, they would go all out every night but he almost screwed up his shoulder doing the Whispers in the Wind one night and had to change it up.

 

Matt’s new wrestling style for the Mattitude gimmick- It’s not too different from how he was in the Hardy Boyz, as he was always the more grounded of the two of them, although he gets to talk more now.

 

Has he ever sat at home watching a WWE program and wishing he was there? Yes, he’d love to be back on RAW even though “it’s been stupid as of late” and some times he dreads watching it. Smackdown’s been the better show by far.

 

Has he ever felt ashamed to be a part of the WWE for whatever reason? No, because the WWE is the only place to make a good living these days. He goes back to how he thought that the Invasion would be the end but, instead, it ended up being ass-backwards as the Invasion lead to a draft and not the other way around.

 

If he was given a prime spot in a top indy and been guaranteed a huge push, would that get his passion back? It’s a thought and he’s impressed with the production values of NWA TNA but he doesn’t think that he has the effort to put into trying to make a company compete with the WWE.

 

Is he feeling better now that he’s had time off? Yeah, he’s great now and it was a wonderful thing for him.

 

Have there been talks yet with the WWE? He’s talked with friends but not any of the office staff. He’s waiting until he can be committed 100% and can make sure that he’s always on time.

 

How much of his problems that made him leave the WWE was mental and how much was physical? It was mainly mental. He wanted to be able to enjoy life a bit while he was physically capable of doing it. He mentions how his last match was against The Rock on RAW and that he’d already had a bad day before that, as he’d wrecked his Corvette.

 

Were dropped programs like him and Matt vs. Steve Austin and Triple H a big part of why he lost his passion? Yes, he feels they played a big part in it.

 

Did the WWE try to hold down his artistic side? He thought that his music might be carried on Smackdown Records but he was never made a part of it and the company went under. He wanted to continue being under WWE contract but not wrestle for the time being.

 

Is there anyone on the independent circuit that he’d like to face? AJ Styles and Paul London are two on that list. He thinks that London has a good future ahead of him.

 

What does he think about WWE writers who come in without having any knowledge of the business? It makes him wonder who wrote the bit about Jim Ross being set on fire because it was ridiculous. A lot of them are cool guys but he feels they’re clueless when it comes to wrestling and they write a bunch of screwed up stuff as a result. He’s not sure if there’s too many writers but that Vince has to clear almost everything and, if there’s too much stuff, some of it may get approved without having the attention paid to it that it deserves. He thinks the stories of the wrestlers kissing up to the writers are very overblown, as he doesn’t think that the wrestlers or the writers have the power to get done what people claim happens, such as the accusations of Edge and Christian kissing up to Brian Gerwitz to get the win in one of the TLC matches.

 

How would he rate himself as a wrestler? On a scale of ten, he’d give himself a five right now but he feels he has potential to become a ten if he gets his passion back.

 

Any regrets? No.

 

 

There are no matches included on the tape.

 

 

Thoughts- Jeff is surprisingly honest for someone who thinks they’re going back to the WWE. It makes this a refreshingly good interview considering my somewhat open dislike towards Hardy since he began losing his passion for the business. I’ll go with a Highly Recommended because of some of the timely subjects covered.