Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Robert DeFelice, Greg Coleman, and Aryan Jeff Malhotra will be giving their thoughts on the career of Jeff Hardy!

The charismatic enigma, the rainbow-haired warrior, the stupid flippy guy. Whatever you want to call him, Jeffrey Nero Hardy has been entertaining us for decades now and we're going to take a week to appreciate him. What were his best matches? Who was his greatest rival? Who should retire him? Let's discuss...


COLEMAN: The definitive Jeff Hardy moment for me is the Swanton Bomb off the ladder in the aisle way at WrestleMania 2000. That moment I feel is the best representative of how Jeff approached his career. There was so much that could’ve gone wrong with that spot and he did it anyway and would go on to do other sports crazier than that.

DeFELICE: As a child of the ruthless aggression era, I will always feel like Jeff Hardy's breakout moment was the ladder match he had with the Undertaker on Raw in July of 2002. The Undertaker competed very valiantly in a match that he had never been in nor did he belong in. Jeff made his point at the end by saying although he was defeated, he couldn't be broken. Perfect moment of how to make a character worthwhile.

MALHOTRA: Growing up, Jeff Hardy was my guy, my number one favorite and probably one of the main reasons I fell in love with wrestling at such a young age so I have many memories of his big moments. But the definitive one for me is actually the time he lost a great steel cage match on Smackdown to CM Punk and left WWE at the time. With not enough knowledge of wrestling being a work and my strong liking, I vividly remember the 7-year-old me actually crying and getting really upset during that time. In hindsight, I also think it’s a definitive moment because it was received by lots of sadness which showed how much fan support he had, and it succeeded probably the greatest run of his career and was characterized again by his addiction problems that unfortunately play a huge role in his career. It also led to his long TNA stint, later on thankfully overcoming his demons and returning to WWE finally, creating the best moment he could have asked for and more. All of this revolving around that goodbye makes it the definitive one for me.


MALHOTRA: I think it’s Edge. Throughout Jeff’s career, he has fought with Edge in various forms. From the career start as Hardy Boyz against Edge and Christian in all the tag team matches, in the steel cage, ladder matches and of course the legendary TLC matches with the Dudleyz too. After that for a few years they interacted in a Survivor Series 5V5 Match and a few Rumbles, a MITB ladder match and an Elimination Chamber match. Edge was also the defending champion Jeff beat in a triple threat to win the WWE championship and then they had a great rivalry for it with Jeff losing it back to edge. Fast forward some time and again they had a great feud this time for the World Heavyweight Championship with Jeff eventually beating Edge for it. So many title feuds, stipulation matches and most importantly great spotlight matches make Edge his greatest rival of them all.

COLEMAN: Edge. The Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian are synonymous with one another. The teams both raised the bar in the first-ever tag team ladder match and built upon that foundation by adding The Dudleys which led to the creation of the TLC match. Once the teams dissolved, Jeff and Edge still found their way to each other as singles competitors which included the WWE Title.

DeFELCE: Not to beat a dead horse, but, I also agree that it would be Edge. They had wonderful matches together whether it be in tag team situations or for the World Heavyweight Championship.


DeFELICE: Honest to God, that Hell in a Cell with Randy was a good way to end it. However, since he has more in him, I would suggest a ladder match against somebody who can perceivably take his spot as an unbreakable daredevil. Maybe a Johnny Gargano or something to that effect. But, one thing's for sure, I hope just doesn't overstay his welcome. Some, may argue he already has...

MALHOTRA: Personally I think a singles TLC or ladder match at Wrestlemania or Summerslam would be the perfect send-off, against either Demon Finn Balor or The Velveteen Dream. These two names come to mind because Finn with his high-risk style and face paint resembles a newer version of Jeff and that could be an intriguing last match, or the Charismatic Enigma and the Velveteen Dream with definitive characters would be quite unique and fun, and also give a great rub to the rising star Dream. Of course, a Hardy Boyz final match could also be a good send-off but I think both should have separate last matches at separate times.

COLEMAN: The ideal send-off to me would be for the Hardy Boyz to reunite and have a TLC match with the Usos and The New Day. I think this would be a great moment as you have one of the greatest tag teams ever competing against the two best tag teams of their generation in WWE. If it’s a singles match, I believe Ricochet would be a nice touch. The things that Ricochet does in a wrestling ring is the evolution of Jeff’s style.