Jeff Hardy On Taking High Risk Bumps, The Importance Of Tag Teams And More

Donald Wood, Mike Chiari and Brandon Galvin recently interviewed former WWE and TNA world heavyweight champion Jeff Hardy. You can check out the full interview in the video above, below are some highlights:

Mike Chiari: Your willingness to do high-risk spots and kind of throw caution to the wind is obviously a big reason why you became so popular in the first place. And you’re obviously still capable of doing those big spots as evidenced by falling on the steps against Storm, but as your career progresses do you have any thoughts of toning down your style, or do think that’s always going to be who you are as a performer?

It’s always how I’m gonna be till I can’t do it anymore. It’s kinda of a day by day, match by match process with me. I’m pretty sure I know what my body is capable of doing and getting away with without getting seriously injured. That’s the main thing is to avoid that big, serious injury. I feel confident in whatever I come up with in my mind that I can pull it off. I always go for it unless someone shuts me down. As long as I am able to wrestle I will always be that Jeff Hardy style people know and love until I can’t.

Brandon Galvin: Your fall onto the steel steps at Lockdown garnered mainstream attention, which is always a priority for any company, but how important is that for you as the performer knowing you created such a buzz for the product?

It doesn’t even really matter to me. Matt is more the social media guy. He is the one that wants to get it everywhere. I’m kinda stand behind the evolution of it all. I don’t even tweet that much but I will tweet a picture after a match with my face paint and say thank you Orlando or wherever I am. That’s really all I do, I’m pretty much an anti-social when it comes to that. That stuff is more along Matt’s territory where he cares about all that stuff and I really don’t care about the impact it makes on others. I just care if it was a great match and if the story is good.

Donald Wood: You and your brother have yet to win the championships in TNA. What would winning the titles mean for you as an individual and as part of The Hardy Boys legacy?

It’s all about the collection you know? It’s something to add to the collection and naturally as a pro-wrestler you want to every title you possibly can. From the lightweight championship, tag team championship, US title, intercontinental title, world heavyweight championship which is the metaphorical brass ring to grab they say. Naturally you want to win them all to add to your collection. To look back on your career and say that you did that, that is something Matt and I haven’t done yet. We have had some killer matches in TNA with the Wolves, Team 3D, and we are going to continue to have those matches until we win those World titles. It’s inevitable that we are and I am looking forward to it.

Mike Chiari: You and Matt getting back together as a team is something that I think a lot of fans have enjoyed, especially since you’ve gotten to mix it up with some of the up-and-coming teams like The Wolves. The Hardys were instrumental in the resurgence of tag team wrestling in the late-1990s, so do you and Matt kind of view your reunion as an opportunity to do that again and restore the importance tag team wrestling?

Kind of yea, I would think so. I was always a believer of tag team ranks could be just as important as the world championship and singles matches. I think we could see that down the road in some company where the world tag team titles are more important than the world heavyweight title. Back in the day when we were just the Hardy Boyz before we went our solo ways, we just went out there and had the greatest matches ever. We wanted to steal the show every night and I feel that way now with Matt every time we get together and have a match. I always want to mention the Young Bucks, cause we have wrestled them several times and it is a blast getting together with those guys. We always put together killer matches and tear it up… It’s just so cool later in life, especially with what I have been through and what Matt has been through, and to come out of the dark times on such a good note and be better than we ever have been in the ring at this age. It’s a good feeling, and therefore the future is limitless as to what we can do and accomplish.

Brandon Galvin: As far as years in the business, you’re one of the most experienced wrestlers at TNA. Do younger wrestlers come to you for advice and do you view yourself as a leader in TNA’s locker room?

I never view myself as a leader. I compliment people when I see something I really like and tell them that was good, keep doing what you’re doing. That’s as much as advice as you will get out of me. Matt is more that trainer to help a young star be better. If he ever opens a school I might pop in and my big claim to fame is selling and how to take a good butt whooping. I never saw myself as a leader but Matt definitely is that guy.

Mike Chiari: Sting is a guy who you worked with pretty extensively during his time in TNA… what were you able to learn or pick up from Sting when you worked together?

Sting was one of my first and biggest influences. One night in North Carolina when I reached out and touched his shoulder, he had the face paint on, and I didn’t know why but I loved it. I wanted to be just like him and I was only 11 years old… Every time I was in the ring with him it was just a blessing for me to be in there with a role model and a guy I looked up to so much.

Brandon Galvin: Throughout your career you’ve competed in some of the most high-risk and ground-breaking matches. TNA is often looking to try new types of matches. Is there a different variation or completely new type of stipulation that you think fans would want to see in TNA?

Stipulation as in match wise? There’s always room for that. I have an idea but I haven’t pushed it yet. I asked the guy in TNA that does the ring work if there was a way to spin the ring like WCW did back in the Universal days. It would spin around so I got to thinking, and I asked if he could put a ring on a thing that would spin to make it go around and around, make it go faster and slow it down. A rotating match to pull off in the future, where you start the match and at a certain time it’s going to start to rotate and go faster and faster. If you could pull off spots while the ring is rotating would be awesome in itself. Anything is possible if people are willing to attempt to pull it off and get over the fear of trying. I’m willing to try anything.