Exclusive Ring Rust Radio interview with former WWE and current TNA star Jeff Hardy

The hosts of Ring Rust Radio – Donald Wood, Mike Chiari and Brandon Galvin – were recently able to interview for WWE and current TNA star Jeff Hardy. With Hardy returning to Impact Wrestling after missing several weeks because of an injury, Hardy looks to get revenge on James Storm as well as discussing the resurgence of tag team wrestling and the future of the Hardy Boys as a team in TNA.

Donald Wood: You make your return to Impact Wrestling Friday night at 9 p.m. on Destination America when you square off against James Storm in a Six Sides of Steel match. Are there any reservations for you in a match this dangerous after you suffered your most recent injury in a similar bout?

Jeff Hardy: None. With this one there is actually a roof on the cage.  It’s kinda like the Lethal Lockdown match, I don’t know if you’re familiar with the Lockdown pay-per-views from the past, but there’s a top on this cage.  So there is no escape whatsoever.  There are weapons hanging from the roof, we went in there and we tore it up as you will see this Friday.  The show is all about Hardy’s revenge.  I’ve been out for a month, James Storm knocked me out with the cowbell, I hit the stairs and was unconscious, and I get my revenge this Friday.

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?

Jeff Hardy: 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 s 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?

Jeff Hardy: 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.  This Friday on Impact at 9 p.m. on Destination America it is Hardy’s revenge.  You gotta tune in to check it out, I get so much revenge on him you just won’t know what to do.  It’s a great match, great show, and a flawless story.  TNA is doing great right now and we’re just gonna keep climbing. 

Donald Wood: While you are returning Friday to square off against Storm in a singles match, you are still very much part of The Hardys and the quest for tag team gold. 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?

Jeff Hardy: 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?

Jeff Hardy: 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.  This weekend we are wrestling RVD and Sabu at WrestleCon out on the West coast.  That will be another dream match for sure.  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?

Jeff Hardy: 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.

Donald Wood: At the end of last month, you became the first OMEGA Heavyweight Champion since 2000. With so much family influence on this independent promotion, what has it been like creating something new and unique in the business?

Jeff Hardy: It’s extremely cool.  To capitalize on that like Shane Helms the Hurricane has, all the power and weight behind those shows and everything it takes to pull those off.  He was hanging at my house one weekend and we watched a show where the Hardy Boyz wrestled the Briscoe Brothers.  Just from beginning to end it was such a good show and all I could say was wow.  It was pay-per-view worthy and it was just a match at a high school.  All the way through it was built and built until the main event perfectly.  Now the possibilities are endless especially now that I have this alter ego Willow.  Now when I have these crazy ideas I run them by Shane and he says, “Oh wow, yeah that is cool.”  It’s a new day in pro-wrestling and with Omega we can and we will pull of anything.  Down the road with Jeff Hardy and Willow you are going to see some really cool, I almost want to say magic-like and special setups for some alter ego Willow stuff going on with Omega.   

Mike Chiari: Sting is a guy who you worked with pretty extensively during his time in TNA, and one of the biggest stories in professional wrestling right now is Sting making his WrestleMania debut on Sunday. What were you able to learn or pick up from Sting when you worked together, and how do you think he’ll perform on the big stage?

Jeff Hardy: I think it’s overdue and about time he gets that WrestleMania moment because he deserves it.  I saw the Wyatt promo on Raw, which I loved, then I saw the whole Vigilante vs. King promo for Triple H and Sting’s match.  I got goosebumps from it, I wasn’t even a wrestler at that point I’m just a fan.  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.  Now that he is going to be in a match at WrestleMania blows my mind.  I can’t wait to see how it turns out but I know it will be great I am sure.  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.  I can’t wait to see his moment in WrestleMania.

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?

Jeff Hardy: 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.

TNA and former WWE star Jeff Hardy talks about reuniting the Hardy Boys for Destination X

The crew from Ring Rust Radio is back with another big interview, this time with TNA and former WWE star Jeff Hardy as he talks about reuniting The Hardy Boys tag team with his brother Matt to challenge The Wolves for the TNA tag team championships this Thursday at Destination X.

You can listen to the interview at Ring Rust Radio or just click the YouTube video below!


Donald Wood: You and your brother Matt, The Hardy Boys, are reuniting for Thursday’s Destination X edition of Impact Wrestling and will be squaring off against The Wolves in a Tag Team Championship match. What are your feelings about teaming up with your brother and challenging for the titles heading into the marquee match?

Jeff Hardy: This week on Impact is beyond great. When you talk about tag team wrestling, this is the top of the mountain, man. The Wolves are one of the best tag teams in the world, and my brother and I, the Hardy Boys, are back in TNA and we’re going for the titles one more time and you do not want to miss this match this week on TNA Impact Wrestling,. It’s a show-stealer.

Mike Chiari: With yourself and Matt wrestling a couple matches as a team in New York, is the Hardy Boys reunion in TNA just a short-term deal or do you anticipate and expect to be teaming together for the foreseeable future and getting back into the tag team scene on a more permanent basis?

Jeff Hardy: It’s kind of the unknown. I mean, I don’t know what Matt’s going to do or what he wants to do as far as a long term deal. I’d like it to be long term, but right now it feels short term, but I can’t speak for Matt. So, we’ll see what happens.

Brandon Galvin: Jeff, you and Matt have always been among the most innovative tag teams in the business. Now that you have a bit more freedom in the ring when working together, how often do you two discuss new maneuvers and has there ever been something you've wanted to try in the ring but haven't had the opportunity to do so?

Jeff Hardy: I’ve had some recent new ideas that I’ve talked to Matt about but we haven’t debuted them yet, but are pretty possible. It’s like riding a bicycle. Matt and I teamed for a long time and we did an Omega show at the high school that Matt and I graduated from and wrestled the Briscoe Brothers and the whole show from beginning to end was so good and the Briscoes vs. the Hardys was a killer main event. I also did a few other Indy shots with Matt and we were just as good as we’ve ever been. And now, to be wrestling the Wolves and they’re an amazing tag team and we tear it up. There’s so much to do that hasn’t been done, it’s just about following through and trying to conquer it.

Donald Wood: The Hardy Boys teamed up in TNA in 2011, but the run was short lived. With both of you being in a much different place in your lives, do you appreciate the ability to work together again more now that you have overcome adversity?

Jeff Hardy: Oh, now more than ever. We both went through the dark periods and on the other side of those dark periods, we came out on the better side and to be performing the way we are, whether he’s on an Indy show or Ring of Honor and I’m doing my thing, we’re still rocking. To reunite and to be just as good as we’ve ever been pays off for us and the fans. It’s a good feeling. I’m 36 years old and to get back together and still rock the house is a good feeling.

Mike Chiari: There's no question that the Hardy Boys are one of if not the greatest tag teams in the history of professional wrestling. As someone who has seen and done it all in the tag team ranks, who do you consider to be the greatest tag team of all time aside from yourself and Matt?

Jeff Hardy: I don’t think there’s such a thing as the greatest of all time or the greatest in the world. If I had to choose, I mean, the Legion of Doom, I loved those guys as a kid but then the Rockers, the Rock N’ Roll Express, back in those days. I don’t think there’s one best in the world or best of all time, but I’m going to go out on a limb and speak with confidence and say Matt and myself are in that category.

Donald Wood: If you had to pick one, Legion of Doom or Demolition, who ya got?

Jeff Hardy: I’ve been doing interviews all day and I think this is the perfect answer: In my opinion, for me in the NWA it was Sting, WWF back in the day it was the Ultimate Warrior; myself combined I was both of those guys. In the tag team world, I mean, LOD NWA and WWF Demolition, I was those as well combined, that’s my style, that’s my vibe. The other worldly vision of these painted faces and huge men that are just incredibly talented and going to war. If I had to choose, I’d go with LOD, but I don’t have to choose.

Brandon Galvin: Jeff, I often feel the Hardy Boys vs. Dudley Boys' first-ever tag team table match in WWE is overlooked when discussing the Hardy Boys' top defining moments. Do you too feel that match is overlooked when discussing the history of the Hardy Boys and how do you feel about having the opportunity to wrestle the Dudleyz again now that both teams are in TNA?

Jeff Hardy: It’s almost surreal. If you had asked me what I would be doing 10 years from now when I was 26, I would’ve never said ‘oh, we’ll be wrestling Team 3D in TNA’, but that’s how everything just falls into place in the universe. The stuff we did back in the day, with Edge and Christian as well, those few matches and in TNA today as well with myself, Matt, Devon and Bubba, it’s incredible that we’re still able to do what we do from what we put our bodies through and to be as good as we are.

Donald Wood: Impact Wrestling is returning to New York City and the Manhattan Center on August 5, 6 and 7. What was it like to return to a wrestling-centric city like NYC for the last set of tapings and do you expect more of the same from the raucous crowds when you return next week?

Jeff Hardy: I think so, yeah. I had done one live event there in that building previously and there’s been so many killer shows that took place at that venue and naturally the fans are harder and you’re going to hear some graphic chants. It’s intimidating to many people and leading up to the New York tapings last time it was intimidating to me, but the overwhelming response I got and the matches I had I mean, I hope we remain there as long as we can.

Mike Chiari: You showed your range as a performer over the past few months with the Willow character. Having always worked as yourself in TNA and WWE, what type of satisfaction did you gain from switching things up from a creative perspective and going in a totally different direction with Willow?

Jeff Hardy: One thing that none of my fans truly know is that Willow is Jeff Hardy. In the days of Omega, I was Jeff Hardy, with the painted face, the babyface, and then I was Willow later in the show, wrestling my brother later in the show as the bad guy, the demon from down under and I was completely different back in the day, but that was before I got tattooed up and now it’s very hard to cover my tattoos and it’s just not reasonable. The thing about Willow and Jeff Hardy is that Willow is the idea I had and a figment of my imagination that has inspired so many of Jeff Hardy’s moves and Jeff Hardy’s style and the cut up sleeves on my arm that originally came from Marilyn Manson, I thought that all would be great for Willow and I would be rocking that back in Omega where it originated and it became one of the top merchandise items of all time. The coolest thing about TNA letting me do Willow is that they were unafraid to let Jeff Hardy express himself, like an extended version of himself, and they weren’t afraid to put a mask on me, which WWE probably would’ve never done, but I truly believe, and you’ll see in the future, that it’s going to work. Jeff Hardy, with his Imag-i-nation and the figment of it that is Willow, you’ll be able to see a cool visual of what actually goes on in my mind and you might see Willow every now and then, but for the most part it will be a glimpse into my mind.

Donald Wood: You are one of the top singles competitors in the sport today. While joining forces with your brother is something the fans are going to enjoy, do you still have the taste for the World Heavyweight Championship and is that something you’d like to achieve in TNA again?

Jeff Hardy: Oh, for sure. That’s that feeling that never gets old and when you talk about holding onto something as long as you can. Whether I retire a year from now or not I would like to hold that title one more time and keep it until that point that breaks me, whatever it may be. I would love to end my career as World Champion. I can’t be Jeff Hardy without taking chances, if I feel like I do now, I’m going to keep going out there like I did against Bobby Lashley a few weeks ago. I’m going to go all out and go hard and go for it to win that title.

Donald Wood: Would you go through your brother Matt to win the world title?

Jeff Hardy: Oh my god, I would love it. I think it could be done so tasteful it would be insane in TNA. I would love that more than anything. I’d love to work Matt, especially for the world title, it would be so good.

Mike Chiari: TNA has obviously done a good job of locking up a lot of its talent to long-term contracts in recent months. Have you given any thought to your contract situation? Would you be interested in a long-term deal to remain a focal point of TNA?

Jeff Hardy: Possibly, yeah, I mean I’m locked in pretty much for two more years because I re-signed, and it’s up to TNA to keep me around. I’ll make that decision as we get closer to the time, but right now I pretty much have a dream job. I have a three year old daughter and I’m fortunate enough to be able to have this dream job and so much time at home each day with her and I take advantage of it. As long as I keep going now with this schedule, it’s perfect for me. As far as 5, 10 years down the road, I can’t say.

Brandon Galvin: If you had the opportunity to book your last match, would you guys prefer to wrestle against Matt or as a tag team with him?

Jeff Hardy: Oh, that’s a good question, ultimately it would be killer to wrestle Matt because we dove into this journey wrestling each other and we’ve done it so many times. Yeah, that would be the perfect last match, to wrestle Matt.