Picture this: It’s the late 1980s. A 12-year-old boy from Cameron, North Carolina, greets “The Icon” with a touch on his shoulder at a wrestling show 45-minutes away from home, creating a moment that helps the boy realize what he wants to be when he grows up.
Now, 35 years later, that same boy, having fulfilled that dream, makes a triumphant return on November 8-9 to the Crown Arena in Fayetteville for tapings of TNA Impact. This is the promotion’s first time through town in 11 years.
Jeff Hardy is going home.
“This is the building where I first touched Sting and said, ‘I’m going to be a pro wrestler,'” Hardy told SlamWrestling.net, detailing how special this weekend is to him.
For Jeff, that moment was everything: “I said, ‘Oh my God, I want to make somebody feel like he made me feel right now.'”
The other Hardy, older brother Matt, had a similar thought in his youth. “These people were like living, breathing superheroes. And this is what we wanted to do so when we were able to set our minds to achieve this goal, and then we accomplished the goal, and then we started doing well,” Matt said. “We found success and and then, as we continue to do it, and we built a name and a brand for ourselves, it’s just, this is my dream.”
The Hardys’ body of work since then speaks for itself, whether it’s Boys or Boyz. Currently the TNA World Tag Team champions in their third reign, the Hardys have now wrestled and held tag team titles in different promotions across four decades.
Despite their longevity, Matt was clear on their intentions of not slowing down. “We are the Hardys and we are one of the greatest to ever do this, and we wanted to go out, and it was very important in these last few years to have a major world tag team title reign.”
Jeff echoed his brother. “We’ve still got a lot more to do in the world of pro wrestling.”
Beyond all the creativity the Hardy Boys have shown in the ring, their art goes beyond the mat. Jeff has always had an interest in motocross and music, having his own band. Before deciding on embarking on a wrestling career, he even thought about playing professional baseball.
After the TV taping concludes this Friday, Jeff Hardy will be performing his second act of the evening. Photo from TNA.
But it’s always been the squared circle where he’s felt right at home. “I had the sensation of, okay, wait a minute, I’m kind of good at this wrestling, this pro wrestling deal,” said Jeff. “And it just worked out now I think it was meant to be so definitely, especially being 47 years into this life and still feeling good in the ring again, and [I] still get excited about bringing these matches to life.”
Matt, three years older, doesn’t see them hanging up their boots any time soon. “We love being able to do this for a career and and our passion, just our passion, keeps us super motivated. We’re both in great places in our [lives].”
Apart from their tag team success, both Hardy brothers have also achieved notable success on their own. Throughout all their years in TNA, they’ve had three reigns with the World Tag Team titles. As well, Jeff has won the World Heavyweight Championship three times and Matt has won it twice. Across all the promotions they’ve appeared in, it’s so much more difficult to account for the amount of championships they’ve held through their illustrious careers.
The thing about having a long career is the risk of getting comfortable. Matt was clear on the brothers’ intentions to keep going: “We definitely don’t want to disappoint. We try and do things that are different. We try and be innovative. We try and come up with some creative spots.” Just when you think you’ve seen them do it all, they’ve still got so much more to give. Safe to say they’ll be around a while longer to create more, new memories for fans both new and old.
The Hardy Boys have put together exemplary careers for themselves — both individually and as a tag team — that all started for Jeff one night as a fan of Sting in 1989. “That adrenaline from just touching my hero on the way to the ring, and we are just so blessed to still, still be able to do what we do,” Jeff concluded.
Fans are in for more twists of fate this weekend in North Carolina, and beyond.
TNA is taping two shows in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Friday, November 8 and Saturday, November 9. Also expected to appear are World Champion Nic Nemeth, Jordynne Grace, Josh Alexander, Ash By Elegance, among many more. Tickets can be purchased here.
TOP PHOTO: TNA World Tag Team Champions Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy at TNA Bound For Glory at the Wayne State University Fieldhouse in Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday, October 26, 2024. Photo by Brad McFarlin
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