Whenever you see a death defying stunt take place within a wrestling ring, it’s hard not to think of the man that put it all on the line since his debut. Jeff Hardy has shown that he’ll put everything on the line to entertain audiences everywhere. Right now in 2018, Jeff is seeing new accomplishments and seems to continue to impress everyone even this far in his career. With his Summer Slam plans seeming ready to go, Steelchair managed to get a chat with Jeff where we discussed his current health, his future, and how he feels working with his brother Matt while on separate shows.
The conversation got started by talking about Jeffs current medical status. There have been rumours floating around the web that he may be going into Summer Slam with a significant injury. Jeff commented on this by reassuring us that mostly all is well.
“I’m a little beat up but my back is a lot better than it was a few weeks ago, I’ve been going to the chiropractor every week and getting massages, trying to as much yoga and stretching as possible. So my back is a lot better, but I’ve been having this issue in my elbow like a nerve issue. My hand was asleep for probably seven weeks until it finally woken which I like to joke about, but still last night at a live event I banged it again I hyperextended it. It’s got that weird pain in it again, the medical team is keeping an eye on it and I’ve been taping it up every night. Overall I’m forty years old, I feel pretty good to be wrestling the way I am in 2018.”
He went on to confirm that he is indeed ready to get to work for WWE’s big PPV.
“Yeah as far as I’m concerned.”
With talks of injury, the conversation shifted to his current work rate. WWE has been known to push certain wrestlers to their limits, whether this is to match competition from other companies or if superstars themselves put pressure on their performance, either way it has led to significant medical concerns. We asked Jeff if he still feels the need to go break expectations and blow audiences away, or would he rather take the time to slow down. Jeff had this to say.
“I think I’m always going to feel like I want to go all out, especially if that red lights on for pay per view or TV or whatever. I actually haven’t been doing the Swanton every night from live events because I’ve been having some lower back issues. It’s helped out to take that away from the live events and save it for TV and I think that’s going to help me along the way moving forward.”
It’s understandable that Jeff would want to save the special stuff for TV and PPV’s. It may be hard to believe for some, but Jeff is indeed a human being and even he has to think about the risk versus reward when it comes to putting his body in harm’s way. It’s time to respect his choices in that regard and let him focus on keeping his body working and adapting to entertain in any way he can.
One reason you could believe that Jeff would want to preserve his health is through his family, most notably his children. When asking the question about whether he would let his kids take part in this physically demanding business, he seemed incredibly positive towards it.
“My seven-year-old Ruby is more than ever she’s starting to love wrestling and I’m all for it. If she wants to do it, I think her and my younger daughter my two-year-old, Nera Quinn. I would train them, they’d be the only two people on earth id be willing to coach or train because that’s not really my thing. If they want to do it, ill totally support them. Ruby is actually a huge Randy Orton fan. I think she loves him more than me even when he beats me up. I’m all for it, if they want to do it, I’m behind them all the way.”
It goes without saying that Ruby and Nera Quinn are in good hands when it comes to learning about the business from such a notable wrestler like Jeff. The support he has for his kids is very heartwarming and the desire to work with them all the way if they’re inclined leads me to believe that we could be seeing some future eye-catching wrestlers in the future.
Lastly, we decided to talk about the partnership between Jeff and his Woken/Broken brother, Matt Hardy. Since the return at Wrestlemania 33, The Hardys have thrived and managed to leave a mark for themselves in modern WWE. Now that the brothers are on separate brands, we asked if this has lead to any competition between the two. For example, if Matt does something remarkable one week, will Jeff try to raise the bar in some friendly competition. Jeff told us straight and enlightened us on the current relationship with Team Extreme.
“No, not really, that’s what made us such a great team. We’re complete opposites in a way. I watch RAW when I can, he watches Smackdown and we always text each other and compliment on the matches or whatever happens. We influence each other in that way but I don’t think it’s a competition thing. We just want to support each other and still help each other learn as we grow.”
It’s good to see that both brothers take time out of their day to support one another with their work, it let us know that even though they’re on separate shows they still care about how the other is doing. Whether it’s a compliment or criticism, The Hardy Boys will always be there to help each other out.
Overall, it was an eye-opening chat with the man formally known as Brother Nero. It seems that Jeff will continue to grow as he goes through his wrestling career, whether that’s bringing in the crowds or behind the scenes training his two young daughters. It’ll be hard to take wrestling away from him, no matter how high he climbs or how hard he falls.
SummerSlam will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. UK viewers can tune in on Sky Sports Box Office, or watch on the award-winning WWE Network.