I've never been one of those Internet haters who never liked Jeff Hardy. While I was always more of a fan of Edge and Christian back in the day, I always respected both Hardys and thought that Jeff could have filled a main event role as he's doing right now. Sure, he could never talk, but really, he was always one of the few people who never needed to be able to cut a good promo to be over huge. Even as recently as January 2008, I was all in for him to win the WWE Championship from Randy Orton at the Royal Rumble and breathe some new life into the top of the card. Of course, he went and fucked that up by violating the Wellness Program. In an ironic twist of fate, CM Punk would end up winning that year's Money in the Bank, which nearly everyone was predicting would have gone to Hardy had he not gotten caught again.
Since he came back though, something has seemed off about his character. His ring work didn't really change, and actually I thought it has gotten better. However, all the peripherals started to get to me, mainly his odd facepaint and the fact that despite his shortcomings on the mic, they've given him MORE mic time. His mannerisms seemed off, and he acted like a spoiled brat if he didn't get his way. Despite all this, the fans supported him even more. Hey, that's great, I mean, I'm not the average wrestling fan, and whatever the masses want is what they should get, right? Well, to a point, but if you were to argue they shouldn't get what they want, it would be an argument about wins and losses, and that's not where this debate is going.
I tried to keep the uneasiness with Hardy under wraps, because he's not Triple H or Jeff Jarrett or Batista, and even now, I still enjoy his matches. But then he came out on Smackdown last night and cut his show-opening promo, I couldn't contain the feeling.
I'm suffering from Jeff Hardy fatigue.
I mean, it's not like last night's promo stood out. It was another bad promo in a line of bad promos from a guy who treats a microphone like a teetotaler would handle a beer. It was just the tipping point, really. I think the thing that stood out most wasn't really Hardy's fault though. Again, the blame is placed on WWE "Creative" for running the angle that straight edge = bad in the first place. Now, I know, CM Punk isn't a heel because he doesn't drink, smoke or drug. He's a heel because he's a sanctimonious prick. However, look at the narrative of the feud so far. Punk has been chiding Hardy all along not because he's different, but because he's a two-time loser. And yet Hardy's promos have been rebuffing Punk as if he were chiding him just because he looks like a psychotic raver with tendencies towards self-cutting or because he "lives for the moment", punctuated last night by saying that if everyone were like Punk, the world would be boring. Now, while that could be true, Punk was never attacking Hardy because he looked different. It has been all about the drugs. I could be reading this wrong, but to me, that sounds like an endorsement for drug use.
Now, I am a libertarian by political trade, and normally, I would agree with Hardy's POV. People should be allowed to make choices for themselves and deal with the consequences themselves. Also, people should not have their past held against them if they're truly trying to better themselves. However, the WWE is making a conscious effort to market the product towards kids. The profanity is down, the superstars being marketed are more kid-friendly, and hell, the blood seems down and they've even taken to black-and-whiting all prior footage of bleeding. Since that is the case, then why have Punk focus on the Wellness violations as the crux of his attack on Hardy when Hardy is going to fire back with the generic weaksauce he's been coming back with? That is neither Hardy's nor Punk's fault, but still I'm compelled to hate on Hardy. Why?
I guess it's just that when he's not wrestling, his character is so poor. I mean, I still think he's great in the ring, but when the match ends, why should I care about him? He can't get me to care with his words, that's for sure. He can't get me to care about him with the way he dresses. The other peripherals are just annoying. Top it all off with the legions of fans that blindly follow him no matter what, and I guess you have the perfect nerd-rage storm. I know this comes off as somewhat elitist, but I can't really help that I'm tired of Jeff Hardy.
Maybe if he takes time off from wrestling, it'll subside. If he's out of sight, out of mind for a few months, then maybe when he comes back, I don't have to be sick of him. But for now... I just want to say "That's enough, Jeff Hardy" and be done with it.
