The Return of Jeff Hardy on AEW Dynamite
Author: Jesse Rucinski
Everyone knows who Jeff Hardy and his history of substance abuse problems. Whether it was in the WWE, TNA, AEW, or just simply life in general. It has been a constant struggle and every time he has got clean, it hasn’t lasted, and a relapse has occurred. I hope that it works this time and lasts for him as I think everyone should. I hope that he has found a way to keep himself healthy and not taking as many unnecessary bumps anymore because continuing to take them all the time will always be his downfall.
It is bumps like the one above that helped Jeff to make his name in the business. This was one of the many times we all cringed, listened to JR do the same, and wait to see him get up and keep going. There were too many of these moments to even be able to count. Sadly, all of these moments add up and the injuries and pain start until things start going off of the rails. There is only so many times that peoples can takes bumps like this before it becomes unsafe and detrimental towards their wellbeing and futures. This is also why after everything that happened at the end of his run with WWE, many of us were not pleased to see all of the crazy bumps he started taking all of the time.
I was one of the people hoping that after proving he was sober before all of the drama and his exit from the WWE, that it would be a good and fresh start for Jeff. Sadly, once he arrived you could start seeing the warning signs that things might turn ugly once all of the big and at times unnecessary bumps started happening. The rate at which they were having was even more concerning to me personally. Those are the kind of bumps that need to be saved for special occasions and moments to help with the story being told. Week after week after week isn’t feasible anymore for him at this stage of his illustrious career. Here is what we need to see now that he has returned to AEW at the side of his brother Matt.
He needs to make sure to take care of himself both physically and psychologically. I fully understand having mental health issues because I am one of the many people who have been there and deal with those issues on a daily basis. I also have physical ailments that I deal with every day from my time in the United States Marine Corps. That isn’t me trying to compare our situations it is just saying I fully understand. I also understand that with everything I deal with on the daily, that I am not out there taking crazy bumps and adding more pain and misery to the situation at the rate and scale that he has been known to. I am not saying that he needs to stop them altogether because we know that is more than likely never going to happen. I am saying that he needs to save them for only necessary moments in key moments of matches to heighten the story being told in the ring. He can do that and still be the same Jeff Hardy that we all know and love.
Now that Jeff has returned ai am expecting to see a run with him and his brother Matt because of the plans the company had for them prior to everything that happened with Jeff. It would be the smart move for them to make and the safe one at that. Have Jeff not be out there taking all of the abuse every night like he would in a singles environment. It will keep him doing what he loves and with those he loves and that will help to be the support system he needs while going through this process in recovery again. Do I know if it will lead to the AEW Tag Titles like they had plans for before? No, I don’t know that. With how booking goes in AEW I wouldn’t put it passed them to have them wear the belts at a time because they still are The Hardy Boys. All I know is, as long as he plays his cards right, it can be an amazing possible final chapter in his Hall of Fame career and that is all that any of us should want to see.
