LogFAQs > #903310134

#49 - Jeff Hardy Nominated by: Johnbobb

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Jeff is somewhat of an enigma to me. A charismatic one, to be sure, but an engima nonetheless. It's clear why a certain vocal segment of the wrestling audience loves the man, but I never quite knew why I would root for Jeff. I imagine it's at least one part nostalgia, a holdover from his days as a high-flying tag team partner in the Brothers Hardy. After that fact, once Jeff became more of a singles competitor, I never really enjoyed his promos but still found myself drawn to him.

I never thought his wrestling style was particularly impressive or skilled, but I think some of that is a testament to just how effortless he makes himself look while in flight. His body certainly took a toll thanks to the extreme backyard antics he put on display, and yet I and others still condemn his self-medicating behavior to this day. Is that particularly fair? We cheer for the guy primarily thanks to a style of wrestling in which he must kill himself to get over, then we lambast him for trying to dilute the constant pain his body must be in. At the same time, a stunt like Victory Road only adds to my memories of Jeff Hardy, as I look back fondly on his non-match with Sting. It's quite a weird bag of contradictions.

As a wrestler nowadays, I think some of the love I have for Jeff is inextricably intertwined with the creative mind of modern Matt Hardy. Jeff certainly has always been the more popular brother, but he's so generous in how he gives his brother the spotlight and knows that it's okay to step back and let someone else shine for a moment. I like throughout Jeff's career and I see a guy who always was willing to do business for those around him. He consequently created some extremely memorable feuds that way. The TLC matches of the Attitude Era. Undertaker and Jeff's brief but memorable feud which culminated in one of my top two RAW matches of all time. CM Punk's opportunity to make Straight Edge really matter in a feud. And of course, the Broken Universe. All of this seems to stem from a propensity for generosity on Jeff's part, and maybe this is why I find myself drawn to Jeff as a wrestler so much. He's always been a team player despite having the charismatic toolset that could allow him to be a diva.
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