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The Hardy Boyz are one of the most popular tag-teams in WWE history. The duo are pioneers of the TLC match and their high-flying moves have ensured their fame in the annals of wrestling history.
The Hardys made a spectacular return to WWE with a surprise return at WrestleMania 33, winning the RAW Tag-Team Championships in a Fatal-4-Way Ladder Match. The RAW Tag-Team titles were their 7th championship as a tag-team in WWE.
However, both Matt and Jeff have had problems outside the ring during their careers and Jeff, in particular, could have been much more successful as a singles wrestler if he’d left his demons behind him sooner.
In this article, we take a look at something fans may not know or may have forgotten about Team Xtreme.
5: That wrestling show
Some fans may be unaware that the Hardyz appeared on an episode of the first season of That 70’s Show, an episode that also featured The Rock who was portraying his father Rocky Johnson.
The Hardys appeared as faceless jobbers in the episode, even donning ring-gear that was different from what they wore in the WWE.
The Hardys later went on to appear in an episode of Fear Factor with other WWE Superstars. Matt won the episode and donated his winnings to the American Cancer Society.
4: They began their WWE career as jobbers
For most of us, the first time we saw Matt and Jeff Hardy was when the two took WWE by storm in the late 90’s as a part of Team Xtreme. The duo enthralled fans with their high-flying move-set and the breathtaking risks they took. However, some older WWE fans may remember the Hardys from long before the Attitude Era, when the duo first appeared on WWE programming as enhancement talent.
The Hardys’ first run with the WWE was a brief stint in 1994 when the two brothers were signed as enhancement talent. The duo wrestled the likes of Nikolai Volkoff, Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 kid when the Jeff and Matt were 16 and 19 respectively.
Seemingly impressed with the skills at putting others over, the WWE signed the boys to full-time contracts before sending them over to Dory Funk Jr. for further development and training, and needly to say, they both went on to become stars.
3: Both Matt and Jeff have been arrested multiple times during their careers
Both Jeff and Matt have had brushes with the law on many different occasions during their careers.
Jeff was first detained at Nashville International Airport in 2008 for an incident where he was heavily intoxicated. The younger Hardy was not allowed to board his flight before being sent home. A year later in 2009, Jeff was arrested on more serious charges – possession of a variety of drugs as well as trafficking of prescription drugs. He later served jail time in 2011 for this incident but for just 10 days.
Matt was also arrested in September 2009. He was arrested thrice that month for DUI’s before being arrested once again for threatening to commit suicide online. In 2011, Matt was arrested once again for a domestic dispute with wife Reby, with authorities later giving them both restriction orders against each other.
However, over the last few years, the brothers seem to have cleaned up their acts and are finally back where they belong in the WWE.
2: They owned their own wrestling promotion
Long before their days in the WWE, the Hardy brothers were huge wrestling fans as youngsters and started their own backyard wrestling promotion with their friends called Trampoline Championship Wrestling. They basically shot videos of them doing wrestling moves on a trampoline and had them taped.
Later, after they made appearances in the WWE as enhancement talent, the duo went on to start OMEGA Championship Wrestling with some of their friends in the pro wrestling business. OMEGA shut down in 1999 after the brothers made names for themselves in the WWE before Matt restarted it for a brief period in 2013, even forming a partnership with Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling.
1: Jeff's shoot on CM Punk
Jeff Hardy’s main-event program with CM Punk in 2009 was one probably the best singles storylines of Jeff’s entire wrestling career. The duo’s program ended with Jeff losing the feud and leaving WWE after his contract expired. Jeff’s real-life problems with addiction were highlighted during the feud and Jeff getting pulled over for DUI was also a part of a promo package.
After Jeff’s departure, a video of him shooting on CM Punk surfaced online. A seemingly intoxicated Jeff ranted about Punk, calling him a “nerd” before going on to show him middle fingers. Even Matt appeared later on in the video, questioning Punk’s alleged relationship with Lita, saying he didn’t believe it.
This was definitely one of the most embarrassing moments of either Hardy’s career (yes, more embarrassing than Victory Road) and it’s good to see that they’ve moved onto better times in recent years, putting their problems behind them to resurrect their careers.
