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Jeff Hardy did it! Against the odds, the WWE legend and 9-time Tag Team Champion faced and defeated AJ Styles to become the new Intercontinental Champion.
The Intercontinental Championship has been passing hands quite a bit this year. We expected AJ Styles to have a longer title reign, but the timing of it and the fact that Jeff Hardy won it wasn't so bad.
Sure, it could have been Matt Riddle at SummerSlam 2020, but sometimes, things work out the way they do for a reason. In this case, it was a change of plans and timing, but one can't deny that Jeff Hardy is deserving of a title win.
Given how Jeff Hardy's return run has been handled weirdly by WWE, it's good to see him have his moment. It also shows that WWE still views him as a pivotal singles star after Matt Hardy's departure to AEW.
There's a lot to get into, but first, let's assess five different reasons why Jeff Hardy won the Intercontinental Championship on the SmackDown before SummerSlam 2020.
#5 To set up an immediate Jeff Hardy-AJ Styles SummerSlam rematch
This is the most obvious reason but it's a highly possible one. As of this writing, AJ Styles vs Jeff Hardy isn't official for SummerSlam. However, it would be odd if AJ Styles were to miss the SummerSlam card entirely, especially since there are only eight official matches on the PPV card - one that's been exceeding four hours in duration since 2015.
If it was a dusty finish, WWE could have booked a rematch between AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy. But with a title change, it gives WWE the incentive to announce the match. Even if it's at the last minute, it will still be an important match on the card. AJ Styles has had important matches at SummerSlam for four years in a row - three of which were title matches. This could (and should) be his fourth high-profile opponent in a row at SummerSlam.
#4 A redemption arc for Jeff Hardy
The way Jeff Hardy has been handled since his return has been nothing short of odd. When CM Punk - a man who Jeff Hardy had legitimate heat with - says that WWE took it too far by making his addiction problems into a storyline, it's clear that it might have been overdone.
Since it was the central theme of his feud against Sheamus, it became uncomfortable to watch for many - including his own brother Matt Hardy, who expressed his concern for his brother potentially relapsing. Jeff Hardy doesn't need a constant reminder of what he's been through and it was brought up last week when he confronted AJ Styles as well.
The positive is that he got the redemptive win over Sheamus in that Bar Fight and he now got the Intercontinental title win over AJ Styles. It's not every storyline in WWE where we see a payoff, but in the case of Jeff Hardy - it's two times in a row now.
It would have been incredibly disappointing had he ended up losing to both Sheamus and AJ Styles. We will give credit to WWE where it's due, even though we still feel that they went a bit too far in making Jeff Hardy's addiction issues a part of the storyline.
#3 Jeff Hardy is long overdue for a singles title run
It's hard to believe that it's already been more than two years since Jeff Hardy last won a singles title in WWE. It was 2018 and eight days post WrestleMania 34 when Jeff Hardy defeated the newly-drafted Jinder Mahal on RAW to become the United States Champion.
Jeff Hardy's reign was longer than Jinder Mahal's, but it wasn't meant to last long either. Jeff Hardy would drop it at Extreme Rules a few months later to Shinsuke Nakamura in a weird match that lasted for just a few seconds. While he enjoyed brief tag team title success last year - an injury put him out again.
Championship success hasn't come as often for Jeff Hardy in his return run since 2017, which is why WWE may have felt that he was long overdue for a singles run. For all we know, he could have won the IC title tournament, but the Sheamus feud kept him occupied. Either way, winning it from AJ Styles is a great way to do it.
#2 A slow-burn heel turn for Jeff Hardy?
Admittedly, this is the least-likeliest scenario on this list. However, given how the match ended and the way Jeff Hardy won, it could open the door to different possibilities.
If you didn't watch the match, then you may have missed the fact that it wasn't a clean win for Jeff Hardy. He used his knee brace to attack AJ Styles and pick up the victory, but that was likely viewed as "poetic justice" since AJ Styles injured Jeff Hardy in the RETRIBUTION angle at the start of the show.
It's uncharacteristic of Jeff Hardy to cheat like that to win, but given the circumstances, it isn't too unfair. It's hard to imagine Jeff Hardy as a heel since he's been a babyface for the longest time. However, a change in direction isn't always a bad thing - and a heel turn could be the key to unlocking a side of Jeff Hardy that we've never seen throughout his career.
With that said, SmackDown is still short on top babyfaces.
#1. Jeff Hardy possibly signed a new contract
Jeff Hardy, similar to Rey Mysterio, had all sorts of questions surrounding him about his contract status with WWE. While it didn't seem to take as long, a simple reason behind him winning the Intercontinental Championship may have had to do with him signing a multi-year contract.
Jeff Hardy still has a lot left in him and a lot to offer WWE (more than he does to AEW). There were rumors that Jeff Hardy losing to Sheamus was more a result of him not signing a new contract. There were even some rumors that he simply didn't want to put pen to paper on a new WWE contract, but at the end of the day, money talks. If WWE managed to give Jeff Hardy an offer that satisfied him, we see no reason why he would reject it.
In all likeliness, it was simply a negotiation tactic by Jeff Hardy. But either way, knowing that he's locked down to a contract would be a good incentive for him to have signed a new WWE contract.
