Word coming out now is that prior to his debacle of a match against Sting at Victory Road, Jeff Hardy was found backstage passed out in a bathroom. From there, he had to be assisted to the Gorilla Position where he could stumble through his entrance to an 88 second main event that has set the wrestling world ablaze.
TNA has nobody to blame but themselves for the precarious position they've put themselves in with Jeff Hardy, who was once arguably the most popular star in the World Wrestling Entertainment. Fast forward just over a year in TNA, where Jeff is nothing more than a shell of his former self.
Never mind Jeff, for one second. Let's take him out of the equation. This could have been anybody else and they more than likely would have been ordered to rehab or fired. TNA put a lot of eggs into the Hardy basket, including that gaudy purple belt he was running around with. They risked everything to turn him heel, and to an extent, Jeff hasn't been too bad in his role.
But this is a blemish that TNA does not need in their already spotted record. Criticism of them is high right now, always has been a favorite thing of the wrestling community, but right now even their staunchest supporters are disillusioned with them. And six months free access to their online video library is not going to help matters. If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem, and all the problems need to get out of TNA if it's ever going to survive.
Legally, this was so dangerous. Even for all of TNA's shortcomings, I expected them to at least understand that. When I heard rumors that Jeff was in no shape to compete in December, but they had him out there anyway, I didn't think anything of it. I assumed he couldn't have been in that bad of shape if he was still allowed to compete. Fast forward three months, and oh, how wrong I was.
Legally, this was an enormous liability. If they did have a regular match, Sting could have been seriously injured, as could Hardy. What if Jeff hadn't gotten up from Scorpion Death Drop? There's a million what ifs out there, but what it's important to realize that these what ifs alone should have been enough to stop TNA officials from sending him out there.
Oh, but what to do? Sending him out to the ring when they found him passed out was careless. Very careless. Very dangerous as well. Calling an audible once they realized he was in no shape to perform was stupid. Really; did it take them seeing him stumble up the ring steps to realize that he was in no shape to compete? If the rumors are true and Jeff was found passed out in the back, then TNA deserves all of the fire and brimstone fans are reigning down on them for sending him out knowing full well he couldn't give the fans their money's worth. An idea? Don't send him out. Tell the fans the truth. Have someone attack Jeff before the main event, like AJ Styles and Fortune or something and replace it with the two guys from the match before that ended in no contest. Better yet, if Hardy just has to be out there, send the two guys out there for a Fatal Four Way and take away Jeff having to do a lot of the work. Something, anything would have been better than what the fans got.
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