WWE Superstar Jeff Hardy Ready to Please

WWE superstar Jeff Hardy ready to please

By Rachel Lemieux | Wednesday, August 13, 2008 |

Jeff Hardy, who wrestles for the “SmackDown” brand of World Wrestling Entertainment, prepares to splash an opponent with his patented Swanton Bomb move, a graceful dive from the top turnbuckle. Hardy will be one of the many stars scheduled to wrestle at the i wireless Center in Moline on Aug. 19 (WWE) Buy this Photo

Tables, ladders and chairs. It sounds like a home decorating set, but when professional wrestler Jeff Hardy is involved, it’s a whole different show.

Hardy, one of the biggest stars of World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, spends his workdays leaping off ladders and crashing into fellow wrestlers.

His rock-star status didn’t come without a seeming lack of concern for his body, an attitude that his fans love, and Hardy is eager to please.

“They’re (the fans) my foundation, they’re the pulse of everything I do, because without them there would be no me. I always make time to spend with fans,” he said in a telephone interview.

Hardy is known as the “charismatic enigma” and “the rainbow-haired warrior” for his rabble-rouser appearance, ever-changing hair colors and courageousness in the ring.

“I’ve just tried to modify myself and do something that nobody else is doing. It’s just different and I’ve always tried to be that,” he said.

But despite his tough exterior, Hardy admits to some vulnerability.

“Even now, I still have the butterflies, especially the ladder matches. It’s always nerve-wracking because you have to live up to what you did in the past,” he said.

Once paired up in a well-loved tag-team with his brother, Matt, Hardy is now facing the pro wrestling world on his own.

“That’s one thing that Matt and I can say for ourselves, that we have succeeded as individual stars,” he said.

The WWE empire is comprised of three different sub-brands, including “Raw” and “Extreme Championship Wrestling,” or ECW.

The third, called “SmackDown,” will be coming to the i wireless Center in Moline for the first time in six years Tuesday night.

“SmackDown,” which goes on tour with its sister company, ECW, will be treating Q-C fans to two shows in the same night.

“I get to travel with Matt a little more because he’s on ECW, so that’s kind of cool, but I’m still not used to the schedule,” said Hardy, who was among wrestlers recently traded from “Raw” to “SmackDown.”

To wrestling fans, the swap was huge, bringing larger-than-life wrestling celebrities to the Aug. 19 event.

Hardy’s journey hasn’t been easy. While on a second 60-day suspension from the WWE for policy violations, his estate was destroyed in a fire.

Rumors circulated that he would not be back in the ring for months, if at all, after the devastating incident, but almost as soon as his suspension was up, he was back in the ring, wowing the fans.

The world of professional wrestling has been branded a series of scripted performances rather than a competitive sport, but most fans know the action in the ring has its dangers.

“It’s an art form to me. The last thing it is is fake. Anyone who says that wrestling is fake, that’s pure ignorance to me,” Hardy said.

When he dives off the top rope of the ring, there is nothing phony about the emotions he’s feeling, Hardy said.

“The scariest thing is not knowing if you’re going to get up from what you’re about to do,” he added.

IF YOU GO

What: WWE presents “Smackdown” and “Extreme Championship Wrestling”

When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19

Where: i wireless Center, downtown Moline

How much: $60, $40, $30 and $20

Scheduled to appear: HHH, Edge, Big Show, Jeff Hardy, Mr. Kennedy, MVP, The Great Khali, Umaga, Carlito, Chavo Guerrero, John Morrison, Mark Henry and others

Information: [phone] or iwirelesscenter.com on the Web

Also on the Web: WWE.com

Rachel Lemieux can be contacted at [phone] or [e-mail]. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.