Jeff Hardy

You know, in the professional wrestling business it seems as if there are an awful lot of unhappy endings in regards to the number of happy endings. We all thought Chris Candido had a happy ending, as he had cleaned up and was working with TNA. Then he broke his leg and died from a staph infection. We all thought Eddie Guerrero had a happy ending, because he cleaned himself of drugs and booze, returned to the WWE and became the WWE Champion. Then his ugly past caught up with him and he died in his hotel room one cold night. And don't even get me started on Chris Benoit.

But the most recent disappointment in a long line of disappointments is none other than Jeff Hardy. He was fired from WWE in early 2003 due to being burned out (his "heart wasn't into it") and for his personal demons. He spent the next three years giving TNA problems, complete with no-showing events. He seemed to be on his way to becoming the next Scott Hall or Jake Roberts. Then, in September 2006, with only a week or two of warning, Hardy suddenly returned to Raw. The return came out of absolutely nowhere, it was a total surprise. We all sat on the edge our seats to see what kind of Jeff Hardy we were going to get. And to the delight of many, we got the Jeff Hardy of old. He quickly won the Intercontinental Championship and had a great feud with youngster, Johnny Nitro. He reteamed with his brother, Matt, and they had a great series of matches with the likes of MNM, London and Kendrick, Benjamin and Haas, and Murdoch and Cade. Jeff performed on his first Wrestlemania card since 2002. It was all going so well...

... and then, much to my dismay, Hardy was suspended in the summer of 2007. This cut short a promising rivalry with Umaga (who was also suspended around the time Hardy returned). After ten months of turning in great performances in the ring and appearing to be in good mental shape, most of the suspicious fans had let their guard down and accepted that Hardy was the real deal this time and had cleaned himself. Now, we weren't so sure. Luckily, Hardy returned after his suspension in seemingly good condition and picked up right where he left off. Hardy quickly defeated Umaga for the Intercontinental Championship and proceeded to enjoy the arguably hottest run of his entire career. Hardy squared off against Triple H at Armageddon and picked up a huge upset. This earned him a shot at Randy Orton's WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. A lot of internet fans demanded that Hardy go over Orton for the title, and the build to the match (including Hardy diving several feet in the air off the Raw set onto Orton) seemed to indicate that he had a great chance of doing so. Then the Royal Rumble actually took place, and Orton made easy work of Hardy with the RKO.

The fans didn't give up yet. Hardy was placed into an elimination chamber match at No Way Out, where the winner would get a title shot at Wrestlemania 24. Again, fans were demanding that Hardy go over. Things didn't work out that way, as Hardy lasted to the finals of the match, but fell victim to Triple H. The fans were given some comfort soon enough, as Hardy was added to the Money in the Bank ladder match set for Wrestlemania 24, and he seemed to be the favorite to win it.

And then, on the March 10th edition of Raw, Jeff Hardy lost his Intercontinental Championship to Chris Jericho. The next day, WWE.com reported that Hardy had failed a wellness test and was to be suspended for 60 days.

In a lot of ways, personally, this feels like the biggest betrayal of them all. Since his return in 2006, Jeff Hardy has had a lot of obstacles to overcome when it comes to the fans accepting him. A lot of his critics pointed him out as a career midcarder, some others said he was too small to be a convincing main event, and others suggested that he was going to burn out again and would be too much of a liability as a top star. And those of us who had come to support Hardy defended him left and right. Many fans pointed at current WWE Champion Randy Orton as someone who cancelled out any argument that failing wellness tests should hinder a rise to the top. However, this just seems like too much. Jeff Hardy, a man who people started to believe in as a top guy for reasons that are not common when it comes to accepting a main eventer. Jeff Hardy, a guy who had seemingly gotten over his demons, not once, or twice, but three times now. Well, I think I've had it. I used to refer to Jeff mockingly as "Druggie McCrackhead" and I had stopped practicing this due to the last two years. Now, it seems that he has sadly lived up to my immature nickname.

So, to Jeff Hardy, I hope the next two months give you a lot of time to think about what you're doing with your life. Think about if professional wrestling is still something you want to do. If you are incapable of being a part of this business without resorting to drug abuse then now is the time to get out and get help. If you can clean yourself up, return, and be a positive addition to the shows again, that would be great. But I'm not going to ever trust that you're clean again. I'm not going to stick up for you anymore when others say you are no main event worthy. I might even make fun of you a little bit myself. You've had three strikes with me, you're out. Don't become another unhappy ending.