10 Most Insane Things WWE Has Done In The Empty Arena Era

Oh man, where to start with this one? Jeff Hardy’s struggles with addiction are no joke. Alcohol abuse kills an estimated three million people a year, and alcoholics are often shamed for their disease. It is hard to stay sober when there’s a part of your brain always convincing you to have one more drink, that it won’t send you spiralling to have another sip. Hardy’s bravery and fight against his addiction should be praised by every wrestling fan, he hasn’t given up and has fought to beat his disease for the sake of his children and for himself. He is an everyday superhero.

In response to Hardy’s accomplishment of staying sober, WWE had Sheamus frame him for drunk driving, make him do a piss test on national television before Hardy soaked him with it, cut numerous promos shaming him for his addiction, beat him clean at Backlash and made Jeff work a cinematic Bar Fight despite the acknowledgement of how difficult his recovery has been. This company is just on another level.

Sheamus and Hardy have great chemistry in the ring, their Backlash match is one of the best contests of empty arena wrestling thus far. But even if Jeff was okay with it, it’s harmful and stigmatising to millions of alcoholics around the world. There’s a way to do an angle around addiction that handles it with respect, Eddie Guerrero’s feud with Brock Lesnar in 2004 is proof of that, this is just cruel cheap heat.