When he left WWE in 2009, Jeff Hardy was a top babyface star, a freshly established main eventer whod won both the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship in the final few months of his run for the company. It wasnt always like that. As a member of Team Extreme, Jeff was the slimline, knockabout Hardy Boy, the one leaping off ladders and flipping off turnbuckles. If a heel came along to merk the pair of them, Jeff was the one whod bump mercilessly into a boneless heap in the corner, whod let the other guy viciously ragdoll him to get them over. Hardys singles push would be a stop-start thing, beginning in 2001 and again in 2002, skipping over his release over his substance abuse issues, and resuming in 2006 when he returned to the WWE. From losing to the Undertaker in a Ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Championship, to fighting the Samoan helicopter Umaga for the Intercontinental Championship, Hardy was always booked as coming from underneath, always on the back foot fighting courageously to come out on top. Incredibly, Hardy was booked to go over Triple H to determine the number one contender for Randy Ortons WWE Championship, and the match was set for the Royal Rumble in 2008. The build-up was dramatic, dynamic. He even got one of those desire two minute promos set to inspirational rock music; sadly in this case it was Rooftops by the Lostprophets, a band that have since been wiped, Benoit-style, from the pages of history. Hardy lost again, but looked great doing it - and the same thng happened at the Elimination Chamber, a noble, brave loss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvtOeGeuVtQ There would be a minor setback with substance abuse issues before he finally defeated Triple H and Edge in a triple threat match for the WWE Championship. Following this, Hardy was on a level with the biggest names in the company. His underdog days were over.
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