Similar to Daniel Bryan, no Superstar was hotter than Jeff Hardy throughout 2008. His WWE Championship journey started at the dawn of the year when he came up short of capturing the prestigious prize at the Royal Rumble. He then suffered a setback in March when he violated the WWE Wellness Policy and was suspended for 60 days, leaving him out of WrestleMania 24 and costing himself a rumored Money in the Bank Ladder match victory. But Hardy somehow managed to keep his popularity going strong upon his return to TV in May. Fans only rallied behind him more once he made the move to SmackDown and started challenging for the WWE Championship at every pay-per-view that fall. He was unsuccessful with each attempt until Armageddon where he finally came out on top with the title in tow. Former WWE Creative Writer Freddie Prinze Jr. mentioned on a recent episode of 'Talk is Jericho' that he lobbied hard to get the belt on Hardy. After writing such strong material for him that year, Vince McMahon ultimately gave in. All three of his world title reigns were brief, though. By that point, they weren't high on the idea of putting the title on someone who was prone to violating the Wellness Policy and getting themselves suspended or possibly fired.
Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.