10 Wrestlers Who Destroyed Their Careers On Live TV

8. Jeff Hardy - TNA Victory Road 2011

Ken Kennedy Vince McMahon
Impact Wrestling

"Destroyed" in the title of this article is only as powerful a word as the individual performer is bankable. By being so constantly appealing to promoters for his extremely unique bond with a sizeable portion of the fanbase, Jeff Hardy can never truly destroy his career - if he had such a power this would have been the moment he deployed it.

It also wasn't just Hardy making it happen. He may have pressed the self-destruction button himself, but it took several abysmal calls for everybody to have to see it play out live on a wrestling pay-per-view. 'The Charismatic Enigma' shouldn't have gotten himself in "no condition to perform", but that exact phrase was invented because of the literal connotations in action. His condition wasn't so much questionable but critical - he'd have been a danger to himself and others had his match with Sting not been literally wrapped up by the veteran within a minute of the opening bell ringing.

'The Icon' looked livid with his lot throughout, but Jeff was too far gone to realise that he wasn't even there. That he rebuilt his career and legacy from this low was an achievement as lofty as any World Championship win.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett