10 WWE Stars Who Managed To Shake Off The 'TNA Stink'

5. Jeff Hardy

Consequences Creed Xavier Woods
Impact Wrestling

Not only has Jeff Hardy had to overcome the TNA stink on two occasions, but also managed to stay in WWE's good graces despite his public battles with certain demons.

When people talk about that intangible "it factor," Jeff Hardy comes to mind. With his unique charisma, Jeff has the ability to connect to a wrestling audience in a way only special talents can. WWE have long been aware of this - hence why Hardy has been afforded so many chances with the company, and why WWE ran with him as a main event act at points in time.

Even though he'd no-showed several TNA events in the weeks and months prior, WWE brought Jeff back into the company in 2006 after a three-year stint away. Not only that, but WWE went on to give Hardy runs as WWE Champion and World Heavyweight Champion. But again, Jeff would be gone from Vince McMahon's organisation in August 2009.

That would famously lead to a second spell with TNA that spanned seven years, with reinventions from Jeff as Willow and Brother Nero just some of the standout moments of that run. The moment that many thought would rule out Hardy ever returning to WWE though, was the shocking scenes at the 2011 Victory Road PPV where Jeff came to the ring under the influence.

Still, WWE has been willing to give Jeff Hardy the benefit of the doubt over the years - which is Jeff has just returned to the SmackDown brand despite recent other misdemeanours.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.