9 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Nov 27)

5. Old Demons & A New Foe

Jeff Hardy
WWE.com

Hats off to WWE for giving Jeff Hardy full acknowledgement for 20 years of service last night. Though your writer worked himself into a shoot early on, assuming this was leading to a retirement announcement, it was a nice way to reward a flawed wrestling idol.

Hardy's promo was laced with emotion and gratitude. Introduced by Michael Cole, Jeff thanked the fans for his support, paid tribute to his family, ran through some highs and lows, then shot those retirement concerns out of thin air. He was having fun... and then Samoa Joe showed up.

And then things got really interesting.

Cutting through the SmackDown roster, Joe spat words with typical excellence, taking aim at Hardy's infamous personal problems. He claimed that Jeff had only succeeded in letting the people down time and time again. People like Hardy "never change," and while Jeff's highlight package was "great," the oft-troubled star probably "doesn't remember any of it."

Joe stopped short of answering Jeff's challenge, but this should make for a great reality-based programme for this fresh upper-midcard pairing.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.