There are whispers Jeff Hardy is hurt and while he's been defending his U.S. Championship on SmackDown Live, it is confirmed that he is ailing from injuries serious enough that he's decided not to use his finisher, the Swanton Bomb, at WWE live events.
It was first noticed Hardy wasn't using his dive off the top rope back in late June when he started using a twist of fate stunner to finish off his opponents. And, during a recent interview with the Canton Repository, Hardy confirmed it was because he was suffering from back issues that were slowing down his willingness to take those risks when not on tv or wrestling at pay-per-views.
Hardy explained that his lower back was the root of the problem and that it's “ really been bothering me to the point where I haven’t been doing the Swanton as much in the live events just to protect it." Hardy added that because of his injuries — one's he's sustained over a long wrestling career of taking insane bumps and trying risky moves — he'll need to be more protective of his body moving forward. He knows, "nothing lasts forever."
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Hardy admits he's been lucky and while he wants to go all out, he might "have to hold back a little.”
While he's saddened that he can't give the fans everything they might expect out of a Jeff Hardy-style match, he is excited about the fact that he's using face paint again with his character. He thinks its fun for fans because it keeps him original and unique every night. As a kid, when he watched wrestling, he loved guys like the Ultimate Warrior and Sting, which made him want to be more like them. He's glad he can give that too the fans, even if he can't do every wrestling move he'd like to.
Hardy's next appearance — likely with the face paint — will be on Sunday as he defends his United States Title against Shinsuke Nakamura. Extreme Rules might be one of those shows where Hardy breaks his no Swanton Bomb rule.
NEXT: JEFF HARDY OFFERS WEIRDLY AGGRESSIVE RESPONSE TO NAKAMURA TWEET