Jeff Hardy continues to add more memorable moments to his legendary career with noteworthy performances. The rise of Jeff in the Attitude Era saw him having a few different versions of his character both as a singles star and teaming with his brother Matt Hardy. Fans had a natural connection to Jeff that made him a major part of WWE and TNA.
Each chapter of Jeff’s career showed the same performer at heart with different layers in the character approach. The creative mind of Jeff is one of his strong suits and a huge reason why he loves the wrestling industry. Everyone has their own ideal character when looking back at his best moments. But what is the best version of The Charismatic Engima?
10 Early Era Hardy Boyz
The start of Matt and Jeff Hardy in WWE showed their promise as a future great tag team. Michael Hayes managed the duo to add a veteran presence to the young team, but it came off as an odd fit when he started dressing like them.
Jeff stood out as the daredevil that fans instantly gravitated towards. The duo didn’t truly break out until they split from Hayes and started to showcase their own personality. Jeff specifically did that by having a unique style and presentation to his matches.
9 Early Brand Split Face
The split of Matt and Jeff Hardy in the 2002 brand-split draft saw Jeff getting a noteworthy push as a singles star. WWE saw huge potential in Jeff and made him one of the more popular face characters on the Raw brand.
One noteworthy match against The Undertaker showed how much WWE believed in him, but the rest of his run was a disaster. Jeff often got into trouble for no-showing events or having sloppy performances leading to his release from the company.
8 First TNA Run
TNA was ecstatic to sign Jeff Hardy after his first WWE release as a rare big name on the free-agent market. WWE tried to keep every talent with main event potential on the roster since the brand split required two rosters, but Jeff wore out his welcome.
The TNA stint saw Hardy as one of the company’s top stars and arguably its most popular performer. Jeff had noteworthy matches with AJ Styles, Abyss, Raven, and a few others by continuing his death-defying wrestling style. TNA eventually felt disappointed when some of Hardy’s issues started to surface.
7 Willow The Wisp
Willow the Wisp was the alter ego of Jeff Hardy going back to his early days in Omega. The character resurfaced in a bigger way when both Hardy brothers had more creative input in their TNA work towards the end of the run.
Jeff introduced the Willow character on a few occasions wearing the mysterious mask and using an umbrella as his weapon of choice. Willow wasn’t as good as Jeff’s best runs, but it was certainly entertaining as a secondary option to change things up.
6 Veteran Face
The current run of Jeff Hardy sees him as one of the most experienced wrestlers on the roster. Hardy is hoping to have one more successful run in WWE at the highest level before his career starts to wind down towards a part-time role.
The 2020 Intercontinental Championship reign of Jeff was a success with impressive matches against AJ Styles and Sami Zayn. WWE moved Hardy to Raw in the draft to provide a bigger role for him as one of the top faces on the flagship show.
5 Immortal Heel
The biggest risk of Jeff Hardy’s career came when he turned heel as a top star in TNA. Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff wanted to have a newer version of the New World Order by having Hardy as the top face to shock the world with a heel turn this time.
Jeff adopted the nickname the “Antichrist of Pro Wrestling”, leading the new heel faction Immortal with Hogan and Bischoff at his side. The ambitious task of making Hardy a heel had mixed results. Ultimately, Immortal disappointed as a group even though Jeff had some great matches and moments.
4 The Hardy Boyz WWE Reunion
The return of the Hardy Boyz at WrestleMania 33 saw Matt and Jeff having an all-time great moment. Fans reacted with one of the loudest pops WWE has ever witnessed. Matt and Jeff had a very good run in the tag division over the next few months.
The Bar of Cesaro and Sheamus feuded with the Hardy Boyz over the Raw Tag Team Championship. WWE booked them as a mix between their former characters from the glory years with their veteran status being referenced as well.
3 Brother Nero
TNA allowing Matt Hardy to have more creative freedom over his storyline with Jeff changed their careers for the better. The Broken characters featured TNA getting new fan interest from viewers wanting to see the unique act of both Hardy Boyz.
Jeff started going by the name Brother Nero after Matt used it to mock him. The two reunited and had a tremendous run as arguably the hottest act in the industry. Matt and Jeff were open to staying with TNA to extend this chapter of their careers until management changed to ruin the plan.
2 Team Xtreme
WWE started to find the potential of Matt and Jeff Hardy as a top tier tag team when they united with Lita to form Team Xtreme with her managing them. All three wrestlers were rising stars in the outstanding act of three daredevils laying it all on the line.
Jeff was specifically viewed as the biggest star of the three. WWE even booked him to have a huge victory over Triple H to become the Intercontinental Champion for the first time. The success of The Hardy Boyz made them one of the all-time great tag teams in WWE history during their run from 2000 to 2002.
1 World Champion Singles Star
The singles run of Jeff Hardy in late 2008 allowed him to be the best version of himself. Jeff was suspended to start the year for violating the wellness policy before bouncing back for the greatest run of his entire career.
The fan base rallied behind Hardy as the top face on SmackDown with a few stellar performances against Triple H. Jeff won the WWE Championship in 2008 and the World Heavyweight Championship in 2009 as one of the most popular stars in the company at the time only behind John Cena.