'Was so hard': Jeff Hardy Reveals Toughest Match of His WWE Career

Jeff Hardy recently opened up about the most challenging match he faced in his WWE career, and surprisingly, it wasn't against big names like the Undertaker or John Cena.

By Mohammad Bilal

Updated on Aug 12, 2024 | 10:07 PM IST | 111.1K

Jeff Hardy (Photo: Getty)

Jeff Hardy's journey in wrestling began quite humbly. Back in 1994, in Youngstown, Ohio, he faced Razor Ramon, stepping into the ring as a jobber. Hardy has described that match as the most challenging of his entire WWE career. Interestingly, he didn't even compete under his famous ring name; instead, he wrestled as Keith Davis, filling in for another jobber who had withdrawn from the match against Razor Ramon.

Hardy started as a jobber in WWE (then WWF), and his job was mainly to make other wrestlers win and look strong. He was not even 18, but 16.

While speaking on Busted Open Radio recently, Jeff Hardy reminisced about that match against Ramon. He described the encounter as intimidating and influential, admitting that it almost killed his wrestling ambition.

“When I think about that match, I just know that the ring back then was so hard. I was probably 185-190 pounds, and oh, it was so hard. We had never been in it before, and he [Scott Hall] was stiff with a few things. I was 16, just terrified, you know? It was just rough,” he said.

Further, Hardy also contemplated his future in wrestling after that match because it just broke the hell out of him. He confessed, “When it was over, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t ever want to do that again.’”

But then, his next match with Sean Waltman, who was known as the 1-2-3 kid at that time, just refilled his soul once again. “It just refilled my soul; it was fun again,” Hardy said. That was the beginning of Jeff Hardy's successful career in WWE.

In his next outing, Hardy clashed with King Kong Bundy, Jim Neidhart, Owen Hart and Triple H. On January 13, 1996, Hardy defeated Razor Ramon, the man who had destroyed him in his very first match.

By 1998, after spending four years in the company, the Hardy Boyz caught the eyes of the company, and they signed a contract. They were then trained by Dory Funk Jr. in his Funkin Dojo, with other notable wrestlers such as Kurt Angle, Christian, Test and A-Train. Then the team was finally brought to WWE television after months of jobbing and live events. Then they formed the Hardy Boyz.

Jeff, however, left the company after 2002, to fight at independent wrestling circuits and only returned in 2006 and stayed with WWE till 2009. He and his brother then worked with TNA for the next few years after 2009 and made a comeback to WWE at WrestleMania 33 in 2017.

But The Hardy Boyz walked out after 2021 because of poor booking. At present, they are working with TNA, after quitting Tony Khan’s AEW. Though there have been talks of them returning to WWE for Hall of Fame induction, nothing has been confirmed yet from both parties.