Jeff Hardy Talks TNA Impact Wrestling, Concussions, Hall of Fame, WWE, More

Jeff Hardy is one of the most popular wrestlers of all time, and even after 20 years, the charismatic enigma is still stealing the show every Tuesday night on TNA Impact Wrestling.

After spending years in WWE dominating the company as both a tag team specialist and a successful singles star, Hardy has faced his ups and downs with Impact Wrestling, but he is once again looking to win back the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

Hardy sat down with Ring Rust Radio to discuss his chase for the top championship in Impact Wrestling, the idea of donating his brain for concussion research, the possibility of being inducted into the Hall of Fame, his future in the wrestling business and more.

In April 2015, he suffered a broken leg and torn knee ligaments in a dirt bike accident, forcing him to vacate the tag team championships with his brother, Matt Hardy. Almost a year later, he is back in TNA looking to make his mark once again.

Hardy was in a world title match on Impact Wrestling on Tuesday, but he didn’t come out victorious. With his brother as a top heel, though, there is a good possibility Hardy will eventually win another championship.

Hardy spoke honestly about his drive to be a top star in TNA again:

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For sure. Yeah. I am going to drive myself crazy until I win that world title. Actually, I would love somewhere down the road before my time is done with TNA to team up with Matt again and win the tag team titles.

When I broke my leg, we had just won the titles, and we didn’t even get to defend them. I was also the Omega champion at that same time, and I just had to give it up. So I would like to try to make up for things from when I got hurt.

By far I want to be the world champion again and tag team champion again with big-money Matt, even as arrogant as he is.

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While Hardy’s in-ring career is far from over, he has always been one to think ahead beyond wrestling. Several major wrestling stars—such as Kevin Nash, as reported by ESPN—have recently announced they will donate their brains to science in support of concussion research.

Hardy shared that he is also planning on donating his brain to science:

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My wife read where Kevin Nash announced that, and I said, 'Oh my God, I have to do that.' I will do whatever it takes, and I would love to be a part of that. It’s a huge, serious issue in wrestling. I’ve rung my bells so many times, especially back in the day when chair shots to the head were legal. My goodness, I took so many of those.

Luckily, I’m only aware of about two or three concussions that I have had, but there’s really no way of telling how many overall. When Nash announced he was doing that, I was on board. And I didn’t know that [Rob Van Dam] did as well. That really inspired me to do the same thing.

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On the subject of his future, Hardy was also asked about his thoughts on eventually being inducted into the Hall of Fame. In a true show of modesty, Hardy sounded like he hadn’t thought much about the concept.

When pressed for answers about his feelings on the Hall of Fame, Hardy spoke candidly:

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I’m not really a popular fan of the whole Hall of Fame thing. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, and I don’t feel deserving a lot of times. It would probably be something like they would induct me and I deny it and say I don’t deserve it. Ultimately, if it had to happen, Eddie Vedder would be really cool if he could come in and induct me. I mean Billy Corgan did induct Earl Hebner.

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As for what’s next, Hardy admitted he is with Impact Wrestling for the foreseeable future. With a knee injury that cost him almost a year of his TNA career, he feels indebted to the company because of the damage he has done to the brand.

With that said, Hardy spoke about his unwavering love of wrestling, and how after his contract with Impact Wrestling expires, he is open to all of his options in the business:

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I don’t know. It’s hard to say, especially with this injury. Right now I’m taking it match by match. It was an obvious choice, and I didn’t hesitate to re-sign because I owe it to them. I’ve been riding all my life, and it was a bad thing to do to get hurt outside of the ring. It really hurt TNA with me being a main player in the game and out of action. I just felt like I owed it to them, a good year of strong wrestling.

I hope things happen for a reason because now it’s really challenged me to up my style, and I’ve learned a lot about myself since I’ve been injured. I’ve been lucky considering this is [the] first serious injury I’ve ever had. It really has been hell, but it’s also been good in a way with Matt doing so well and being on top.

For future and long term, I am focused on getting through here and right now and maybe check out options next year about this time.

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For fans, the possibility of Hardy eventually returning to WWE for one final run would be a dream come true. With a plethora of new Superstars with whom he could have dream matchups, one final opportunity to shine in WWE would be entertaining.

In the meantime, Hardy’s return to TNA makes Impact Wrestling more interesting. Hopefully the company continues to push him as a top star despite his injury and fans continue to see him fighting in the world title scene.

Even if Hardy isn’t the world champion, he deserves to be in the conversation.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player above (some language NSFW).