Backstage rumblings on Jeff Hardy as WWE Champion

[I Like Your Poetry]

Jan 5, 2009 17:05:23 GMT -5 Cypress said:

Jan 5, 2009 16:45:13 GMT -5 ellisdee said:

I'm sorry,but Jeff being as big as Cena is laughable.

How so he already gets more cheers than Cena, all he needs is the WWE marketing machine and im sure he can be bigger.

They've begun selling Jeff Hardy armbands at live events for FIFTEEN DOLLARS, with a few selectively signed by Hardy himself.

I'd say the wheels are certainly beginning to turn regardless of the validity of this report.

[Crazy Diamond]

If the WWE is wise, they'll stay behind Jeff Hardy. I'm not a fan, but I wouldn't mind him as champion.

[Dr. T is an alien]

For those saying that Jeff cannot be as big as Cena, I beg to differ. I see more Hardys merchandise being worn out in public where I am than all other wrestling merch combined.

[skiller]

I'm struggling to understand why they would want to put the belt back on Triple H.

Apart from his matches with Jeff Hardy, his whole run felt directionless. I can't believe that they would suddenly want to put the belt back on him again.

[randomranter]

Jan 5, 2009 17:06:29 GMT -5 ellisdee said:

Cena is on the same level as Hogan. Jeff is not and never will be. I'm not saying he can't draw,but he'll never be on Cena level. He can barely cut a good promo,nevermind one as good as Cena.

LOL.

Cena is nowhere near as big as Hogan. As someone else said, only a select few can make that claim: The Rock, and MAYBE Andre and Austin.

Cena is a top draw by today's standards. But Hogan-level? Not even close.

And have you been paying attention to the pops that Jeff has been getting over the past about 15 months or so? He was white-hot during his feud with Orton. It died down somewhat when he got suspended and for a while after his return. But he's right back to that level and seemingly is going nowhere but up.

Cena is popular among the kiddies, and gets (at best) mixed reactions from older (meaning > 12 year olds) fans. Jeff is popular among the kids as well, and gets a much, much better reaction from the older crowd. The pops Jeff gets are often loudest of the night, some would say even louder than Cena.

And yes, Jeff's promos do leave a bit to be desired. But he's gotten WAY better lately compared to six months ago. Cena still comes off as someone who's trying WAY, WAY too hard to be the next Rock, and his promos have suffered as a result. (IMO, he should go back to his old thuganomics promos, which were leagues better.)

I could VERY, VERY easily see Jeff share the top spot of the company with Cena if his momentum keeps going at the current rate.

[Spyke the Pacers Fan]

Jan 5, 2009 20:23:40 GMT -5 thedavefather said:

I agree Jeff needs to keep the title, i am sick of Triple H at EVERY SINGLE WM having a title shot. INFACT look:

WM 16 - went in as champ wrestled in the 4 way mainevent
WM 17 - faced Taker no title in play
WM 18- had the mainevent was Y2J and won the title
WM 19 - went in as champ and faced Booker T
WM 20 - went in as champ and faced Beniot and HBK in the mainevent
WM 21 - went in as champ and faced Batista in the main event
WM 22 - faced John Cena in the main event
WM 23- was injuried but the story line was to have him face Cena again for the title
WM 24 - faced Orton (champ) and Cena.

Seriously enough is enough it is time for someone else to mainevent the damn show, and NO triple H in the title match. I like Triple H but seriously it is getting beyond boring!

Close, but no cigar.

[canDELjak]

When I was subbing, some middle school girls were surfing the net looking for Hardy pictures. I think there was a kid wearing a Cena shirt too. So by that unscientific sampling, they're on the same level.

[HMARK Center]

I was going to comment on the Hogan/Cena comments, but it's already been taken care of.

No wrestler has ever been on the popularity level that Hulk Hogan has been on since the end of the Hulkamania days.

[MolotovMocktail]

Austin might have been, and Rock was at least close. You might also make a case for Bruno Sammartino, taking into account that the territory size was limited and there wasn't much in the way of merchandise during his era.

[Albino Heat]

Well OK, if we're making the Cena/Hardy comparisons,

How long until the crowd turns against Hardy?

[MGH]

Jan 5, 2009 22:30:44 GMT -5 Albino Heat said:

Well OK, if we're making the Cena/Hardy comparisons,

How long until the crowd turns against Hardy?

Well, it's been 10+ years, so I'm going to say they won't. He's over with kids, but also has the teenage and adult audiences totally on his side. He's got it all covered.

[A Dubya (El Hombre Muerto)]

Jan 5, 2009 20:39:55 GMT -5 Aziraphale said:

Jan 5, 2009 17:06:29 GMT -5 ellisdee said:

Cena is on the same level as Hogan. Jeff is not and never will be. I'm not saying he can't draw,but he'll never be on Cena level. He can barely cut a good promo,nevermind one as good as Cena.

We're not going to see someone as big as Hogan again.

Go ask any non-wrestling fan who Hogan is, they'll know. Then ask them who Cena is and they might have heard of him but the vast majority hasn't.

To be at Hogan levels you need to be known outside of wrestling circles, so far only Hogan, The Rock and Austin have really pulled that off.

He's right. There is no bigger, or widely known star in pro wrestling than Hulk Hogan. Neither Cena nor Jeffrey Hardy will ever be at that level. Come on people.

[soulchild27]

I stick by thinking they should have waited till Wrestlemania to give him the belt. It wasn't nearly as epic as it could have been

[Rorschach]

Jan 5, 2009 23:18:47 GMT -5 A Dubya (El Hombre Muerto) said:

Jan 5, 2009 20:39:55 GMT -5 Aziraphale said:

We're not going to see someone as big as Hogan again.

Go ask any non-wrestling fan who Hogan is, they'll know. Then ask them who Cena is and they might have heard of him but the vast majority hasn't.

To be at Hogan levels you need to be known outside of wrestling circles, so far only Hogan, The Rock and Austin have really pulled that off.

He's right. There is no bigger, or widely known star in pro wrestling than Hulk Hogan. Neither Cena nor Jeffrey Hardy will ever be at that level. Come on people.

The Rock, Ric Flair, and Steve Austin say hello. Twas a time, back in the nineteen hunnert and eighties....you cuold scarcely throw a rock down in Georgia without hitting a Flair fan.

[The F'N Captain]

Jan 5, 2009 23:22:35 GMT -5 Rorschach said:

Jan 5, 2009 23:18:47 GMT -5 A Dubya (El Hombre Muerto) said:

He's right. There is no bigger, or widely known star in pro wrestling than Hulk Hogan. Neither Cena nor Jeffrey Hardy will ever be at that level. Come on people.

The Rock, Ric Flair, and Steve Austin say hello. Twas a time, back in the nineteen hunnert and eighties....you cuold scarcely throw a rock down in Georgia without hitting a Flair fan.

No one can deny other wrestlers popularity but Hogan is the most well known professional wrestler in the world. It's pretty much a fact at this point. You can go down to GA and throw your rock, but you can stand anywhere in the world they have television and at LEAST one out of five people will know Hulk Hogan at least by name alone.

And no Cena is nowhere near that, however I will relent it's not impossible given how young he is and how hardcore the WWE is behind him. It's improbably, unlikely, and i am 99.9% sure it won't happen, but not impossible.

THAT being said I could see Jeffy being at the level Cena's at now. It won't be the same base but if Jeff stays the course he could be a flagship wrestler.

[Thrillho]

I read as far as

judging on the reactions he has been getting at shows

Then proceeded to roll on the floor laughing with rather a lot of enthusiasm.

Really? Looking at any show since he's been champion, especially Armaggeddon and the Smackdown(!) after, I'd say the fans like him...

[corndog]

Jan 5, 2009 20:59:50 GMT -5 @skiller said:

I'm struggling to understand why theyHHH would want to put the belt back on Triple H.

Apart from his matches with Jeff Hardy, his whole run felt directionless. I can't believe that theyHHH would suddenly want to put the belt back on him again.

[Hanzo]

Jan 5, 2009 16:33:30 GMT -5 Snitsky said:

Greensboro

Greensboro?

GREENSBORO?!?!

YOU CAN'T MENTION GREENSBORO AND NOT MENTION THE JUICE!!!


FINALLY

THE JUICE

HAS

COME

BACK

TO

GREENSBORO!!!

[H-Fist]

Jan 5, 2009 22:15:27 GMT -5 HMARK Center said:

I was going to comment on the Hogan/Cena comments, but it's already been taken care of.

No wrestler has ever been on the popularity level that Hulk Hogan has been on since the end of the Hulkamania days.

Truth.

Rock came close, but not quite. Austin may have been on top with more gross dollars coming in, but...

Hulk Hogan made his money as WWF grew out from the territory days. He had house shows, bigger shows, SNME, and eventually pay per views. His merchandise moved at shows, in stores, and likely through mail/phone orders.

Stars today? Sure, Cena's merchandise might sell at the same level as Hogan, but he needs the entire friggin' internet to pull it off! Hulkamania did not have the internet, the cable or satellite in every home, the 15 pay per views. It would take a massive resurgence, on par with the wrestling boom of the post-WW2 period that more or less MADE television alongside Uncle Miltie, for a star of today to come close to Hogan.

And while I understand that Flair is an all-time pantheon guy, he really was a territory guy until he went to WWF in 91 and then went back to a more nationally known WCW in the mid 90s. Before he came to WWF, he was kind of like Muta. A great, but one that isn't as widely known outside of his territory as he might be because of exposure. Maybe not the best comparison, but I think it's decently fair...




...to Flair.

[MolotovMocktail]

Jan 5, 2009 22:30:44 GMT -5 Albino Heat said:

Well OK, if we're making the Cena/Hardy comparisons,

How long until the crowd turns against Hardy?

With Jeff, much like Hogan or Cena, people seemingly already made their mind up about him a long time ago. He's either a fresh young talent or a stale act who missed the boat a long time ago. He's either redeemed himself from his demons, or a perpetual screw-up. He's either a breathtaking high-flyer or a senseless spot monkey. He's either a charismatic enigma, or he's trying to channel Warrior and covering up a lack of mic skills. Basically, the love or hate was made up a long time ago, and people won't turn on him for his character alone.

There are some variables that we'd still have to see, including how many credible challenges he has, if his body can hold up, and whether or not he'll try to keep the same old catch-phrases going. If he can consistently put on ***** matches and shake things up on the mic, he'll keep a loyal following. If his body breaks down and he lingers through injuries, botches moves, or gives the same promos over and over, the fans will turn.