In the summer of 2004, former WWE superstar Jeff Hardy inked a deal with TNA Wrestling, a move which caused some raised eyebrows in the world of professional wrestling. For one thing, TNA was not a widely known federation (at the time), and for another, Hardy had attributed his release as a way for him to pursue his passion of becoming a "rock-n-roll" star. Not surprisingly, his return, first in the ROH and then to TNA itself, was not met with the greatest enthusiasm from his former fans, who thought he had turned his back to them when he left the business of pro wrestling.

What was surprising, however, was the renewed dedication with which he returned to action. Despite having not been in a ring for more than an entire year, after a time, Hardy was able to shake off the rust and continue to give his old fans a reason to love him again. Even his toughest critics had to admit he was well on his way to making "a Judas Priest-style" comeback. The higher-ups at TNA gave him a major push as well, although the moves they made may not have been the most well thought out. Having him wrestle AJ Styles in a dream match-up for the X-division title, and then have not one, but two NWA Heavyweight title shots, and lose each one of them made Hardy look like a prima donna looking for a handout. If TNA intended to make him into the next big babyface, they had the exact opposite effect. Hardy steadily lost popularity with all but his most loyal fans, and thus was bumped down the card, engaging in an odd feud with the monster Abyss, which teased with the idea of another title shot but ultimately succeeded in landing Hardy on the receiving end of some vicious beatings.

So when Abyss was busy actually chasing the real prize, Jeff Hardy was stuck in what appeared to be a no win situation: on one hand, if in the unlikely event he was given another shot, it would only appear to come in the form of a handout; on the other hand, staying out of the title race would leave him stuck in the "abyss", sinking lower and lower on the card until he faded into obscurity. Enter the Raven.

What began as a simple request refusal on Impact escalated in a match many fans had been waiting for, but thought could never happen: Jeff Hardy taking on Raven in not only a Table match, but a Table Cage match at Lockdown. The match was fantastic, both competitors were able to put each other over in the fans eyes, and a rematch was scheduled for the next PPV, Hard Justice. It was to be Hardy versus Raven, this time in a match of Raven's own making. A House of Fun match, in which nobody was likely to walk out of it happy except the fans. So they waited, and waited, and finally May 15 rolled around, and to everyone's surprise, Jeff Hardy no-showed.

No one knew what had happened, although they knew that the match would have to continue, so they thrust Sean Waltman onto the card and offered no explanation, except to say that Hardy would be suspended until further notice. The King of the Mountain match, of which many thought was better than the first, took off with five competitors instead of six. The fans of the Enigmatic One were left shocked and disappointed, once again.

So now, it seems, Hardy's future as a main-eventer has been put in jeopardy, and he has no one to blame but himself.

It was thought that after Slammiversery Hardy would be brought back in a potential Hardy Boyz reunion, another fan fantasy, with the release of his brother Matt from WWE, and that maybe he could be forgiven and welcomed back. As of this writing, however, Matt Hardy has appeared on WWE's RAW, and is currently working shows in the ROH. So, TNA must decide what to do with the, in both the good and bad sense of the word, unpredictable superstar. Granted, he has proven himself to be wavering in his commitment to the wrestling business, but he has also proven that he can electrify the crowds like no other, whether it be with his unique style, his unique finisher the Swanton Bomb, or his unique desire to leap off of tall objects onto his opponent, and thus, deserves to be given that much credit.

So the questions that must be asked is simply this: " What will the ultimate consequences of Hardy's actions be"" "Will his return spark forgiveness, or ignite angry"", and finally " When will the next time be when the Enigma himself graces the squared circle with his presence""

by Andrew Medsker ..