Jeff Hardy’s battle with the icon Sting at TNA’s Victory Road in 2011 is one of wrestling history’s most infamous moments, and now Hardy has opened up about what happened
14:28, 15 Jan 2025Updated 14:28, 15 Jan 2025
The match lasted mere seconds(Image: WWE/YouTube)
A former WWE star has recalled one of his lowest career moments – and one of wrestling’s most infamous. Jeff Hardy is known to most for being one half of the legendary Hardy Boyz tag team with his brother Matt.
He also had a stellar singles career, winning multiple world champions across WWE and TNA. And while he is now back in TNA, after a brief and underwhelming stint in All Elite Wrestling last year, he has recalled the moment he stepped into the TNA ring in 2011 to face the icon Sting… while high on drugs.
The match, which saw Hardy clearly unable to even walk to the ring properly, last mere seconds and involved then company boss Eric Bischoff to come out to the ring on the Victory Road show, speak to Sting off-mic and tell him to end it quickly.
Jeff Hardy was very high on drugs(Image: WWE/YouTube)
Hardy was abruptly taken to the mat by just one move, forcibly pinned for the three count and Sting was the new champion.
Having now achieved sobriety for the last three years, speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Hardy said: “I remember going out there, and I remember just Sting roughing me up and throwing me to the mat. So I remember, and naturally we say he shot on me, but Eric Bischoff told him to pin me because I was a zombie. It was obvious when you watched the tape and I was kind of MIA throughout that whole evening.
“Sting had talked about this one killer spot I was going to do. It was something like the twist of hate with the head in the chair, but I was going to take his finish the reverse thing in a chair and I was scared of that. Oh my god, I’m going to break my neck, I don’t know if I should do this. But anyway, I remember sobering up after that and Jeff Jarrett and even Hogan knowing I had to go home and get straight.”
Sting won, but he wasn’t happy about what happened(Image: WWE/YouTube)
Hardy stayed away from TNA for several months after that moment, but eventually returned and was made to apologise to the locker room.
This, he said, was not the most pleasant moment for him, although he was grateful for the second chance.
“They gave me another chance and when I did go back I did this song called Resurrected,” he said. “Bruce Pritchard was there, I believe, and he made me go in the locker room and apologize to everybody. I don’t think I’ve ever been that nervous in my life.
“I was so nervous in front of all these professional wrestlers that I admire and love so much, but I had to go in there and just admit and say I’m sorry for what I did on pay-per-view.”
Jeff Hardy is once again a tag team champion, holding the TNA World Tag Team titles with his brother Matt for the third time.
He is also a three-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, one time WWE Champion and two time WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
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