Jeff Hardy’s second run in TNA and Impact Wrestling from 2010-2017 was marred by an ugly and embarrassing main event at the Victory Road pay-per-view in 2o11. Today, Hardy refers to it as an “accident” while also acknowledging it was a “huge mistake”.
The match itself saw Sting win the TNA World Championship from Jeff Hardy in less than two minutes. Hardy was clearly in no condition to perform, seemingly under the influence. The layout of the match was altered and drastically shortened on the fly.
Jeff Hardy told “Stone Cold” Steve Austin on The Broken Skull Sessions that he was under the influence of Soma at the time. Soma is a prescription pain medication with a notorious history in pro wrestling.
“[Soma] hadn’t become a controlled substance yet,” Hardy explained. “So I was still taking the Somas. But I do remember talking to Sting before I got too altered to even…walk out there, hardly. We were gonna do this spot with his finish – the [Scorpion Death Drop] – but my head was gonna be in a chair. And I remember being scared of that. Oh, I might really hurt my neck doing that but it’s gonna be awesome if I don’t. So yeah, I just took too much.
“By the time it was time for me to go out there, they [had to find me],” Hardy continued. “[Former TNA Executive Producer] Eric Bischoff came out there. They had to shut it down. He had to take it home real quick and that was the right thing. They had to do it.”
Jeff Hardy expressed his regret over the incident, specifically because he was in a match against Sting. Hardy said Sting was a hero to him when he was first getting into pro wrestling.
“To screw up like I did that night, it was just insane,” Hardy said. “But one positive asset that I have by looking back at that footage is just – so embarrassing. So – oh my God – just shameful, you know? Out there with my hero in the main event. All these people are watching. But then to do that?”
Jeff Hardy said the incident was the catalyst for him to recommit himself to staying sober. He said his efforts were rewarded when he enjoyed one of the best years of his in-ring career.
“After that is when I really got it together,” Hardy recalled. “So flash forward to like 2012-2013, man. 2012 was one of the best wrestling years in my life in that company. I was on fire. I started doing the paint with the eyes and my creativity was just off the charts because I was completely sober and that’s when everything got really good.”
