Hardly Boys
By Thomas Chamberlain
WOW Magazine - October
Matt and Jeff Hardy are young. The Hardy Boyz are in their early 20's and have plenty of wrestling left in them. In ring experience, though, The Hardy Boyz are grizzled veterans. Beginning in their teens in their Cameron, N.C., back yard and continuing on to jobbing for some of the World Wrestling Federation's top talent, The Hardy Boyz already have, combined, nearly 20 years of experience. And neither plans to end his career early, at least not in his own terms.
The Hardy Boyz high-flying style lends itself to injury and the brothers know they are one missed move away from facing retirement. In the following interview, the innovaters of a new generation of risk takers discuss how they balance that risk with the drive to entertain the fans.
Q: You guys have put on some of the most unbelievable matches this year, such as the table match at Royal Rumble on Jan. 23 and the ladder match at Wrestlemania on April 2. How can you guys continue to top yourselves?
Matt: It is hard when you've been on the road several days in a row, and your body is hurting. You have to tough it out and go there and do it again. But then you start thinking about where you came from and start thinking about all those fans who have paid to see you, and you just suck it up and do it.
Jeff: When we're gone for so long on the road, it gets kinda depressing, and sometimes we may not want to go out there and try to top ourselves. It's at that point that you start thinking about how many people would kill to be in your position. That's pretty good motivation.
Q: Aside from the motivation of having to perform almost every night, how is it physically possible to perform with the moves you do and the risks you take?
Matt: You don't ever get really healthy. You always stay beat up. One day it's a shoulder; the next day it's an arm. You'll have a bruise. I'd love to have four or five straight days off. I haven't had more than two days off, ever. But that's when you have to realize where you are and how many people would like to take your place.
Jeff: I worked with a bad shoulder for a while. Before that it seemed like something else. I can't lie, it doesn't always feel good to get out there physically.
Q: Have you reached a point where you have had to consider if it is all worth it physically?
Jeff: Yeah, you think about it. Well, with us, probably not that much. We just do what we've always done.
Matt: There was a point where we were both burned out. We both needed a little break. During that time, I thought about that a little. You give your all at every house show, every event and you constantly stay sore. Maybe because I'm a little older than Jeff, I think about that more, but we both know the risks that are involved in the ring. Sometimes we test those limits, but we still know they are there. We know that every match could be our last. But that's why we give it our all, regardless of how we feel. We know that if we show some weakness, there could be another team right there ready to take our spot.
Q: Both of you guys are young, but you've both been around the buisness for a while. How did you get started?
Matt: We were wrestling fans just like a lot of kids growing up. We read all the newsletters and magazines and anything else we could get our hands on. Our parents got us a trampoline for Christmas when I was 13 and Jeff was 11. We cut down some trees around our house and built a ring. Then we just started emulating what we saw the guys on TV doing. There was this one guy who ran some wrestling shows around the area. He saw us in that ring one day and there we went. That was when I was 18 and Jeff was 16. Neither one of us had been in the ring in a real match until we met the Italian Stallion. He took us to the WWF, and in the seventh match of my career, when I was 18, I jobbed to Nikita Koloff. Jeff was only 16, but they put him out there, and he did the job to Scott Hall. From there we wrestled at carnivals and met as many people as we could.
Q: The attire you wear is certainly interesting. You have been known to make your own ring attire. While you may not do a lot of that now, how much of it is still your own doing?
Jeff: I still do some of mine. I take pantyhose and cut them up to make my arm covers. I've been doinf that for a long time.
Matt: When we first started, we both made our own clothes. We didn't have anyone to do it for us, and we wanted to have a special look, so we just made everything. We don't have to do that anymore, but we still have some influence on what we want to wear.
Q: You guys have worked against each other, with each other, and recently with Lita. Describe each others style in the ring and what Lita brings to you.
Matt: Lita will try anything just like us. She's young like we are, and she's a lot of fun to work with because she can do almost anything in the ring. With us, I'm more of a grounded style, while Jeff is the aerial guy. Jeff may be the most physically ta;ented person we have. There isn't anything in the ring he can't do. He's fearless.
Jeff: I like Matt's style, because he's kind of the leader. He's the base of our team. Matt does a lot of the dirty work while I do the high flying stuff. It makes for a great team.
Q: Now that you've complimented each other, who would win in a fight?
Matt: I'm older. I always won when we were little, and I still win now, even on TV.
Jeff: (laughing) That's not always true. I get my shots in. Just wait until we go again.
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