Regardless Morgan should have the belt.

If TNA were smart (which they're not), then they would never have put the belt on him in the first place (at least until after his trial. Imagine someone getting on TV and saying that Hardy is stripped of the title because he's going to jail?). Hardy is a draw but he's a risk as well. Imagine if the WWE had made him the #1 Contender for any of the WWE world titles at Wrestlemania 24? That would have been a disaster. Jeff Hardy's problems are his own fault, but any promotion that hires him is just enabling him to continue his poor judgement. He needs to get the message that his drug use has consequences other than just an arrest and jail time. I used to have respect for Jeff Hardy. Now I can't stand to see him on TV. At least he's a heel now and people boo him.

I didn't see this ppv but it sounds like Hardy used the Twist of "H"ate like 5 times in the match to beat Morgan and that Bischoff took out Mr. Anderson?

Come on. Having Eric Bischoff do that to a main eventer is ridiculous.
And the fact that everyone seems to be pushing for Morgan to get the belt is hysterical in my opinion. Put the belt on Samoa Joe please and end this ridiculous feud with Jarrett. Can't believe they let him tap to Double J. What a crock.

RESPONSE FROM KE: To each his own, but I think Morgan would be a much better choice for world champion than Joe. Joe may be the better worker, but that's not all being the top guy is about. Having the right look, charisma and intangible "it" factor is part of the equation. I see it in Morgan; don't see it in Joe. When you meet Morgan in person, you know that he's an athlete and a monster. When you see Joe in street clothes at a show (as I have), he looks like one of the fans.

Trust Matt Hardy to make a video "setting the record straight" soon enough...

If that is the case, then TNA should really look at their "champion". A waste of life as the main guy ( Hardy, not Hogan; although..........) f 'ed up before going on TV. I guess it is like the old ECW and WCW days........pure garbage.

P.S. tough loss for the purple & black, kev

RESPONSE FROM KE: Very tough.

I'm curious...TNA seems to keep patting themselves on the back for bringing in the talent it has.

At some point shouldn't they maybe understand there's a reason they were available in the first place?

Regardless of whether Hardy was simply "exhausted" or on drugs or alcohol, Jeff most certainly does NOT get the benefit of a doubt and neither does TNA. Hardy has refused to accept accountability for his acttions and behavior over the years and TNA has acquiesced by not only signing him, but raising him to their main event consistently and than putting the TNA World Heavyweight Title on him with multiple felony drug charges hanging over his head. I can't believe TNA would be so stupid as to allow Hardy or any competitor to wrestle any show in an unstable condition, but then again, this is TNA. Travel exhaustion rings a little hollow, particularly because traveling is a natural and repetitive part of this industry, Not saying it couldn't be that, but how many times have we ever heard of travel exhaustion pulling a world champion off the main event of a ppv? Yeah, not often. TNA is skating on very thin ice with someone as unstable and with the demons that Hardy has as their world champion. If I were them, I would be writing the Anderson heel turn to become Immortal's new champion as we speak.

Have to hope it really was exhaustion. pwinsider was discussing his schedule and with a newborn baby I can definitely see sleep deprivation being possible. Regardless for Jeff's health lets hope it wasn't drugs.

I was wondering Kev what did you think of the new plan they would have rolled with? Personally I would have liked them to have stuck AJ in their somewhere since he was dropping the TV title and put it straight onto him. Kaz could have taken AJ's place in his feud with Douglas Williams.

RESPONSE FROM KE: If the new plan resulted in Morgan winning the title, I'd have been all for it.

I think Scott Hall just filed for gimmick infringement.

TNA is not painting a very attractive picture of itself continuously pushing guys that present an image opposite that of a role model.

Pretty dumb from a business perspective.

You would think Dixie or someone would have enough business sense to know this.

Not a very likable product at present on many levels.

TNA should seriously make Hardy take a drug test before each TV taping and PPV. I'm sure they would want to avoid any legal issues that might come up if he went out to the ring under the influence and really hurt himself or someone else.

Remember the good old days when there was only four pay per views a year? Stories were built up, the matches were good and fans did not have to pay a fortune a month to see lousy wrestling with worse finishes? Boy, I miss those days.

So hogan and bischoff are saving TNA? From what? Being sucessful?

Another match with Jeff Hardy needing "help" to retain the title. What wrestling fan can legitimatly take him seriously??? Did stone cold have help each time he had a title match during his first title reign? Its an insult to the fans and makes the title look like a joke. Well, since it looks like a joke then it must be a joke.

At least there is still a good tag team division in TNA. Besides that, the pay per view was a joke.

Would Joe be sucessful in WWE? Or is TNA going to resign him and bury him?

Would somebody please get Robbie E off my tv please!!! At least Outback Jack had the shelf life of a loaf of bread.

@ James C; Funny.

WWE booked Hardy just right in his last years there, recognizing that his popularity made him a main eventer, but never putting the title on him for a long period of time. I think they learned a lesson with Rob Van Dam: don't make long term plans with a guy that's not trustworthy. Ultimately, that's John Cena' biggest strength.

TNA has to hotshot a title change now, or they are asking for trouble. Even if Hardy was just suffering from exhaustion, the fact that they went so far as to almost run with their backup plan should be warning enough.

I'm so disappointed in Hardy lately. Both of them. WWE doesn't factor into the reasoning either. They chose to leave the company, and had some good reasons to do so. But the immature way they are handling themselves lately is just sad. The videos, the snarkiness, trying to pick fights with people, the drinking, etc. I understand that they didn't want anything to do with the PG movement of WWE, but the fact of the matter is a lot of young kids still look up to them regardless and their behavior is not something that these kids need to see or emulate. Just a lot of bitterness and hurt. Look at Helms and this situation with HBK. This is a situation of someone taking pot shots long after there is a reason to do so. If he had a problem with Shawn he had his chance to say or do something about it then. Now he's in a situation where he can sit back and take shots from the comfort of the internet and not have to worry about facing him. Shawn retired. This is just Helms trying to garner himself a little publicity.

Joe not having the look? You are killing me with this. While I would love to see Morgan with the strap I do feel Joe could draw too if used properly. Unfortunately TNA is treating Joe and AJ like dogs.

TNA is getting what they paid for. They should have never hired him in the first place with the charges he has facing him. Yes, it may be a quick way to get attention to have Hardy on tv, but to sign him to a contract is just foolish. It's sad to think that TNA has elevated Hardy to their World Champion. The biggest title in a wrestling company should be reserved for the "face" of the company, someone you want to be out promoting the product. Now,if Hardy goes down so does TNA. I don't think its worth the gamble to bring Hardy in even if he was a big merchandise mover in WWE. He is a heel now so even that argument doesn't add up. This situation is just a symptom of a larger illness that is bad business. If TNA ever wants to be seen as a legitimite alternative to WWE they need to stop taking WWE's leftovers and start making the good talent they have developed be the highlight of their show.

TNA's biggest problem is lack of public awareness. If Jeff Hardy winds up going to prison and is announced as being the TNA champion on news reports, that'll suddenly make a lot more people aware that TNA exists. There's a saying in marketing that any publicity is good publicity, and while that probably isn't true in every case, it generally is true when you're underexposed. My guess is that TNA management is very aware of that, and that it may well play some role in the decision to put the belt on him.

The other thing that you've got to figure is that a world champion type talent in his prime like Jeff Hardy, who is responsible for so many merchandise sales in the WWE over the years, is only going to become available to TNA when/if an issue like this arises. If they wait to see if he's acquitted, and he is in fact acquitted, the WWE probably throws big bucks at him and takes him off the market. The smart play is to sign him while his market value is low and the WWE wouldn't even think of signing him, and then lock him in so that he's still under contract with you when/if he's acquitted and his value is high. And then even if you does go to prison, you at least have him for a while, then generate some publicity when his conviction happens, and I would imagine don't have to pay him while he's beyond bars. It's actually pretty savvy on their part.

If Jeff Hardy winds up going to prison and is announced as being the TNA champion on news reports, that'll suddenly make a lot more people aware that TNA exists.

Posted by: John | December 8, 2010 12:06 AM

Possibly. Personally, I don't think Hardy has enough crossover appeal to be on news reports, unless he is actually proven to be a crime boss/drug lord.

Kevin,

Have you seen the video of Jeff Hardy shooting on CM Punk?

RESPONSE FROM KE: Yes.

"Personally, I don't think Hardy has enough crossover appeal to be on news reports, unless he is actually proven to be a crime boss/drug lord."

___________________________________

And even if Hardy were on news reports, TNA itself doesn't have enough crossover appeal for anyone to notice it by way of its champion having real-life legal troubles. Anyone superficially familiar with wrestling who would see such a report would probably assume that Hardy was still in WWE on one or another of its shows. They wouldn't process the "TNA" part, assuming that Hardy's present employer would even be mentioned in the sound byte.

Kevin,
Have you seen the video of Jeff Hardy shooting on CM Punk?
RESPONSE FROM KE: Yes.

I´m just wondering why you wrote an article about Helms ripping HBK but nothing on the above one? Not that I think that you should have covered it but why is the trash talking of Helms more relevant than that of Hardy? For me both things belong to the section: see it (or not, because you won´t miss anything) and forget it.

RESPONSE FROM KE: A couple reasons. One, Helms did his on his weekly webcast, whereas the Hardy video looks like it was shot in a diner after a night of partying. Two, it's unclear who shot it and how old the video is.

I think that TNA not only let the fans down by putting him in as champion but let him down as well. You hear day in day out about people have these "problems" who say how they come out of it after hitting rock bottom. Jeff was on that route and even though he was only at the start of some rough times with threats of jail and release from WWE his hiring by the TNA management brought him out of it before any chances to recover or at least see the error of his way. Hardy is becoming a burden on TNA and before long will stain the house that I pain to say AJ mainly by so man hard working wrestlers built.