Jim Ross Recalls Negative Perception Surrounding Hardy Boyz In WWE

The Hardy Boyz are considered by many to be one of the best tag teams in pro wrestling history, but according to Jim Ross, WWE didn't always have faith in the duo early on. During his "Grilling JR" podcast, Ross rewatched an old promo of Matt Hardy's that he believes changed WWE's perspective of the brothers.

In 2003, Matt teamed up with Lita to take on Molly Holly and Eric Bishoff on an episode of "WWE Raw." Tensions arose between the then-couple, and the two lost the match, resulting in Hardy cutting one of his first memorable WWE promos, which Ross believes proved that Matt had a good onscreen character. Ross recalled that there was a negative stigma against The Hardys amongst WWE higher-ups.

"The perception was that neither Jeff nor Matt were great talkers," Ross said. Despite this, he noted that Jeff got himself over in his own way. "Jeff got over without doing a lot of promos. And nobody can ever refute the fact that Jeff Hardy connected with his audience big time." Lastly, Ross noted that the brothers would eventually prove themselves as major players in their own unique ways. "Jeff, his actions spoke a lot louder than his words, Matt proved to us all that he could carry the load in that regard." While they've earned their flowers amongst their peers, things might not be going too well in AEW for them today. Not too long ago, Jeff made some concerning comments about his experience in AEW, claiming that he "felt like a ghost," which has painted the picture that the two are not happy in the promotion.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Grilling JR" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.