AEW star Jeff Hardy was recently accosted by fans at the airport. It’s an experience that unfortunately isn’t uncommon in wrestling where a talent will just be getting off the plane or leaving a restaurant and fans hitting them up for autographs. One situation they’re possibly exhausted from the flight while in the other—if the meal was worth the bill—they’re probably feeling some type of way.
No one wants to do anything after a flight or meal. Things are routine at that point and signing fans’ stuff—even if they’ve been waiting for hours—most likely isn’t in the plan. A viral video of the situation with Jeff Hardy showed him signing merch and whatnot. According to recollections of the event, Hardy ended up signing around 20 pieces of merchandise.
Former NWA World Champion Matt Cardona Supports Jeff Hardy Following Viral Video of Harassment by Fans
Jeff Hardy didn’t say anything about the situation at the time but former fellow former WWE superstar Matt Cardona—then known as Zack Ryder—had this to say about it:
Jeff is the man. He’s way too nice. This kind of bullshit needs to stop…but it won’t. https://t.co/WbJsrfLf7r
— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) June 12, 2023
From the video, you can see the fan handing Hardy copies of pictures to sign. This is one fan and to a degree, some of this might not even be merch but stuff that was printed off. At any rate, he’s just handing The Charismatic Enigma the stuff to sign like one of the signing assistants during a virtual signing.
In the comments of Cardona’s statement, there was a mix of support and observers who have seen this enough and feel that wrestlers should just say “No” and keep it pushing. IMPACT Wrestling star Chris Bey said that “It won’t stop till more of us start saying no.”
On that note, Bey isn’t wrong. When fans who abuse performers’ kindness to get a bunch of stuff signed, they should decline. At least cut them off one piece in. It’s nice that they do stop to sign things belonging to fans but they don’t have to sign this stuff and fans should understand that these talents are either tired or have something to do with their day.
Some observers took exception with Chris Bey saying it since he’s in IMPACT and one person commented “we” pointing to the difference in status between Bey and Jeff Hardy. In explaining how an identifiable wrestler such as The Undertaker got through an airport and avoided fans, it was said that he went to greater lengths not to stand out despite being exceptionally tall compared to most passengers.
Of course, a disguise will only work so much when pitted against eagle-eyed fans. What do your think of the Jeff Hardy viral video? Was the fan taking advantage of Hardy’s generosity? Should he have just walked off?
Share your thoughts below!
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