Jeff Hardy Was Originally Scheduled To Win WrestleMania 24 Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Jeff Hardy’s ascent to the top of WWE was a very long and arduous one, to say the least. He had to go through a lot of trials and tribulations to become the WWE Champion. It didn’t help that he was suspended for failing WWE’s Wellness Policy a couple of times.
Prior to WrestleMania 24, rumors spread that Jeff Hardy was going to win the Money In The Bank Ladder match at WrestleMania 24. While speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, Matt Hardy was asked whether his brother Jeff was going to win the match or not. Matt Hardy confirmed that was indeed the plan at first. He then detailed why WWE decided to scrap those plans.
Matt fact – Yes, he was. That was the plan, that he was going to win the Money In The Bank briefcase. It was at this point they pulled the trigger and decided they wanted to turn him into the champion.
I know Freddie Prinze had been given this edict to get Jeff ready for the championship. This was around the time too that he had started to paint his face again. I think they started to lean into some stuff that was very Jeff Hardy-ish.”
Jeff was in Mexico on an international tour and its at some point there he ended up taking something, some sort of pill or substance — I don’t know if it was for his back or whatever it was — but he ended up getting popped in a drug test. One of the things I remember from the story is that Michael Hayes called him at home and was like, ‘what is going on here? I can’t believe you did all this. Vince is going to call you in a few minutes, so be ready to answer the phone.’ Vince called and was like, ‘what the f*** have you done?’ I guess they talked it through and Jeff said they spoke for a while and they seemed to be kosher. Jeff just apologized and regretted taking it.”
Matt Hardy On The Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy
CM Punk would end up winning the Money In The Bank Ladder match at WrestleMania 24 instead. As for Jeff Hardy, he finally became the WWE Champion by defeating Edge and Triple H at Armageddon 2008.
H/T to Ringside News
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