On Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 6:32 PM EST
The Orlando Sentinel has an interview up with WWE Smackdown star Jeff Hardy where he talks about the new edge to his character, avoiding injuries in his career, having a challenging year and more. Here are some highlights.
If he has a new "edge" to his character:
"In a way, yeah, it kind of is. I think that bringing the paint back showed an edgier side of me. I did that years ago in the past and I think it brings a new demeanor to my character and at a very unpredictable stage of my career of not knowing what I’m going to do next which is pretty exciting."
On avoiding injuries in his wrestling career:
"I’m 31 now and I’ve got a lot to be proud of and to be thankful for and I have been so fortunate and so lucky throughout my career that I’ve had no surgeries yet and I want to keep it that way. Yeah, I just try to take it show to show and hope for the best. My brother (Matt Hardy) has already had his knee done and his elbow scoped. A lot of guys at a younger age than what I’m at have had loads of surgeries. I’ve been lucky and fortunate and hopefully I keep it that way."
On having a challenging year (suspension, losing his dog/home):
"The first of the year was very tough. I have labeled that…Matt and I, when I was 9 years old and Matt was 12, we lost our mom, by far the saddest day of my childhood life. Yeah, losing my home and everything – I didn’t live in a mansion but still, the fact that it was a mansion to me and losing my dog which was my world and that was such a hard time. I’ve definitely labeled that the saddest day of my adult life up to date. But, you know, tragedies – you get through them and you continue on and you move on and now everything is going well with the new home and everything is going good with work. I’m pretty beat up – my body is. Nevertheless, it could be a lot worse. I’m just thankful, very thankful for where I’m at."
On building a new home:
"You know, I was young and anxious to get out on my own. I didn’t know how long I would be wrestling and I wanted to get something I could pay for. That’s why I bought my double-wide trailer. We always planned to build a house although you never expect anything like that to happen to you. This house is awesome. It’s like 4500 square feet, all brick, basement, one story."
To view the full interview, click here.