<\/p>\n
Wrestlers Matt and Jeff Hardy have made memories in New Orleans. In 2009, Jeff won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a daring ladder match that almost broke his shoulder, and his brother led fans on Bourbon Street in his trademark \u201cDelete!\u201d chant on the night before Wrestlemania in 2018.<\/p>\n
Also known as The Hardys and the Hardy Boyz<\/a>, they\u2019ll return this weekend when they appear on Friday night at the Alario Center in Westwego for the Total Nonstop Action pay-per-view \u201cSacrifice,\u201d and on Saturday for a taping of TNA\u2019s weekly \u201cImpact\u201d show.<\/p>\n They are in their 34th year in the business, and they\u2019ve worked in spaces as intimate as high school gyms and as cavernous as stadiums. Their death-defying moves have become the blueprint for professional wrestling in 2026, and if Matt Hardy has a message for his younger self, it\u2019s to take better care of himself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cYou don’t have to do this leg drop off the top rope every single night,\u201d he says by phone from Atlanta. \u201cI would have told the younger me to preserve your body, pick and choose your spots. Do them when they matter.\u201d<\/p>\n He and his brother Jeff made their name by showing none of that good sense. They opted for high-risk, high-flying moves, which made them legendary in the industry. By his own admission, he walks a little funny because years of leg drops<\/a> translated to scar tissue in his lower back and hips.<\/p>\n The Hardys are on their second stint in TNA, and Matt thinks of it as a homecoming. They became famous in the WWE, but they rejuvenated their careers in TNA in 2016 when Matt introduced the eccentric \u201cBroken\u201d Matt Hardy character as an immortal soul that could remember all of the lives inhabited throughout time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cBroken\u201d Matt spoke in an exaggerated, stilted manner and built an entire mythology around him and the Hardy family that resulted in \u201cThe Final Deletion,\u201d a movie\/wrestling match filmed on the family\u2019s compound in North Carolina. \u201cBroken\u201d Matt was polarizing, but TNA took a chance on a concept that hadn\u2019t been seen in wrestling before.<\/p>\n \u201cTNA allowed us to do things that were out of the box, take risks, and change our characters,\u201d Matt said. \u201cWhen I was \u2018Broken\u2019 Matt and Jeff was Brother Nero, we were white-hot again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBroken\u201d Matt started as a way to focus on his character more than his athleticism. By 2016, Hardy had cut some of the more radical moves from his repertoire to protect his body, but he also needed to figure out how to stand out at a time when a new generation of high flyers took the Hardys\u2019 old moves to new levels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He wondered, \u201cWhat if I tried to do a throwback to the \u201880s or early \u201890s where I tried to create a character that was larger than life, maybe even supernatural?\u201d<\/p>\n The Hardys have been in the business long enough to share locker rooms with wrestlers whose ideas of good wrestling came from watching them in the ring.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe work with so many people who said, \u2018Oh, my God, I grew up idolizing you guys, and this is my dream,\u2019\u201d Hardy says. \u201c[TNA\u2019s] Leon Slater is so talented, and when Jeff and I showed up at TNA, he was so excited. We were his favorite tag team. Jeff\u2019s his favorite overall wrestler.\u201d<\/p>\n Recently, the Hardys have been working with the man TNA calls \u201cthe face of the franchise,\u201d Moose. The 6-foot 5-inch former football player has held a number of championships over the course of his 10 years in TNA, and at 41, Moose is also trying to reduce the amount of wear he takes in a match.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He\u2019s inspired by the retired WWE superstar John Cena, who \u201cis probably the greatest wrestler because he learned very early in his career how to control the crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n Cena didn\u2019t bother with daredevil moves and got crowds to cheer when he did a handful of safe, signature moves. Crowds erupted when he waved his hand in front of his face while looking down at his fallen opponents and telling them, \u201cYou can\u2019t see me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s very smart,\u201d Moose said, and he\u2019s following suit, doing \u201cthe Moose arm gesture and the Moose chant so I don’t have to worry about killing my body.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt hopes that TNA\u2019s relationship with the WWE might result in an occasional spot on one of their big shows, but he recognizes that TNA could well be the last stop in his career. \u201cTNA allows me a great schedule,\u201d he said. \u201cIt allows me so much more creative freedom, and it also allows me more time to be with my kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n As much as he craves family time, though, Hardy is realistic.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I’m a lifer,\u201d he said, and envisions a job behind the scenes when his in-ring days are over. \u201cEvery time I think I’m going to get out, it reels me right back in.\u201d<\/p>\n WHEN:<\/strong>\u00a07 p.m.\u00a0Friday, March 27<\/p>\n WHERE:<\/strong> Alario Center, 2000 Segnette Blvd., Westwego<\/p>\n INFO:<\/strong> TNAWrestling.com\/events\/sacrifice-2026<\/a>; (504) 349-5525<\/p>\nTNA \u201cSacrifice\u201d<\/h3>\n