Jeff Hardy unveils new transfer to make use of at TNA No Surrender and teases new ‘Goat’ gimmick

EXCLUSIVE: The Hardys have done almost everything in professional wrestling, but they told your Daily Star they still have a lot left to do, including a dream match that has somehow never happened

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Jeff Hardy says his neck injury has inspired his a name for his new submission finisher – the Spinal Destination. And he believes his transition to a more ground-based moveset could see him extend his wrestling career for another decade or longer.

The grappling legend, 48, injured his neck at NXT’s Halloween Havoc last October, which left him with two bulging discs and forced him to think of a new finishing move as his iconic Swanton Bomb sees him dive from the top rope and land on his back.

Speaking to the Daily Star, he revealed he was hoping to use it at TNA’s No Surrender event on Friday, Feb 13, when he and brother Matt team up with The Righteous to take on Order 4 in an eight-man tag match.

Jeff said: “It’s been a slow healing process, but a positive that’s come out of this injury is a submission hold I’ve finally figured out. It’s like a reverse Full Nelson where I bridge the guy back on my knee. And i think I’ve finally figured a name for it – the Spinal Destination.

“So in Nashville, I hope to get my opponent into that move. So when I’m not able to do a Swanton, I have the Spinal Destination.”

Brother Matt, with whom he hold the TNA tag team titles with, said Jeff could have “10 more years in him” as a submissions wrestler and a total reworking of their gimmick.

Matt added: “Word on the streets is that we are the greatest of all time. We would never say that of ourselves as we’re very humble individuals, but people are saying it so we’ve had these shirts made and we’ve talked about leaning into it.

“Jeff Hardy is a very special individual, he is in that John Cena territory where you can’t make this guy a bad guy, people wold never boo him. But I think we can do this and make it super entertaining and over the top, where it’s kind of cool to have the good guys talk a little trash.

“It would totally change our characters, it would be a personality we’ve never done before and I think we can make it very entertaining. It’s a very interesting experiment and would be very interesting to do that but I think it would make us compelling.

“There are so many who feel they can understand the business. Everyone is a booking expert, they know what the best booking plan is, but sometimes those fans are the easiest to work and to get into a hussy fit. I think we could so something so entertaining and unique it would totally freshen us.”

Jeff said as well as the Goats – greatest of all time – they are also “Rams”, righteous, angelic, magnificent souls, adding: “You’re going to witness another reinvention of the Hardys this year where we embrace this whole Goat mentality and maybe egos get out of control.

“I can really lean into and execute very well, it would be a completely different side of me. Even when I did the anti-Christ thing back in the day, it would be different from that.

“It’ll be more of an egotistical Jeff Hardy that knows hes a goat and a ram and I don’t have to do all those fancy, risky high spots. If i get this mastered, I might make it to 2039 or 2040.”

The legendary tag team, who have held WWE titles in four consecutive decades, say they hope to use their star power and experience to make TNA one of the top wrestling promotions in the world.

And they told revealed they’d love to wrestle legendary TNA tag team Motor City Machine Guns, Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley, as the two teams had never met in the ring despite both being around the business for decades.

Matt said: “One thing that is left for us to do is to return TNA into one of the top three promotions in the world and that is something we are actively working on.

“Jeff and I were in the vanguard of talent that kind of help push this new AMC deal and make it happen, so we do take a lot of pride in in it. “e’re older, but we’re middle aged and still extreme, no doubt about it.

“We’re able to go out there and still working very hard. We take so much pride to the contributions we’ve made to TNA. Someone we’ve never crossed paths with – and this is wild as they’ve been around a while – is the Motor City Machine Guns.

“I say this quite often, I would love to have the Hardy Boyz against the Motor City Machine Guns. I don’t care care if its a WWE show or a TNA show, we have this partnership now, so it is something that is possible and that is a match I would like.”

Jeff added: “They were such a big part of TNA back in the day. I remember them and Beer Money having these incredible matches, so I agree with that, it would be cool to see them back in TNA with a match against the Hardys.”

TNA No Surrender will be streamed live on February 13 from The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tennessee. Fans in the UK can watch on the TNA+ app, which can be downloaded here, which includes access to the full TNA content library for just £9.99 a month or £99.99 for the year.

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