“Killed the whole company,” When AJ Styles lambasted Jeff Hardy for coming to the ring intoxicated for a match against Sting
AJ Styles' disappointment towards Jeff Hardy was visible through his words on Impact's show twelve years ago.

AJ Styles, Sting and Jeff Hardy (via WWE and Wrestling Observer)
Impact Wrestling currently might not be as par with WWE but a period in their history books created megastars. Numerous stars like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and LA Knight made a name for themselves in the Nashville-based promotion. The well-known real-life heat between Styles and Jeff Hardy had grown to an extent that it transformed into a storyline and made for good TV. A certain moment saw AJ bashing Jeff blatantly for his intoxicated performance in the ring.
Impact! episode of September 15, 2011, saw Hardy’s second appearance in the promotion after six months. In Nashville, his address to the crowd included an apology to the locker room, a theme he maintained throughout the episode. Confronting Styles, The Phenomenal One passionately expressed his frustrations, taking direct shots at Jeff. It might be a planned segment, but AJ’s emotions were real, and saw his rage getting over the storyline.
Styles’s temper rose as a result of Hardy’s match against Sting at the Victory Road event earlier that March. The former came in doing drugs and delivered a very short-lived match of a minute and a half for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. AJ stated, “I have been here for nine years, literally killing myself for this company!”. But on the other hand, Jeff came out in the ring being selfish and “killed the whole company!”
AJ emphasized that he wrestles to provide for his family, highlighting how Jeff’s actions jeopardize the company. He condemned Hardy’s drug use as disrespectful to the company. AJ firmly stated, “There’s no place for you around me,” indicating they would not interact for the next two years.
Related: WATCH: AJ Styles’ wholesome gesture at SmackDown you didn’t see on TV
The infamous match between intoxicated Jeff Hardy and Sting in 2011

Victory Road event of Impact Wrestling (then TNA) was held on March 13, 2011, at Impact Zone in Orlando. The event received much negative feedback stating it to be one of the worst events of 2011. Different reasons sum up the ratings for the show but the main event for TNA World Heavyweight Title tops the negatives.
The infamous match saw Sting entering as the champion and Jeff Hardy entering as the challenger for the title. Hardy’s entrance happened 40 seconds after his theme song hit, displayed on TitanTron. The guesses for his issue started right there and saw the effect in the ring when he lost the match under 88 seconds.
Hardy’s drug intoxication made him unfit to wrestle and thus saw the squash match against Sting. Backstage concerns led to a decision for a short match, resulting in Jeff’s loss. Subsequently, Hardy was written out of the company to complete a 120-day rehabilitation process.
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Parth Agnihotri
(597 Articles Published)