The biggest news to come out of last night's Impact Wrestling broadcast (2/13/14) is the teaser video for the return of Jeff Hardy, but not as the Jeff Hardy we are used to in both WWE and Impact Wrestling... For the first time in mainstream wrestling, Jeff Hardy will debut his Willow The Wisp character from OMEGA to the broader audience. For simplicity in Impact Wrestling, it will be simply known as "Willow".
The promotional video teaser that aired during last night's Impact Wrestling broadcast can be found below for your viewing pleasure.
So who is Willow or rather, Willow The Wisp?
Before arriving in the WWF, Matt formed his own wrestling promotion, the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA) with Thomas Simpson. The promotion was a more successful version of the original TWF (Trampoline Wrestling Federation) and included talent such as both Hardy brothers, Shannon Moore, Gregory Helms, Joey Matthews, and Steve Corino, among others. In OMEGA, each of the brothers portrayed several different characters; Jeff Hardy portrayed such characters as Iceman, Mean Jimmy Jack Tomkins, The Masked Mountain, and especially Willow the Wisp.
My personal take on the character was that it was the "dark side" of Jeff Hardy. In OMEGA, it was Jeff Hardy's means of stepping outside of his brother's shadow. Below is a behind the scenes clip from the rare OMEGA DVD discussing this gimmick.
For TNA/Impact Wrestling, I think this will end up being their answer to the cult hit of WWE's Bray Wyatt and the Wyatt Family - if executed properly. I think that the Jeff Hardy character (as a babyface) has ran well past its mileage and I'm glad to see Jeff Hardy try something new and revamp his image. The Aces and Eights gimmick did wonders for Bully Ray over the last two years and I would like to see a change for Jeff Hardy in a similar fashion.
Only time will tell if this change will be for the best.
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