Since becoming a solo main event competitor in Impact Wrestling, Jeff Hardy decided to add face paint to his appearance. Falling perfectly with his passion as an artist, Hardy would paint abstract images on his face, and oftentimes would enter the arena ready to smear on more facepaint.
Fans overall were satisfied with the change of appearance, as it added a sense of mystique to his character. Moreover, it further solidified his spot as a main event star due to the elevated fan reaction from the enhancement of his character.
For many years, Hardy was known for painting eyes on top of his eyelids, creating the illusion that he could see everyone with his eyes closed. Oftentimes, he would even walk around the ring with his eyes closed, as he slapped the fans’ hands during his time competing for Impact Wrestling.
Hardy used his face paint during his angle with his brother Matt, during the “Broken” one’s quest to render the Charismatic Enigma “obsolete.” Once Matt was able to defeat Jeff, he would repeat the phrase, “I fade away and classify myself as obsolete,” and change his appearance to further show his level of shame.
— #BrotherNero DELETED (@JEFFHARDYBRAND) November 22, 2016
This would also assist in making Matt grow in popularity among the fans at the Impact Zone. The popularity of this angle would lead to the Hardy Boyz reunion in Impact, and arguably the most popular tag team in 2016.
Upon his WWE return, Jeff would wear the paint far less often than when he competed for Impact Wrestling, and not at all on television. According to a recent interview with Wizard World, via Pop Culture , Jeff revealed the reason why he does not wear the paint on television. This is due to one person: Finn Balor.
Since Balor’s alter-ego, “The Demon,” heavily focuses on body paint, apparently Vince McMahon and the Creative team did not want to oversaturate this form of makeup on television. Although Balor only becomes his alter-ego on a periodic basis, Jeff wearing paint may create the illusion of taking away the luster of the “Demon” character.
Hardy still wears his paint on occasion at live events, and that will most likely continue upon his return.
[Featured Image by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images]
