WWE Airs Brutal Jeff Hardy Segment On SmackDown (Video)

WWE aired its controversial segment between Jeff Hardy and Sheamus to startFriday Night SmackDown as the promotion continues to exploit Hardy’s past substance abuse issues for the sake of a storyline.

Earlier this week, reports leaked via Sportskeeda (h/t Wrestling Inc.) that WWE was to air the touchy segment, which was described as follows:

“Renee Young will host the in-ring segment with Hardy and Sheamus, and The Celtic Warrior will bring a man in a lab coat and 4 security guards with him to confront Hardy,” noted the report.

“The segment reportedly goes on to see Hardy accuse Sheamus of trying to ruin his life. Sheamus then seeks ‘assurances’ ahead of their Backlash match and demands that Hardy take a urine test to prove he’s clean because he refuses to compete against a ‘junkie’ in the ring.”

“Sheamus insists that Hardy will fail the urine test. Hard reportedly admits that he does have a problem, leading to Sheamus demanding that the test must be taken immediately. Sheamus continues taunting Hardy until Hardy throws the urine sample in his face. The contract signing segment then reportedly ended with the Backlash match being made official.”

The urine test segment aired as described in the report, with Jeff Hardy announcing “my name is Jeff Hardy, and I’m an alcoholic,” as he lamented his past struggles with substance abuse and how he plans to overcome them. In true heel fashion, Sheamus delivered an insincere PSA advising kids not to do drugs as Hardy was urinating.

WWE has shared a video of the segment on its Twitter feed.

Two weeks ago, Friday Night SmackDown kicked off in shocking fashion as Renee Young appeared at a crime scene with WWE Superstar Elias being loaded into an ambulance while on a stretcher. Moments later, an incapacitated Jeff Hardy was being handcuffed by police, while reeking of alcohol. The storyline dictates that an individual with red hair and a red beard is the culprit behind an apparent set-up of Jeff Hardy, and while all signs point to Sheamus, WWE could also be setting up for a swerve.

The ongoing Jeff Hardy storyline has expectedly received criticism online, most notably an apparent swipe from CM Punk in addition to a series of subtweets from Matt Hardy. Jeff Hardy’s older brother has chose to react to this developing situation by passively aggressively shouting from the rooftops how much he loves his new boss Tony Khan.

Said Hardy after the aforementioned segment aired:

Always one for the smoke, Hardy’s wife Reby was more direct in her disgust with the angle, while still remaining somewhat coy.