The Lie Jeff Hardy Told WWE So They'd Debut Him

Most fans who know of Matt and Jeff Hardy are aware that the two brothers got their start through backyard wrestling, picking it up at quite an early age. This led to the boys getting offered work in WWE while many of their peers outside the industry were still in school. In fact, when Matt and Jeff made their debut with the company in 1994, Jeff had to lie about his age so they'd book him. He told WWE officials that he was 18 years old when, in reality, he was still just 16.

The debut took place on May 23, 1994, with Jeff wrestling Razor Ramon during a taping of "WWE Raw" while using the name Keith Davis. That same taping featured Matt's debut against Nikolai Volkoff and, on the next night, they both competed again for a "Wrestling Challenge" taping. Jeff was allowed to use his real name in a match against The 1-2-3 Kid (later known as X-Pac, or Sean Waltman), while Matt wrestled his brother's opponent from the night before, Razor Ramon.

The bouts were all short, and both Hardy brothers were on the losing end across the two days. However, it allowed them to get their feet in the door and build a working relationship with WWE. They'd spent the next few years making occasional appearances as enhancement talent before signing contracts with the company in 1998, kickstarting the rest of their careers.

A few years ago, Jeff looked back on his debut while speaking on "Out of Character," and the WWE star remembers feeling so nervous over his big moment that he thought the match was live rather than taped. He also recalled his match from the following night against Waltman, which Hardy said "refueled" his love for wrestling.