Footsteps to Fame

The Hardy Boyz and Lita Made Their Own Breaks On the Way to Superstardom

Most Superstars can point to a seminal moment in their lives when they decided that they absolutely, positively had to become sports-entertainers. For Matt Hardy, that moment of clarity is as strong today as it was when it hit him as a 13 year old.

"After Macho Man [Randy Savage] won the championship tournament at WrestlemMania IV in 1988, in the back of my head, I knew that's what I wanted to do," Matt says. "I didn't know if it was a possibility. But then, the whole deal [happened] with Jeff and I building the ring in our backyard, kind of emulation what was on TV and teaching ourselves all the different moves. I just told myself, 'That's what I want to do.' I was going to drive myself to do it."

Just over a dozen years later, the drive that began with a dream and a modest homemade ring built around a trampoline has come to fruition. Matt and Jeff sit atop the sports-entertainment world as two of the most-admired and emulated Superstars in the World Wrestling Federation. It was the same drive that allowed the brothers to endure and overcome all the hardship and roadblocks they encountered over the years. The creativity and determination they developed along the way carries them to this day.

For Lita, her life's calling came as she was summoned to watch a wrestling program by friends who were fans of the sport. Lita, who had initially dismissed sports-entertainment as "stupid," was immediately hooked by the sight of two Mexican luchadores engaging in a display of acrobatic fireworks. Her innate risk-taking instinct led her to travel alone, without contacts or prior knowledge of what she was pursuing, to Mexico City t learn the craft of lucha libre firsthand.

Both Matt and Jeff had been sports-entertainment fans long before being wowed by Savage's WrestleMania IV performance. During their childhood in Norht Carolina, the brothers watched both the World Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). While Savage and Rockers Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty were their Federation favorites, their NWA heroes included Ric Flair, Sting and the Fabulous Freebirds-whose leader, Michael "P.S." Hayes, would later play a key role in their WWF development.

The trampoline that would become their ring was a 1987 Christmas present from their father to Matt, then 13, and Jeff, 10. Joined by neighborhood friends, they formed the TWF-Teenage Wrestling Federation-and ran their own "pay-per-view" extravaganzas, captured on some 40 home videos. The exhilarating, daredevil Hardy Boyz style so beloved by fans today can trace its roots directly back to these modest shows.

However, the Hardyz go to pains to emphasize that the home-grown TWF was a far cry from the outrageous "backyard wrestling" that can be found today.

"These days there are so many kids in the backyards who are beating the hell out of each other. It's ridiculous," Jeff says. "When you turn 18, checkout wrestling schools in your area. Enroll in a class and start getting your butt kicked. If you want to get into pro wrestling, don't hurt yourself in your backyard."

The TWF shows earned the brothers a reputation in their hometown of Cameron, North Carolina, and soon after their debut, Matt and Jeff were approached by a local carnival promoter. The Hardyz' first ventured from their yard involved matches held on the local State Fair circuit. There, they caught the eye of former NWA performer Italian Stallion, who ran a local territory called the PWF, and in 1993, the Hardyz made their pro-debut with PWF.

Stallion also took the Hardyz and several of his other young charges to WWF shows, and through their contact with Stallion, they made their unofficial Federation debuts late in 1993. The 16-year-old Jeff (who lied about is age) battled Razor Ramon on Raw Is War, and Matt faced veteran Nikolai Volkoff.

For the teenage Jeff, his introduction to the Federation was one he'd rather not dwell upon.

"Man, talk about nervous," he says. "He just beat the hell out of me. I was like, 'If this is what the WWF is like, it ain't for me.' It was just so horrible. [But] the next night, I came back and wrestled the 1-2-3 Kid [now X-Pac]."

The youngsters made an impression on the veteran-laden Federation locker room, both with their athleticism and their look, which even then was unique. Jeff's platinum-blond flattop hairdo earned him his first backstage nickname, "Ice." after rapper Vanilla Ice.

Matt and Jeff competed in several Federation shows before deciding to break with Stallion, return home and form their own league. OMEGA (Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Artists) became a huge success in central North Carolina. The small outfit comprised of young, hungry performers sent several competitors to the professional ranks, including Gregory Helms, Joey Matthews, Shannon Moore, the Dupp Brothers, Christian York and Joey Abs.

The OMEGA shows turned out to be the self-made break Matt and Jeff needed. Based on those performances and their prior exposure in the Federation, the Hardyz were signed to Federation contracts in 1998. One year later, in July 1999, they captured their first World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship, and the sky's been the limit ever since.

Whereas Matt and Jeff began their pursuit of glory from the familiar grounds of their native North Carolina, Lita's trek began from a Mexico City hotel room. From there, she perused the newspapers in search of a lucha libre school. With only the money in her pocket and a high school-level knowledge of Spanish, she spent three weeks in Mexico and learned the bare basics of the business before taking her quest back to the United States.

"I had a friend offer to train me in Chicago, so I went there and slept in the ring," Lita told RAW Magazine in September 2000. "I was running pretty low on funds at this point, but I was completely hooked. I got another crash course, training twice a day. After that was when I started working my first indy shows."

It was on the indy circuit that Lita first encountered the duo with whom she has been inextricably linked. At her third show for Mid-Atlantic NWA, she met the Hardy brothers and formed a bond with them and their OMEGA friends. They invited her to train with them in North Carolina, and formed the partnership which later blossomed so impressively in the World Wrestling Federation.

Her indy performances landed Lita a spot in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where, known as Angelica and miss Congeniality, she quickly built an impressive resume as valet and in-ring performer. The skills she first learned in Mexico developed even further during her training in North Carolina with the Hardyz.

"When I started training with the Hardyz, I would see them do something and say, 'Wow, that's' cool,'" Lita says, "and they'd say, 'Well, do it.' And I would say, 'Okay.' I didn't feel I had the option of saying no. Looking back, I guess I could have, but I don't know what would have happened then. It's not really in my personality [to say no]. I would see them and think to myself, 'Well, if they can do that, I can do that.' I might land on my head or my shoulders the first couple of times. You figure out real quick how not to land on your head once you do it!"

For Lita and the Hardy Boyz, the landings have been pretty much picture-perfect since then. From humble beginnings, armed with only guts, physical talent and rock-solid determination, they landed in the highest echelon of the greatest sports-entertainment company in history, and in the hearts of millions of devoted fans.