As promised, last night's episode of SmackDown was headlined by Sheamus vs. Jeff Hardy in a "Bar Fight." It actually ended up being a cinematic match, and featured an unexpected reference to All Elite Wrestling star Matt Hardy when Jeff said that he had to "Delete!" his WWE career, whereas this match was about Jeff recovering his.
After some trash talk, a brutal bout followed, with plenty of weapons and high spots. After placing his hat on Jeff's face, Sheamus poured himself a beer, raising a toast to Hardy. However, eery music started playing, and when Sheamus removed the hat from Hardy's face, he had white makeup on, and completely white eyes.
This new version of Hardy recovered and took the fight to The Celtic Warrior, hitting a Swanton Bomb from atop a ladder to get the 1-2-3. An almost zombified Jeff stares straight ahead as his eyes slowly return to normal, but what does this apparent new gimmick for the Charismatic Enigma actually mean for him moving forward?
Well, many fans believe that WWE could be making use of the "Willow" character Hardy once had in TNA, and it definitely feels like this feud has been to shake up Jeff's character on SmackDown...