By Shawn Valentino, PWTorch Specialist

I failed him. That was my first reaction when I heard of the unsurprising news last week that Jeff Hardy had been arrested with countless drugs found in his home. A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about my experiences in meeting the wrestlers and fondly recalled coming across Hardy because of his genuine nature and respect for his fans. What I failed to mention was a disturbing remark on his part.

Back in 2007 when the wrestlers were in Detroit for WrestleMania, I was talking to Jeff at the bar. He was obviously heavily inebriated yet as cool and charming as can be. I told him I lived in Los Angeles and we jovially discussed life in the City of Angels. I talked about the weather and the beautiful girls, but he said that one of the highlights of the city was "the drugs."

During that brief interaction, I had reinforced the negative habits that have placed Jeff in the horrible situation he is in now; his career at stake and even worse, his life on a downhill spiral. Living in Hollywood, I am very much desensitized to fame. Even so, when you are in its presence, you are often blinded by the spotlight shining on a superstar who is really a human being with flaws and insecurities just like the rest of us. Who can imagine how many enablers surround Hardy and support his self-destructive lifestyle instead of encouraging him to get the help he so sorely needs.

Now, I am sure that Jeff has some quality people surrounding him who have his best interests at heart. Unfortunately, when somebody is an addict, the demons inside often ward off the caring friends and family on the outside. I cannot analyze the responsibility of those people because I do not know enough about the situation to understand if they have lived up to it or not. We also cannot forget that Hardy is an adult who should be intelligent enough to understand the consequences of his actions, both on his own well-being as well as on those who care for him. We cannot enter the mind of this obviously troubled individual and comprehend the pain and sadness that he is attempting to mask with dangerous chemicals. We as fans of the wrestling business, however, can play our part in preventing another tragedy taking away one of our "heroes."

We need to see through the blinding magnetism that separates our "stars" from "regular people" and realize that there is nothing more real than the trials and tribulations these men and women face in their simultaneous desire to sustain happy personal lives and make millions of people happy in their professional careers. Every time we cheer Hardy standing up for his lifestyle or applaud him for taking one more death-defying dive, we are disturbingly bringing him one step closer to his inevitable demise. This time, we should separate our own desire to be entertained from the obvious ramifications this "entertainment" is having on the man who is risking his life to do so.

On that same weekend on which I had that encounter with Hardy two years ago on that special Motor City weekend, I was talking to none other than Dean Malenko. He was sharing stories on the wrestling business and recalling memories of his late friend Eddie Guerrero. As he did so, I brought up another one of his friends and asked him if he worried about his well-being. That certain superstar used to do a top-rope headbutt that appeared to have such devastating damage on his own body that I winced every time I saw it.

I asked Malenko why the "crippling" move was still allowed and told him that he should advise this man not to use it any further or his life would be in danger. Malenko’s response was, "You can never tell a wrestler not to do a move." His reply exemplified the false bravado that encompasses these "immortals" of the ring and showcased why so many of them discover their mortality much too soon. Within three months, Chris Benoit was dead and he had taken his wife and child with him.

While many people now look at Benoit as the devil himself, those same fans view Jeff as an agonized angel. He is a man who wears his shortcomings and vulnerability on his sleeve and his daredevil antics sometimes appear to be that of a man who is attempting to exorcise his demons by putting his body at risk. Now that he has decided to take time off from the grueling schedule of the WWE, let us hope that Hardy does what his best for himself and focuses on slaying the inner dragon. Winning this battle would mean more than any championship victory.

I was watching the MTV Movie Awards today and I saw Madonna talk about how she had "abandoned" her troubled friend Michael Jackson and how people should have taken more efforts to understand him and help him. It was a poignant moment, but sadly it does not do any good expressing regret at failing to assist someone in trouble when they are already gone.

Jeff obviously has serious issues with pain medication and drugs. Instead of whirling these issues into a neatly packaged storyline, we can only hope that those surrounding him recognize the mess and get him the help he obviously needs. We as fans can do our part by not wishing for another Swanton Dive onto his opponent, but for a steady rise to a lifestyle where he is healthy and happy without chemical substances. If this means never seeing him in the ring again, so be it.

Now I look back to this year’s WrestleMania. My friends and I were staying in the same hotel as the wrestlers. I saw Jeff many times over the course of the weekend, and he was usually wandering around the lobby or the bar by himself. Even viewing him from afar, I could see a profound sadness in his eyes that reflected a troubled soul in pain. No matter how disturbed he appeared, however, every time fans approached him, he obliged them with pictures and autographs. I am fairly sure that none of these awestruck individuals stopped and asked Jeff the obvious question if he was okay. I know I didn’t.

In the months that followed WrestleMania, special attention has been paid to celebrating Hardy’s individuality and his carefree ways. I can appreciate a person living for the moment as much as anyone, but there is a fine line between being carefree and being careless. Unfortunately, sometimes that line means the difference between living and dying.

While I will save judgment on his arrest until we hear further details, I believe that now is the time to take the spotlight off Jeff Hardy, wrestling superstar, and shine the light on Jeff Hardy, troubled human being. If not, we may all discover once again that once the gleaming lights of the arena go dim, the dark side of fame can be a tragic one indeed.

Please send questions, comments, and feedback to valentino.torch@gmail.com

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