Part of me is almost of the mind that there’s nothing more that can be said about this match; we’ve all probably seen it by now, we all know it was a disgrace. Does it really bear repeating that point again? After further review, YES!

This match is a failure on almost every level, from Jeff Hardy being obviously impaired during his entrance to Eric Bischoff vamping to Sting literally pinning Hardy down for the three-count to end an 88-second world title match, even though Hardy clearly tried to kick out. Sting and referee Brian Hebner are the only ones here that I would say showed any professionalism. All credit to Jeff Hardy for owning his behavior over the years, but it doesn’t change the fact that he certainly didn’t act professional by coming out for this match in no condition to perform. The TNA executives who allowed him to go out there, who allowed him to get into this state by not keeping a closer eye on him during the day, and who were so clueless to this that they couldn’t put together a proper replacement match in time, were somehow even less professional. And by the way, they continued to be that way in the years since, all trying to pass the buck of blame from themselves. That, dear readers, is how you wind up with this match, one of the most embarrassing things to ever occur in a wrestling ring. You would think I don’t need to tell you it’s a total disgrace, but then again, we should probably all be reminded how terrible this was, just to make sure it never happens again.

Fifteen years later, we all agree with Sting, who agreed with the fans. “That was bulls***,” indeed.