When Jeff Hardy made his Impact Wrestling return on Spike TV recently, there was an overwhelmingly positive response from the audience. Considering that his last outing with Total Nonstop Action was a 90-second loss to Sting in the main event at Victory Road last March (not to mention he had turned his back on the fans just months before by joining Immortal), the fact that he was welcomed back so quickly might be a bit of a surprise. But I suppose surprises come with the territory when talking about “The Charismatic Enigma.” As he heads into a marquee match against Jeff Jarrett this Sunday at Turning Point, Hardy takes a moment to talk to Wrestling with Pop Culture about his return, how he’s preparing for the pay-per-view and more.

Courtesy Impact Wrestling

I was at the Impact Wrestling TV tapings in Macon, Ga. a couple of weeks ago, where you got another very positive response from the crowd. What were your expectations coming back to TNA? Were you surprised to have gotten such a positive response?

Not at all. I’ve been fortunate to have such support from the fans, even going back to when I first came back in Knoxville. I’ve always been real fortunate with that and I think I’ve always given the fans a lot, so I always get a lot in return. I think people have respect for me. Macon was great. It’s really good to get out of the Impact Zone every now and then to get to these fresh, bigger crowds, especially for TV tapings, so I think it was phenomenal.

It looks like you haven’t missed a step, but how has it felt to be back in a TNA ring?

I’ve been doing really well. We just got back yesterday from doing four live events in Michigan, Dayton, Ohio and Canada and we had four great shows. Physically, I’m in really good shape. I run every morning, I work out more than I probably ever have in my whole life, so everything’s extremely positive and I think that’s playing a big part in the way I feel in the ring. I feel awesome. Each match I’ve had since I’ve been back has felt really good. I’m excited about my future.

Before you returned to the ring, it seemed like there was a lot of hesitation in the locker room to accept you back. Do you feel like the rest of the roster is being more supportive now that you’ve proven yourself in the ring again?

I think so. Naturally, it was questionable coming back to a lot of the guys. It takes a while. I had decided that for the next year, I’m going to do whatever it takes to prove myself to these guys. I think it’s happened faster because I’ve been feeling really good and I think I’ve proved myself to everybody. The shows are great, I’ve been feeling great and I think that forgiveness has pretty much happened. We’re on an extreme roll in TNA and, like I said, I’m very excited about the future.

Courtesy Impact Wrestling

Going into Turning Point this Sunday, you’re facing Jeff Jarrett. When you were last in TNA, you were part of Immortal with Jeff Jarrett. With all that’s gone on since then with you, Immortal and TNA, what do you think you have to prove in this match and how are you preparing for it?

I think that’s real simple. It’s going to be challenging out there in the ring with Karen at his side, that’s for sure. But I beat him and that’s pretty much it as far as I’m concerned. I think I’ll prove something to him by beating him in the middle of the ring in my first actual match back at a pay-per-view. So I’ll beat him in the middle and see what happens.

Anything can happen out there. I’ve been to a lot of live events preparing for this match, but the couple of loops I’ve been on Jeff Jarrett hasn’t been there. So I might be at a little bit of a disadvantage. I’ve been doing a few more shows while he’s been resting up, but I’m going in there confident and I’m going to do what I always do and hopefully get the 1-2-3. But I feel better than I have in a long time in the ring, so I’m just going to try not to injure myself, but at the same time be entertaining in beating Jeff Jarrett.