Jeff Hardy has won a slew of titles over the course of his career. One major crown, though, has eluded him.

It's the most prestigious in the business, and Hardy has the chance to do something he's dreamed about since the days of bouncing around in a makeshift ring in his backyard in Cameron, N.C.

The high-flying, risk-taking Hardy challenges Randy Orton for the WWE heavyweight championship in one of the featured bouts at tonight's Royal Rumble pay-per-view in the most famous fight venue in the country - Madison Square Garden. He also could become part of history by being only the third man to hold the Intercontinental and WWE heavyweight titles at the same time. Hardy says it's probably the biggest match of his career.

"By far this is the closest I've ever been to being the WWE champion and actually being one of the top guys. I've always kind of felt that I was a top guy although I'm not in main events all the time. But I've always been confident and true to myself that I am good at what I do, and I have a lot of people who care about me and a lot of really cool fans out there who want to see me be heavyweight champion."

Hardy, in fact, has one of the biggest and most loyal fan bases in the company. He readily admits he doesn't fit the bill as the prototypical WWE heavyweight champion, but it's his daredevil-style approach and hardcore fan following that propel him to that next level.

"They don't care if I'm just 225 pounds and I don't look like the standard champion in whomever's eyes."

Hardy's fans, he says, are the same kind of fan he was growing up and cheering on his mat idols.

"There's a special connection there. I always wanted to have that same kind of bond with my fans."

Hardy has been somewhat of a comeback kid since returning to WWE in August 2006. His career took a sharp downward spiral in March 2003 when, after a series of showing up late for matches, failing drug tests and refusing to go to rehab, he was released by the company that had hired him as a teenager, had nurtured him and had watched him steadily progress through the ranks.

Hardy, though, refocused his passions and energy, defeated his personal demons and made a triumphant return to WWE. And he's done it in spectacular fashion.

"I always knew it would take time, but I always felt I'd get there," the 30-year-old Hardy says. "The hardest thing for me to get used to was being way from home so much. These international tours are extremely brutal because they're sometimes like 20 days at a time. So it's hard to be consumed by the product, but that's what I pretty much knew I was going to have to do to be where I am now. That's why I am where I am now ... because I'm 100 percent committed to WWE. They know I'm not going to be missing any flights. They know I've got my head right and I'm all about wrestling. That's what they want and that's what they need."

Hardy remains the daredevil he always has been in the ring, and some of his recent death-defying spots have been highlight reel gems. One week after executing a breathtaking Whisper of the Wind off the top of a cage in a Raw match with Umaga, Hardy followed it up with a Swanton Bomb off a scaffold more than 20 feet high onto a prone Orton. Fortunately a potential tragedy on live television was averted.

"That definitely was one of the most massive (moves). It was really creepy, but it looked amazing. You really feel proud of yourself when you watch something like that back because it's such a risky move. People will say you're crazy, but that's what my character was modeled after ... things like that. I'm usually pretty comfortable with anything I look at or stand on top of. If I feel I can't do it, I'll be the first to say I can't do it. I'll continue to do things like that and go with my instinct until something goes wrong and I do get hurt. But other than that, I can't really downplay my instinct because nothing bad has happened to me."

That, of course, doesn't mean Hardy is injury-free. Far from it.

"I'm beat up," he says matter-of-factly. "My ankles are really weak. A lot of that stems from motocross in the past. I've got a (bone) chip in my right kneecap now, pain in my elbows and two herniated discs in my neck and my back. I'm not feeling great, but I've been extremely lucky that I've gone this far without surgery. So I'll just keep knocking on metal or wood."

Success hasn't spoiled Jeff Hardy. He's just happy to be part of the show, and says not being at the top of the card at Wrestlemania wouldn't be a disappointment.

"Not at all. I'd feel just as successful as long as I'm a part of Wrestlemania. It doesn't take much for me to know that I'm popular and needed. I don't have to be in the main event to know that I've done something."

One thing's for sure, and that's you can expect to see Hardy pull off one of his incredible moves at the big show. Hardy already has contributed to the Wrestlemania footage file, most notably at his first Mania, where he performed a spectacular Swanton from atop a ladder and through a table with a prone Bubba Dudley on it. A later iconic Mania moment saw Hardy speared from atop a ladder by Edge during a TLC (Tables, Ladders and Chairs) match.

Hardy would like to add to that collection of highlights, and one of his goals is to meet brother Matt in a singles match.

"I always remember the Bret and Owen Hart matches back in the day. That would be really cool for me and Matt, too, if it was done in the right way. I've also never wrestled against Rey Mysterio, and that would be a very good match."

Hardy says he expects his brother, who is currently inactive due to a burst appendix, to return possibly by the No Way Out pay-per-view. "I think he'll be at the Rumble watching the show, but he should be back in the ring around No Way Out."

Hardy also wouldn't mind reforming Team Extreme.

"It'll never not be cool to team with Matt again, from the fans' perspective or even mine, and it'll always be an honor to tag up with Matt at any point in our careers."

It's hard to put a number at how many years he'll last in the ring, Hardy says, but he wants to continue as long as his body holds up. "I know there's no way I'm going to do it for 10 more years straight. There's going to be some breaks in between. Even with Matt, things can happen in a blink of an eye, like that day when his appendix burst. Nobody expected that, not even him, but you never know what's going to go wrong with your body. You try to be as tough as you want to, but there's always something that can swerve you wrong. I would like to (continue) for a good amount of time."

Hardy says he also still wants to follow his artistic pursuits.

"My voice, as far as my singing, has gotten better. I still practice singing and I've written a lot of original songs. I've got a great guitar player in Cincinnati. We feel real confident in what we've written together. I still haven't given up on that. I don't know if it will be through WWE or not, but I don't want to give up on that because I think something can happen. We actually sang in front of 75 people at a local karaoke bar a couple of months ago. That was real cool for me to sing live in front of a little crowd. It was a good icebreaker for me."

Hardy's roots go back to OMEGA, a North-Carolina based promotion started 10 years ago by he and brother Matt, along with promoter Thomas Simpson. He recently got a chance to watch "Uncommon Passion," a two-DVD set featuring a look back at the promotion, which helped launch the careers of The Hardys, Gregory Helms, Joey Mercury, Christian York, Steve Corino, Shannon Moore, former Mean Street Posse member Joey Abs and others. The audiences were small but rabid, he remembers, but the shows gained acclaim with their death-defying aerial moves and fast-paced highspots.

"I was really impressed with it. We watched it down at Matt's a few weeks ago. It's really good. That was some great stuff. I'd love to see an OMEGA reunion show one of these days if we could ever pull it off. It would be a killer."

- Ric Flair's career is rapidly drawing to a close, and with the Low country being one of his major stomping grounds over the past four decades, the Nature Boy left quite a mark here. Have a personal experience with the Nature Boy that you'd like to share? I'll be publishing some of the best in a future column. E-mail your favorite Flair memories to [email protected].  Submissions may be edited for brevity and clarity. Those from outside the area (list your city) also are welcome to share their memories.

Reach Mike Mooneyham at (843) 937-5517 or [email protected].