In the midst of feuding with Umaga, who defeated Hardy at The Great American Bash to retain the Intercontinental Championship in late July,[91] Hardy was abruptly taken off WWE programming.[3] He posted on his own website and in the forums of TheHardyShow.com that it was time off to heal, stemming from a bad fall taken in a match against Mr. Kennedy on the July 23 edition of Raw.[3] He made his return on the August 27 edition of Raw beating Kennedy by disqualification after Umaga interfered.[92] The following week, on September 3, Hardy successfully captured his fourth Intercontinental Championship by defeating Umaga for the title.[93]
Afterward, there was the start of a push for Hardy, and at Survivor Series, Hardy and Triple H were the last two standing to win the traditional elimination match.[94] Hardy began an on and off tag team with Triple H,[95][96] which eventually led to a respectful feud between the two.[96] The feud continued at Armageddon, when Hardy defeated Triple H to become the Number 1 Contender for the WWE Championship.[97] In the weeks leading up to the Royal Rumble, Hardy and Orton engaged in a personal feud. It began when Orton kicked Hardy's brother, Matt in the head in the storyline.[98] Hardy, in retaliation, Swanton Bombed Orton from the top of the Raw set and seemed to have all the momentum after coming out on top in their encounters.[8][99][100] Hardy, however, lost the title match at the Royal Rumble,[8] but was named as one of six men to compete in an Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out, where he survived to the final two before being eliminated by eventual winner Triple H.[101]
During the March 3 edition of Raw, Hardy appeared on Chris Jericho's "Highlight Reel" segment as a special guest, but ended up delivering a Twist of Fate to Jericho.[102] This led to an Intercontinental title match on the following Raw where Hardy dropped the title to Jericho.[103] Off-screen, Hardy dropped the title after he was suspended for sixty days, as of March 11, for his second violation of the company's Substance Abuse and Drug Testing Policy.[104] Hardy was also removed from the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXIV after the suspension was announced.[105][106] Hardy returned on the May 12 edition of Raw, defeating Umaga via pinfall.[107] This reignited the feud between the two, and they met in a Falls Count Anywhere match at One Night Stand, which Hardy won.[108]
On June 23, 2008, Hardy was drafted from the Raw brand to the SmackDown brand, as a part of the 2008 WWE Draft.[109] Hardy made his SmackDown debut on the July 4 edition of the show, defeating John Morrison.[110] Hardy participated in the WWE Championship Scramble match at Unforgiven but failed to win the Championship.[111]
