The History Of The WWE Hardcore Championship, Explained
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The WWE has had a myriad of championships that come and go from the company, each with their own identities and branding surrounding them. Of all the defunct belts in the WWE's silverware cabinet, one has stood out in the minds of fans since its disappearance in 2002. Despite only being around for just shy of four years, few belts have as much fanfare surrounding them as the WWE Hardcore Championship.
With all the nostalgia for the Attitude Era, the Hardcore Title sits as a representation of many positive points that have fans looking through rose-colored lenses at that period in wrestling. The championship gave opportunities to wrestlers up and down the card, giving those who didn't reach the upper tiers of the card something to compete for and get them on TV. It also sparked so much creativity amongst the talent and writers, with several of the Hardcore Title's antics becoming treasured moments in WWE programming.
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WWE Introduces the Hardcore Championship
Though the Hardcore Title would be known for its time on the undercard, the belt was actually spawned from one of the highest profile storylines then on WWE television. In 1998, the Austin-McMahon feud was riding high as one of the hottest stories in wrestling, with several characters becoming involved, as Mr. McMahon did his best to keep the world title from The Texas Rattlesnake. As part of this, McMahon began to manipulate the vulnerable Mankind, gifting him the WWE Hardcore Championship due to his status as a hardcore legend.
Mankind's one and only reign wouldn't last long, losing the belt to the Big Boss Man four weeks later. He then moved on to pursuing the world title. Under the Boss Man, a dedicated hardcore division started to form. With ECW finding a lot of success with hardcore wrestling, WWE put their own spin on the concept, bringing more weapon-heavy matches to their shows. The creativity of the title soon began to flourish, with memorable moments like Hardcore Holly and Al Snow brawling into the Mississippi River, and Snow also fighting Road Dogg in the middle of a blizzard. This was only the tip of the iceberg for the wackiness that the Hardcore Title brought to WWE.
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WWE Introduces The 24/7 Rule To The Hardcore Championship
Crash Holly became the 15th Hardcore Champion in early 2000, and ready to prove himself as a champion, instated the 24/7 rule, stipulating that the title was to be defended around the clock as long as a referee was present. This opened the floodgates to all kinds of ideas, making the hardcore division a blend of weapon-based matches, along with a healthy dose of comedic relief along the way. The stipulation saw the title being defended all over arenas, as well as the airport, the circus, a Fun Time USA, bathrooms, a laundromat, and beyond. The possibilities were endless.
The chaotic nature of the 24/7 rule meant that many reigns ended the same night they began, some lasting only seconds. The stipulation also distinguishes the Hardcore Title as one of the very few titles in the WWE that have been held by both men and women, with Molly Holly, Terri Runnels, Trish Stratus, and Cynthia Lynch (as one of The Godfather's hoes) all holding the belt. The 24/7 rule facilitated another piece of history as the Hardcore Title became the first belt to change hands over the battle lines of the Invasion, with Mike Awesome ambushing Rhyno backstage to claim the title.
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The End Of The WWE Hardcore Championship
Physically, the Hardcore Title had been designed to look very rough around the edges. The (later debunked) legend had been that the WWE Title Mr. Perfect smashed with a hammer was the base of the Hardcore title, with a smashed 'Winged Eagle' faceplate, tape, and marker pen as the staples of its initial design. Facing much rougher treatment (and much less upkeep) than other belts in the company, the Hardcore Title visibly deteriorated over time. The belt received two redesigns in 2002, keeping the theme of re-purposed belts. A pre-JBL Bradshaw modified a Smoking Skull belt with a Texan flag, bull rope, and cattle, briefly rechristening it the Texas Hardcore Championship. In its final form, Tommy Dreamer had the also defunct WWE European Title modified with a New York City license plate and miniature Statue of Liberty holding a kendo stick.
The Hardcore Championship would come to an end under Eric Bischoff's reign as General Manager of Monday Night RAW, a man no stranger to hardcore titles. Dreamer, the reigning champion, was booked to face off with the Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam in a unification match. The bout took place inside Madison Square Garden on the August 26, 2002 edition of RAW, with RVD coming out on top and being recognized as the final Hardcore Champion.
In around four years, there were 240 reigns of the WWE Hardcore Title, with Raven as the most decorated, winning it 27 times, but only holding it for 84 days altogether. Perhaps the most impressive stat of all, thanks to the 24/7 rule, is Shawn Stasiak having 15 reigns with the title without reaching a single cumulative day as champion. The legacy of the Hardcore Title lives on in the company's current 24/7 Title, such that many fans were upset that WWE introduced that new belt rather than revive the Hardcore Championship in 2019. With such a strong outcry nearly 20 years since its end, the Hardcore Title clearly holds a special place in the heart and minds of wrestling fans to this day.
