WWE Hardcore Championship

WWE Hardcore Championship
Details
Promotion	World Wrestling Entertainment
Date established	November 2, 1998
Other name(s)	WWF Hardcore Championship
Statistics Most reigns Raven (26 reigns) First champion(s) Mankind Longest reign Big Bossman (97 days) Shortest reign Godfather's Ho (12 seconds) Oldest champion Pat Patterson (59 years, 158 days) Youngest champion Christopher Nowinski (23 years, 285 days) Heaviest champion The Big Show (507 lb (230 kg)) Lightest champion Terri Runnels (100 lb (45 kg))

The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly the World Wrestling Federation) and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere. In the latter part of the title's history another rule is implemented which allows for anyone to challenge the champion at any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, provided there is a referee present (dubbed the "24/7" rule).

History

Vince McMahon first awarded Mankind (Mick Foley) the belt, originally known as World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Hardcore Championship, on November 2, 1998. After losing the title to The Big Boss Man, he never attempted to recapture it, mainly because of the main event push he received shortly after he lost the belt. At the time of the belt's conception, the idea was that the belt was to have been used in comedy segments to try to push Mankind's reputation as a famous hardcore wrestler, but as Foley was getting over with the crowd as well as the rising popularity of hardcore wrestling at the time, the Hardcore Championship seemed to gain a life of its own. Its growing popularity led competitor World Championship Wrestling to create their own Hardcore Championship, a move followed by numerous independent promotions.

24/7 Rules

When Crash Holly won the belt, he introduced the "24/7 rule" which meant the belt was to be defended "at all times...as long as there was a referee present." This allowed for many comic relief moments, including the belt once changing hands while the champion was asleep, and a segment on an episode of SmackDown! where The Headbangers chased Crash Holly around Funtime USA and an amusement park in Brooklyn, New York with Crash escaping repeated attempts to take the title from him before escaping from the ball pit and running from the building. There was also a moment at WrestleMania X8 when the title was involved in a strange twist of events. The champion going into the event, Maven defended against Goldust. After they knocked each other out with trash can lids, Spike Dudley entered and pinned Maven to win the title. Then, in the backstage area, The Hurricane defeated Spike to win the title. Mighty Molly (The Hurricane's Sidekick) told The Hurricane to go to the "Hurri-cycle" before knocking him out when his back was turned with a frying pan and pinning The Hurricane to become champion (and the second female to do so). While looking for a safe place, Christian won the title by slamming a door into Molly's head. Christian, who was about to leave the building in a taxi, was attacked by former champion Maven to regain the title. Maven then escaped in the taxi and celebrated as Christian was left all alone in the parking lot, whining and cursing bitterly.

Another event was when Trish Stratus fought Jazz (managed by then-Hardcore Champion Stevie Richards) for the Women's Championship which Trish lost due to Steven Richards interference. After the match, Bubba Ray Dudley attacked Steven Richards from behind and pinned him making Bubba Ray the new hardcore champion. Raven appeared and attacked Bubba to gain the championship but soon lost it to Justin Credible. Justin was then pinned by Crash Holly, making the latter the new champion. Bubba then hit Crash Holly with a trash can, however Stratus stole the win by pinning the unconscious Crash Holly thus making her the third woman to win the championship. Bubba then tried to attack Trish from behind but failed as Jazz sprayed him with a fire extinguisher. Steven Richards then stole the win after Bubba delivered an accidental power bomb to Trish through a wooden table, making him champion again.

The addition of this rule is said to have made the division both more interesting and unpredictable, adding a vast array of holders and matches. Still, others believed this rule cheapened and devalued the championship for the same reasons. This rule has led to the shortest title reigns and quickest title changes in WWE history. During this time, four women have held the Hardcore Championship: Molly Holly, Trish Stratus, Terri Runnels, and Bobcat. Also during this time, the championship would change hands at house shows in an attempt to allow the fans in attendance to see something big. In the end, the title would always return to its original holder.

Of all the hardcore champions, Steve Blackman is known to be the most aware of the 24/7 rule, defending the belt the longest. With Blackman as champion, however, surprise attacks no longer resulted in title changes: within the matches, Blackman was so dangerous in hand-to-hand combat that surprise attacks were not effective enough to defeat him. During his stint as Hardcore Champion, Blackman's full martial arts talent was utilized. The first time he lost the title for a significant amount of time was against Shane McMahon, largely due to interference from Test, Albert, Edge, and Christian, with Mick Foley suspending the 24/7 rule to make sure McMahon didn't try to get out of facing Blackman in a rematch. At SummerSlam, Blackman fought McMahon for the title. During that match, they both climbed the TitanTron with Blackman able to knock Shane off with a Singapore cane, then performed a diving elbow drop for the pin fall . Blackman would go on to defend the title on several occasions, but he would ultimately lose the title on a more permanent basis to Raven in late 2000.

Between the Invasion storyline and pre-Wrestlemania 18, the "24/7" rule has been nearly absent from the scene. The only time where it has been applied was during a match on RAW (September 10, 2001); Kurt Angle Vs. Rob Van Dam. Kurt Angle won the match with an Ankle Lock, only to have Austin throw Angle off the ramp, as well as throw RVD off the ramp too, causing RVD to pin Angle nearly unconscious and regain the Hardcore Championship Belt. During this time, it was either assumed that the it would be nearly impossible to implement the 24/7 rule during this time or assumed that neither team (WWF or Alliance) want to risk losing their belts to prove brand dominance. After the Invasion storyline was finished, the Undertaker wins the Hardcore Championship against RVD. Due to his new persona gimmick (which made him heel), the Undertaker went against numerous opponents (usually smaller than him) and severely cripples them after the match, with the exception of the Big Show who Undertaker beat but left after the match. As a result excessive brutality, it would be assumed that (kayfabe) none of the WWE superstars in the hardcore division want to utilize the 24/7 rule against the Undertaker due to life-threatening fear. After Maven wins the belt against the Undertaker after The Rock interfered in the match against Maven on Smackdown (February 5, 2002), the 24/7 rule resumes.

The 24/7 rule was enforced until August 19, 2002 when Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff decided to suspend it following a six minute Hardcore Battle Royal won by Tommy Dreamer. Prior to this a 24 hour suspension on the rule was in place for Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy's match at WWF Invasion. Commissioner Mick Foley also suspended the rule while Shane McMahon held the belt to ensure he was still the champion at SummerSlam 2000 to defend against Steve Blackman, whom he cheated out of the belt.

In 2006, Mick Foley proclaimed Edge the Hardcore Champion, before Edge proclaimed them both co-Hardcore Champion. However, this angle was never entertained further.

Unification and retirement

The title was retired on August 26, 2002 when WWE Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated Hardcore Champion Tommy Dreamer to unify the titles. This was one month after Van Dam defeated Jeff Hardy in a ladder match to unify the WWE Intercontinental title and the European Championship.

On the June 23, 2003 episode of Raw, Mick Foley (who was the first champion as "Mankind") was awarded the WWE Hardcore Championship belt by the Raw brand—a storyline division in which WWE employees are assigned to a television program of the same name—authority figure Stone Cold Steve Austin for his contributions in hardcore wrestling. Edge and Foley then introduced themselves as co-holders of the championship in 2006, due to a storyline with alumni of the hardcore wrestling-based Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion.

Origin of the belt

The WWE Hardcore Championship belt itself is a replica of the "Winged Eagle" WWF Championship title that was smashed in several places and reassembled with two long pieces of duct tape with the words "Hardcore" and "Champion" written in marker. A long-standing rumor stated that this belt was the same one that was stolen by Mr. Perfect from Hulk Hogan on a 1989 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event and destroyed with a hammer at the end of the episode. However, this has been proved to be false, since the destroyed belt was kept by then WWF referee/booker Mel Phillips. A new belt (replica) was purposely destroyed to create the Hardcore Championship. When Bradshaw won the title in June 2002, he briefly renamed it the Texas Hardcore Championship, and brought a custom belt to the ring with a Texas flag and oversized bull horns. The original design was resumed later in June when Raven reclaimed the championship. Tommy Dreamer would use a variation of the belt with a New York license plate where the center plate should be.

Mick Foley announced himself and Edge as the new co-holders of the title (after the belt's official retirement), however this announcement is not recognized by WWE as an official WWE Hardcore Championship reign.

Possible Reinstatement

On October 27, 2011, WWE.com posted an article advocating for the reinstatement of the championship. Among other reasons, the article referenced the title's unpredictable and unique set of rules and high number of title changes, with the possibility of multiple changes in the same night, as support for bringing the title back into contention. Also mentioned was the "unsafe working conditions" that were facing the roster at the time, possibly referring to WWE's shift in programming away from their "family-friendly" style, the change in on-screen control from Vince McMahon to COO Triple H and subsequently to Interim Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis, and the return of the first Hardcore Champion, Mick Foley.

After Foley made his return to the WWE, the company's website posted an updated article calling for the championship to be brought back, which included a direct plead for Foley to be the one to do so. However, no matches or means of declaring a champion have been issued and the title is still listed as retired on WWE.com.

See also

• List of WWE Hardcore Champions

External links

• WWE Hardcore Title History
• Solie.org WWF/WWE Hardcore Title History