WWE Hardcore Championship
World Wrestling Entertainment's Hardcore Championship was a championship defended under hardcore rules:
- No Disqualifications, meaning all weapons are legal.
- Falls Count Anywhere, meaning pinfalls and submissions do not have to take place in the ring.
- No Holds Barred, meaning that the referee will allow anything and will only end the match with a pinfall or submission.
- 24/7 Rules, meaning the belt was being defended at all times, allowing the championship to change hands anytime as long as there was a referee present.
History
Vince McMahon first awarded Mankind the belt on November 2, 1998. After losing the title to the Big Bossman, he never attempted to recapture it, mainly because of his 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 (mostly made famous by the Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion), 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
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 at a motel while the champion was asleep, and a segment on an episode of RAW where The Headbangers chased Crash Holly around Funtime, an amusement park in Brooklyn, New York with Crash escaping repeated attempts to take the title from him before pinning Mosh in the ball pit.
The addition of this rule is said to have made the division both more interesting and more confusing, 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. On April 2, 2000 at WrestleMania 2000 in Anaheim, California, for example, there were 10 title changes in a period of 15 minutes.
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.
Unification and retirement
On August 26, 2002 Rob Van Dam "unified" the title with the WWE Intercontinental Championship when he defeated Hardcore champion Tommy Dreamer, effectively retiring the title.
On an episode of RAW in the summer of 2003, WWE wrestlers and Extreme Championship Wrestling alumni; Al Snow, The Dudley Family (Bubba, D-Von, and Spike Dudley) Tommy Dreamer, and Rob Van Dam, along with Vince McMahon, and RAW Co-General Manager Stone Cold Steve Austin, presented the original Hardcore Championship title to "Hardcore Legend", Mick Foley, as a framed gift.
The belt was unofficially reactivated by Mick Foley in mid 2006 for a short period when he declared himself and Edge "co-holders of the Hardcore Championship" during a feud with other hardcore wrestlers and following a hardcore match between the two of them at WrestleMania 22. After the feud ended, the belt once again disappeared from television.
Statistics
| Record: | Record holder: | Record number: | Notes: |
| Most reigns | Raven | Twenty-Seven | Raven first took this record after beating Bubba Ray Dudley for his 15th title on the April 15, 2002 edition of RAW. He was previously tied with Crash Holly for the record, though he would re-tie Raven twice during the next month. Raven won his 27th and final championship from Tommy Dreamer on August 17, 2002. Many of the reigns were extremely short and took place during house shows. |
| Longest reign | The Big Boss Man | 95 days | The Boss Man beat The British Bulldog for the title on the October 12, 1999 edition of Smackdown! and held it until January 17, 2000 when he lost it to Test on an episode of RAW. His reign took place before the 24/7 rule was activated. The longest reign after the 24/7 rule was by Rob Van Dam. He won the belt on September 9th, 2001, and held it until losing it to The Undertaker on December 9th of that same year. The reign was 89 days. [1] |
| Shortest reign | Rob Van Dam | N/A | Van Dam beat Tommy Dreamer on the August 26, 2002 episode of RAW to unify the Hardcore and Intercontinental championships. Therefore, his reign as champion technically ended as soon as he won the match. If this reign is discounted, the shortest reign would be nearly impossible to determine, due to the frequent title changes caused by the 24/7 rule, most of which lasted less than a minute. |
| Oldest champion | Pat Patterson | 59 years | Patterson beat Gerald Brisco for the title on the June 19, 2000 edition of RAW. He lost the title 6 days later to Crash Holly at the 2000 King of the Ring. |
| Youngest champion | Christopher Nowinski | 23 years | Nowinski beat Crash Holly for the title at house shows on July 6 and 7, 2002, but lost it both nights to Bradshaw. |
| Heaviest champion | The Big Show | 7 ft 0 in; 507 lb. | The Big Show is a 3 time Hardcore champion, winning the title at No Way Out 2001 from Raven, from Rhyno on the May 28, 2001 episode of RAW, and from Spike Dudley at a house show on July 12, 2002. |
| Lightest champion | Terri Runnels | 4ft 10 in; 100lb. | Terri, one of 4 women to win the Hardcore title, won the title while conducting an interview with Steven Richards. She won it from and lost it back to Steven Richards on the May 27, 2002 episode of RAW. |
Trivia
- The title belt used for the original WWE Hardcore Championship belt was a replica belt first used as a WWF Championship belt in an angle between Hulk Hogan and Mr. Perfect. Perfect and The Genius stole and smashed the belt with a hammer on an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event. When it was decided to create the Hardcore Championship WWE officials took the smashed-up belt from the angle and applied pieces of duct tape with the words 'HARDCORE' and 'CHAMPION' written on them.
- When Bradshaw first won the belt on June 3, 2002, he replaced it with a customized belt to fit his Texan Cowboy gimmick. The belt included a Texas flag, giant bull horns and the words 'Texas Hardcore Champion'. The belt was in fact Steve Austin's "Smoking Skull" championship belt with a Texas flag decal placed on the front.
- When Tommy Dreamer won the title he covered the faceplate of Bradshaw's belt with a New York license plate (Dreamer is from Yonkers, New York). This version of the belt was used until the title was retired.
- Four females have held the Hardcore Championship: Bobcat, Molly Holly, Terri, Trish Stratus all won the Hardcore title, but lost it the same night.