WWE Hardcore Championship

Last updated
WWE Hardcore Championship
WWE Hardcore Championship.png
The WWF/WWE Hardcore Championship (circa 2002)
Details
Promotion WWE
Date establishedNovember 2, 1998
Date retiredAugust 26, 2002
Other name(s)
  • WWF Hardcore Championship (1998–2002)
  • WWE Hardcore Championship (2002)
Statistics
First champion(s) Mankind
Final champion(s) Rob Van Dam
Most reigns Raven (26 reigns)
Longest reign Big Boss Man (97 days)
Shortest reign Terri Runnels (8 seconds)
Oldest champion Pat Patterson (59 years, 152 days)
Youngest champion Christopher Nowinski (23 years, 285 days)
Heaviest champion Big Show (500 lb (230 kg))
Lightest champion Terri Runnels (100 lb (45 kg))

The WWE Hardcore Championship was a hardcore wrestling championship in WWE which was contested under "hardcore" rules (no disqualifications, no countouts, and pinfalls count anywhere). In the latter part of the title's history, a rule was implemented allowing anyone to challenge the champion at any place or time, provided a referee was present (dubbed the "24/7 rule"). It is considered one of the most defining titles of the Attitude Era. [1] It was established on November 2, 1998, with Mankind as the inaugural champion. In 2002, it was unified with the WWE Intercontinental Championship by Rob Van Dam, the final Hardcore Champion.

Contents

History

Ratification

During a storyline where The Corporation was manipulating Mankind, Vince McMahon awarded the taped-up, broken championship belt to Mankind as a backhanded compliment to keep him away from WWF Championship contention. Rather than reject the dilapidated title belt, Mankind embraced it with gratitude, calling McMahon "dad," to the disgust of The Corporation. The title was won by the Big Boss Man a month later, and was then defended as a regular title.[ citation needed ]

24/7 rule

When Crash Holly won the belt, he introduced the "24/7 rule" that the belt was to be defended at all times as long as a referee was present. This allowed for many comic relief moments, such as the belt changing hands while the champion was asleep(Crash Holly lost the title while he was sleeping to Gerald Brisco), and The Headbangers chasing Crash Holly around an amusement park in Brooklyn (Holly eventually escaped from a ball pit and ran from the building, still the champion).

At WrestleMania X8, Maven defended the title 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 pinned Spike for the title. Mighty Molly (The Hurricane's sidekick) told The Hurricane to go to the "Hurri-cycle" before knocking him out with a frying pan when his back was turned and pinning him. While looking for a safe place, Christian won the title by pinning Molly after hitting her in the head with a door. As he was about to leave the building in a taxi, he was attacked and pinned by Maven, who regained the title and escaped in the taxi.

Trish Stratus faced Jazz (managed by then-Hardcore Champion Stevie Richards) for the Women's Championship, and lost due to Richards' interference. After the match, Bubba Ray Dudley attacked Richards from behind and pinned him for the title. Raven appeared and pinned Dudley, but quickly lost the title to Justin Credible, who was then pinned by Crash Holly. Dudley hit Holly with a trash can, but Stratus stole the pin on him. Dudley tried to attack Stratus from behind, but Jazz sprayed him with a fire extinguisher. Richards then stole the final pin of the night after Dudley accidentally powerbombed Stratus through a wooden table.

This rule has allowed the shortest title reigns and quickest title changes in WWE history.

Four women have held the Hardcore Championship: Molly Holly (as Mighty Molly), Trish Stratus, Terri Runnels, and The Godfather's ho.

The championship often changed hands at house shows, to give the audience a "big moment". In the end, the title always returned to its original holder.

At WrestleMania 2000, a battle royal match, in the style of Championship Scramble was booked where the title changed hands 10 times during the 15 minutes. The eventual winner was Hardcore Holly, Tazz, Viscera, Funaki, Rodney, Joey Abs, Thrasher, Pete Gas, and Crash Holly all held the title for varying times throughout the match, usually for very short periods of time. The longest reign in the match was Viscera holding the title for nearly seven minutes. [2]

Between the Invasion storyline and WrestleMania X8, the "24/7" rule was only used twice, during matches on the Raw Is War episodes of August 13, 2001 and September 10, 2001 respectively. Both matches were coincidentally between Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam. On the August 13 episode of Raw Is War, Jeff Hardy interfered and brought a referee with him, and pinned Van Dam for the title, setting up a match for them at that year's SummerSlam. On the September 10 episode of Raw Is War, however, Angle won the match, then was thrown off the entrance ramp by Stone Cold Steve Austin, who then also threw Van Dam off the ramp too. Van Dam landed on Angle and a referee counted the pin.

After the Invasion storyline, The Undertaker won the title from Van Dam. He defended against numerous opponents (usually smaller than him) and assaulted them after the matches (with the exception of Big Show). Although the 24/7 rule was still in effect during his reign, The Undertaker was not challenged by others under the rule; in storyline, commentator Jim Ross attributed this fact to no wrestler being "stupid enough" to do so.

The 24/7 rule ended on August 19, 2002 when Raw general manager Eric Bischoff suspended it before a six-minute hardcore battle royal, won by Tommy Dreamer. Previously, 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 title, to ensure he was still the champion at SummerSlam, to defend against Steve Blackman, whom he cheated out of the belt.

On May 20, 2019, WWE unveiled a new championship, the WWE 24/7 Championship, which was contested under the same 24/7 rule. [3]

Unification and retirement

The title was unified with the Intercontinental Championship on August 26, 2002, when Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated Hardcore Champion Tommy Dreamer. [4] This was one month after Van Dam defeated Jeff Hardy in a ladder match to unify the Intercontinental and European Championships.

Sporadic appearances

On the June 23, 2003 episode of Raw, Mick Foley (who was the first champion, as "Mankind") was awarded the Hardcore Championship belt (but not the championship) by the Raw authority figure Stone Cold Steve Austin for his contributions to hardcore wrestling. [5]

On May 22, 2006, Edge and Foley declared themselves co-holders of the championship as part of a storyline involving alumni of the hardcore wrestling-based Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion and were brought to ECW One Night Stand when they and Lita fought Tommy Dreamer, Terry Funk, and Beulah McGillicutty in an intergender tag team Extreme Rules match. [6] The title was not defended and soon quietly disappeared.

Origin of the belt

The Hardcore Championship belt was rumored to have been a replica of the "Winged Eagle" WWF Championship belt, which was smashed in several places and reassembled with two pieces of duct tape, and inscribed with the words "Hardcore" and "Champion" in marker. During a feud between "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig and then-champion Hulk Hogan, Hennig stole the championship belt and smashed the center medallion with a hammer during an interview. As Hennig had done so much genuine damage, a replica belt had to be used for the remainder of the story line. The center medallion on the replica and the Hardcore championship is identical. Mick Foley commented that he did not know if the belt that Hennig smashed was later used as the Hardcore Championship, but quipped that "it makes ‘perfect’ sense." WWE listed this theory as one of its urban legends, but was unable to determine whether it is true. The original belt was later sold as memorabilia by former WWE employee Mel Phillips and authenticated by belt makers Dave Millican and Reggie Parks, thus debunking the longtime rumor. [7] [8]

When Bradshaw won the title in June 2002, he briefly renamed it the Texas Hardcore Championship, [9] and wore a Smoking Skull belt customized with the Texas flag, artificial bull horns and a Bullrope on the centerplate.

Tommy Dreamer, in the last title defense of the Hardcore Championship, used a variation of the belt with a New York license plate as a centerplate, over a replica of a European Championship. The reason for these changes was because the original belt had become so damaged from wear and tear. [10]

Reigns

Mr. McMahon awarded Mankind the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Hardcore Championship on November 2, 1998. After Mankind lost the title to Big Boss Man, he never attempted to recapture the title, mainly because of the main event push he received shortly afterward. At the time of conception, the idea was for the belt to be used in comedy segments to play on Mankind's reputation as a hardcore wrestler. However, as Mankind and hardcore wrestling became more popular with audiences, the Hardcore Championship became a more serious title. Its popularity led competitor World Championship Wrestling (WCW) to create its own Hardcore Championship, a move followed by numerous independent promotions.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Dreamer</span> American professional wrestler and promoter

Thomas James Laughlin is an American professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a former one-time TNA Digital Media Champion, and was the owner and promoter of the House of Hardcore (HOH) promotion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Van Dam</span> American professional wrestler (born 1970)

Robert Alexander Szatkowski is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam who is currently making appearances for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Test (wrestler)</span> Canadian-American professional wrestler and actor (1975 – 2009)

Andrew James Robert Patrick Martin was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. He was best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/WWE) under the ring name Test.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Alliance (professional wrestling)</span> Professional wrestling stable

The Alliance, also known as Team WCW/ECW and The Coalition, was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the World Wrestling Federation and the Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) that existed during the Invasion storyline from May to November 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania 2000</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

WrestleMania 2000 was the 16th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on April 2, 2000, at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California. A total of nine matches were contested on the event's card.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWF Invasion</span> 2001 World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

WWF Invasion was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on July 22, 2001, at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. This event was initially planned to be the fourth Fully Loaded PPV, as it was advertised at the King of the Ring event, which immediately preceded Invasion, although the decision to replace Fully Loaded was made in May. Invasion was the first pay-per-view to feature the ongoing Invasion storyline, which featured wrestlers from the WWF taking on The Coalition, a combined force of wrestlers from World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), later known as The Alliance. The event featured WWF wrestlers facing WCW and ECW wrestlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Rumble (2000)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2000 Royal Rumble was the 13th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and 100th PPV overall produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on January 23, 2000, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Six matches were contested on the event's card.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Survivor Series (1999)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 1999 Survivor Series was the 13th annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on November 14, 1999, at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. It was the second Survivor Series held at the Joe Louis Arena after the 1991 event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attitude Era</span> Adult-oriented period of WWF (now WWE) (1997–2002)

The Attitude Era was a major era of professional wrestling within the World Wrestling Federation. The term "WWF Attitude" was used to describe its programming from November 9, 1997, to May 6, 2002. It began during the Monday Night War, a period in which WWF's Monday Night Raw went head-to-head with World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) Monday Nitro in a battle for Nielsen ratings each week from September 4, 1995, to March 26, 2001. The era officially started on November 9, 1997, at Survivor Series 1997, when a video package aired ending with the first use of the "WWF Attitude" scratch logo; this was immediately before the main event featuring Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, which retrospectively would be known as the Montreal Screwjob due to the match's controversial finish. WWF's programming in this era featured adult-oriented content, which included increased depicted violence, profanity, and sexual content. This era was part of a wider surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States and Canada as television ratings and pay-per-view buy rates for the WWF and its rival promotions saw record highs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Way Out (2002)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2002 No Way Out was the fourth No Way Out professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. The event took place on February 17, 2002, at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the final No Way Out promoted under the WWF name as the promotion was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May. It was also the final No Way Out event held before the WWF introduced the brand extension in March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Mercy (2002)</span> World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view event

The 2002 No Mercy was the fifth No Mercy professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place on October 20, 2002, at the Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas. It was the first No Mercy held following the introduction of the brand extension, as well as the first No Mercy held under the WWE name after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May. To date, it is the only WWE pay-per-view event ever held in the state of Arkansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armageddon (2003)</span> World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view event

The 2003 Armageddon was the fourth Armageddon professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. The event took place on December 14, 2003, at the TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unforgiven (2002)</span> World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view event

The 2002 Unforgiven was the fifth annual Unforgiven professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place on September 22, 2002, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. It was the first Unforgiven held under the WWE name, after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE earlier that year in May, as well as the first Unforgiven held during the first brand extension that began in March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backlash (2000)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2000 Backlash was the second Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on April 30, 2000, at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., and presented by Castrol GTX. Nine professional wrestling matches were scheduled on the event's card. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WrestleMania 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judgment Day (2002)</span> World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view event

The 2002 Judgment Day was the fourth Judgment Day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. It took place on May 19, 2002, at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee. This event was the promotion's first pay-per-view held under the WWE name after the change from its previous name, World Wrestling Federation (WWF), two weeks prior to the event, although promotional materials produced before May 10, 2002, still bore the WWF logo. The theme song for this event was the song “Broken” by the hard rock band 12 Stones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of the Ring (2000)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2000 King of the Ring was the eighth annual King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWE) that featured the 14th annual King of the Ring tournament. It took place on June 25, 2000, at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts. The main event was a six-man tag team match between the McMahon-Helmsley Faction and the team of The Rock and The Brothers of Destruction. Triple H's WWF Championship was defended in the match. Rock pinned Vince to win the title. The undercard featured the 2000 King of the Ring tournament, which was won by Kurt Angle. The 2000 edition was the largest King of the Ring tournament, with 32 competitors taking part.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unforgiven (2000)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2000 Unforgiven was the third annual Unforgiven professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on September 24, 2000, at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Eight matches were contested at the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unforgiven (2001)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2001 Unforgiven was the fourth annual Unforgiven professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on September 23, 2001, at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the final Unforgiven event held under the WWF name as the promotion was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2002. It was also the last Unforgiven held before the introduction of the brand extension in March 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armageddon (1999)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 1999 Armageddon was the inaugural Armageddon professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on December 12, 1999, at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

References

  1. ↑ "Ring Rust Radio's Attitude Era Draft Results and Fantasy Cards". Bleacher Report .
  2. ↑ The Hardcore Title changed hands 10 times in one night
  3. ↑ Keller, Wade (May 20, 2019). "5/20 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on Money in the Bank fallout, will Brock Lesnar announce his intensions[sic], Mick Foley reveals new WWE Title". PW Torch. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  4. ↑ Milner, John M.; Kapur, Bob; Kamchen, Richard (April 7, 2006). "Bio: Tommy Dreamer". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2009. Dreamer lost a Hardcore vs. Intercontinental title unification match vs. Rob Van Dam.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ↑ Guttman, James (June 23, 2003). "6/23 Raw review: Guttman's "alt perspective" review". PWTorch.com. Retrieved August 2, 2009. Stone Cold then presented Foley with the Hardcore title and congratulated him
  6. ↑ Keller, Wade (May 22, 2006). "Keller's WWE Raw report 5/22: Ongoing "virtual time" analysis of live show". PWTorch.com. Retrieved August 2, 2009. Foley presented Edge with the old Hardcore Title belt....He whispered something to Lilian. She announced they are the new co-holders of the WWE Hardcore Championship. Edge, Foley, and Lita held the belt up together.
  7. ↑ "The truth behind 8 WWE urban legends". WWE. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Hulk Hogan's Real Wrestlemania 5 Winged Eagle WWF Belt Destroyed by Mr. Perfect on SNME". BeltFanDan via YouTube. 20 October 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  9. ↑ "WWE Raw" (July 29, 2002)
  10. ↑ "WWE Raw" (August 26, 2002)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.