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.
When Vince McMahon first awarded Mankind the belt on November 2, 1998 these were the only rules, but when Crash Holly won the belt he introduced a new rule:
- 24/7 meaning the belt was being defended at all times, allowing the championship to change hands anytime as long as there was a referee present. This allowed for many comic relief moments, including once where the belt changed hands at a motel while the champion was asleep.
This rule was enforced until August 19, 2002 when RAW GM Eric Bischoff decided to stop this rule after a six minute Hardcore Battle Royal, which was won by Tommy Dreamer.
Trivia
- The Big Boss Man had the longest reign wiht the Hardcore Title with 97 days.
- The shortest reign is hard to determine due to multiple title changes within the same tv segment. Thanks to Crash Holly's 24/7 rule, title changes were abundant and title reigns are as lengthy as a few seconds.
- Raven won the WWE Hardcore Championship twenty-six times.
- RAW GM Eric Bischoff retired the belt on August 26, 2002 during an episode of RAW after a unification match. The final Hardcore Champion was Tommy Dreamer; then WWE Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated him to unify the two titles.
- On a later episode of RAW, McMahon, Bischoff, and past WWE Hardcore Champions gave the original title belt as a gift to the original Hardcore Champion Mick Foley (Mankind) to commemorate his success in the WWE.
- The original WWE Hardcore Championship belt itself was originally used as the WWF Championship in an angle between Hulk Hogan and Mr. Perfect. On an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, Hennig and The Genius attacked Hogan and stole his belt. When the show came back from the commercial break, it cut to a shot of Hennig using a hammer to smash the belt, breaking the gold plates. Unknown to wrestling fans, this belt was a replica of the actual belt. When the WWF decided to create the Hardcore Championship, they took the smashed-up replica WWF Championship belt, and tape was applied on various spots of the belt with the largest piece across the center having the word 'HARDCORE' written on it. However, 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 Texan flag, giant bull horns and the words 'Texas Hardcore Champion'. Shortly afterwards, Tommy Dreamer also had a customised version of the Hardcore Championship that consisted of a license plate. This version of the belt was used before the title was retired.
- Terri, Mighty Molly, Bobcat (Godfather's Ho) and Trish Stratus were the only women in the WWE to ever win the Hardcore Championship. Each of them lost the title the same night they won it.
- The late Crash Holly won the Hardcore Championship 21 times.
- The Hardcore title changed hands 11 times in one night at Wrestlemania 2000 in a batle royal which was then won by Bob "Hardcore" Holly.
- Bob "Hardcore" Holly won the Hardcore Championship back to back at Wrestlemania XV and XVI
- After losing the title to the Big Bossman, Mankind never attempted to recapture it.
- The only man that has ever won both the WWE and WCW Hardcore Championships is Johnny Stamboli, who won the WCW Hardcore title once as "Johnny The Bull" in June, 2000.
- 5 former ECW World Heavyweight Champions have won the WWE Hardcore Championship: Raven, Tazz, Mike Awesome, Justin Credible, and Rhyno.