The pinnacle of the Hardcore Championship.

[AegonTargaryen]

1998 saw Monday Night Raw desperately competing with what WCW had at that time. Raw could offer new stars such as HHH, The Rock, and Kane. They enhanced and embellished the Undertaker's darker aspects. Austin vs Mcmahon was the focal point of the show. However, the WWF did not have a dozen big names WCW had (Hogan, Goldberg, Savage,Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Piper, etc.), nor the quality of athletes which were still working for WCW at the time- including Benoit, Guerrero, Jericho, Malenko. Raws were usually laden with crappy segments/clips played throughout the night. From Val Venis sleeping with some prostitute to Ken Shamrock's sister, to glorification of the pimp AKA The Godfather, to The Stooges appearing in thongs/underwear on one show, in an evening gown in another show. Mark Henry was giving birth to a "hand". The WWF at then also had a couple of good MMA-esque fighters in Ken Shamrock and Steve Blackman. ECW's influence on mainstream wrestling was obvious with Mankind's hardcore/HIAC matches. Thus, the inception of the Hardcore Title in which Mankind's role was pivotal.

However, from it's inception till it's departure, the WWF/E Hardcore championship was basically the lowest tier of performers/matches involved, thus making it the lowest championship. The very fact that someone like Al Snow would be a consistent holder/defender proves it. Even though a large part of the Hardcore title was TV garbage like Crash and Hardcore Holly, Raven, A-train/Albert, Test, Steve Blackman, etc. smashing garbage cans on each other's head, there were some truly good moments and high quality hardcore wrestling. The only one I can remember is when Rob Van Dam was hot during the Alliance/Invasion angle and had a couple of matches with Jeff Hardy and held the title. The best hardcore title matches IMO were those featuring Rob Van Dam, especially Van Dam vs Undertaker from Vengeance 2001. That's the pinnacle of the HC title, IMO. I also remember a couple of good RVD matches for the HC title on Raw in 2002 before the title was withdrawn.

What are your favourite memories, matches, and thoughts as to the pinnacle of the Hardcore Championship?

 

[MCMG]

I quite liked the Hardcore title. It was fun, entertaining and gave a lot of the roster a purpose.

There were indeed some good matches. WM17 with Raven, Kane and Big Show was enjoyable. Sure, it wasn't a 5 star classic but was light-hearted and got these three in a match. RVD and Hardy definitely put on some top matches as did Taker when he had his stint as champ.

The Hardcore title wasn't all blood and guts. The matches were often short and the 24/7 aspect ensured it was somewhat interesting. It was formulaic but guys like Al Snow and Crash Holly were never going to be stars; the title gave them a purpose which is fantastic.

 

[KitsuneDreamer]

To this day the Hardcore Title is easily in my top 3 Championships.

So many funny matches and segments, also there were some pretty brutal showings.
Whether It was Molly Holly hitting Hurricane with a frypan or Crash Holly doing something ridiculous, the Hardcore Championship always gave me and people I know some good viewing pleasure, especially with the 24/7 rule. As said above RVD and The Undertaker did a great service by it.

I can't exactly point to the Pinnacle of it all, but Shane McMahon vs Steve Blackman at Summerslam 2000 will forever link me to it. Can't wait to see some other replies! Good Thread!

 

[Catacomb]

i think the peak was the beginning when road dogg and foley had it, once the novelty of 24/7 wore off it just became a predictable throwaway match and you knew 45 guys would run down at the end. crash was funny, but when his gimmick grew old so did the belt imo

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Here's the think about the Hardcore Title that makes me pause and disagree with the tenor of the OP:

However, from it's inception till it's departure, the WWF/E Hardcore championship was basically the lowest tier of performers/matches involved, thus making it the lowest championship. The very fact that someone like Al Snow would be a consistent holder/defender proves it. Even though a large part of the Hardcore title was TV garbage like Crash and Hardcore Holly, Raven, A-train/Albert, Test, Steve Blackman, etc. smashing garbage cans on each other's head, there were some truly good moments and high quality hardcore wrestling.

The whole idea of a Hardcore Champion is that it is the "great equalizer." Not everyone is fit to hold a TV Title, US Title, Intercontinental Title, or World Title. The Hardcore Title offered some guys the chance to "even the playing field" with the rest of the roster by getting mean, getting violent, or in some cases, getting creative.

The 24/7 rule slowly started to deteriorate the title, though. When it was just Crash Holly's gimmick, I enjoyed it, and I think it got Holly over. That should have ended the second Holly lost the belt. You had major pay per views - hell, an entire Wrestlemania - being interrupted between ACTUAL matches to see who was going to sneak attack the champ and take the belt next, from Mighty Molly turning on Hurricane to win the title, etc. Devalued that belt a great deal.

Here's a fond memory - the making of Maven. I was always really into the original Tough Enough TV Show, and Maven was the winner of season 1. When he "upset" The Undertaker for the Hardcore Title after shockingly eliminating him from the Royal Rumble, THAT was a quick mismatch feud that created some crowd buzz, got 'Taker over as a heel, and established Maven as a legit guy in the fed. He sort of petered out, yes, but for that time, he was as talked about as many others.

And here's where I agree with the OP - Rob van Dam vs The Undertaker were some fantastic matches.

 

[Wolf Pac]

I know a lot of people are going to say the pinnacle of the title was when RVD or The Undertaker held it, but for me the pinnacle of the title was 2000 when Crash and Steve Blackman held it. When RVD and Undertaker were champions, it was more about the guy holding the title than the belt itself. Those two really didn't need the belt, they were over without the belt. There were 2 months during RVD's reign where he was going after the WWF Title and he was main eventing PPV's instead of defending the belt. When Taker was holding it, he was more focused on winning the Royal Rumble match and main eventing Wrestlemania. For Crash & Blackman, this was what got them over, this was their WWF Championship. Without their runs, nobody would even care for and remember those two to this day. And everybody was chasing Crash and Blackman around for the belt, when the 24/7 rule was introduced which made the belt feel relevant. Like MCMG said, it gave everyone a purpose. The best matches for the belt may have been when RVD & Jeff had their series, but we still got fun, entertaining backstage segments and matches when Steve and Crash held it.

My favourite matches/moments were Blackman vs. Shane at Summerslam, the Hardcore Championship Scramble at Wrestlemania 2000, when Big Show pinned Essa Rios up against a wall for the belt, Raven vs. Kane vs. Show at Mania X7, Crash always hiding from the other superstars and escaping with the belt when they found him, Blackman fighting off everybody backstage with his weapons, RVD vs. Jeff, god there are so many moments. Those were fun times, man.

 

[Pedigree1]

I quite enjoyed the hardcore title. Some memorable battles,loved the Holly's the so-called super heavyweights! WM17 was actually one of my favorite matches for the hardcore title.

The title wasn't all blood and guts,IMO the title was the hardest to earn.. Just busting your ass it was a blue collar title for the blue collar man. Bring your lunchbox and go to work. The 24/7 title was an interesting concept,knowing you could lose your title dining out with your family it brought up a lot of interesting scenarios. Good thread

 

[craigrb]

24/7 rule made it really interesting for me and the fact anything literally could happen was its major selling point but could we see it today? Lets leave that up to the glorious hhh to decide��

 

[AegonTargaryen]

I know a lot of people are going to say the pinnacle of the title was when RVD or The Undertaker held it, but for me the pinnacle of the title was 2000 when Crash and Steve Blackman held it. When RVD and Undertaker were champions, it was more about the guy holding the title than the belt itself. Those two really didn't need the belt, they were over without the belt. There were 2 months during RVD's reign where he was going after the WWF Title and he was main eventing PPV's instead of defending the belt. When Taker was holding it, he was more focused on winning the Royal Rumble match and main eventing Wrestlemania. For Crash & Blackman, this was what got them over, this was their WWF Championship. Without their runs, nobody would even care for and remember those two to this day. And everybody was chasing Crash and Blackman around for the belt, when the 24/7 rule was introduced which made the belt feel relevant. Like MCMG said, it gave everyone a purpose. The best matches for the belt may have been when RVD & Jeff had their series, but we still got fun, entertaining backstage segments and matches when Steve and Crash held it.

Your viewpoint about how the HC title made guys like Crash, Blackman, etc. versus the guys making it(Taker, Van Dam)is undeniably correct and true. It is also acceptable that for you, a large chunk of the good memories of the HC title revolve around those superstars.

However, I believe those that have found Rob Van Dam vs Taker/Jeff for the HC title to be the title's pinnacle could be for two reasons:- The guys being huge superstars in other arenas, and the directional features of those matches and their innovation. No one is denying that the HC title got many otherwise overlooked guys over. But it's unarguable that besides Steve Blackman and Tommy Dreamer doing suplexes and hits using the singapore cane, there was hardly any innovation. The matches that RVD and Jeff Hardy had, however were particularly innovative because of how dynamic and unique Van Dam was and still is. Undertaker vs Rob Van Dam sticks out for many people for these reasons. Even though they did not need the HC title and were super over to contend for other titles, the match-up was superbly brilliant and not just guys hitting each other's heads with trashcans/canes. Even the triple threat from WM 17, despite the inclusion of the super slow Big Show, sticks out as one of the best matches for the HC title because of the innovation/direction and star power involved.

 

[tommo1898]

I personally loved it when the 24-7 thing started with crash. Some entertaining and very funny moments and it was a truly original idea (something really rare in wrestling)

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

The pinnacle of the hardcore championship was Backlash 2001 in Rosemont Illinois when Rhyno 'C' vs Raven got 10 minutes on PPV in front of a hot crowd and had probably the best hardcore match the WWF has put on.

The title finally wasn't a joke, it was taken seriously, it had legitimate hardcore competitors, and on this particular night it got the respectable time on the card and was super over with the crowd. I can't think of any other time where the title was booked this way. Typically it was reserved for a comedy spot. Or it was held by guys like Shane McMahon or Big Bossman.

 

[whoopin' ass]

It peaked just before the 24/7 rule because at that point, it became a comedy act. You have people who can claim to be a 15 time hardcore champ because of that stupid 24/7 rule - how can you take it seriously? I think the earlier matches were actually pretty good as they were trying to make it into something but once Foley became WWF champ, they kind of decided it wasn't a necessary title as his matches were hardcore anyways and it became a joke.

 

[johnnboy]

When I was a wee lad I honestly thought the hardcore title was the coolest looking and most entertaining title: It wouldn't work today though, which is sad. I think the pinnacle of the title was probably Wrestlemania 18, but I'm honestly only saying that because that's almost all I can remember of it first off. Also, the ladder matches with RVD and Jeff Hardy back in the day for that belt were pretty great!