Bringing Back The Hardcore Title

[Turd Ferguson]

If it was something that was a lot of fun and was WWE comedy that was actually funny and not a complete waste, it was the Hardcore Title contested under 24/7 rules. There were some hysterical segments, such as Crash defending at a playground or at an airport. There were also some pretty awesome Hardcore matches as well.

But there is a lot of underutilized talent on the rosters, and it could be a way to get them some TV time. It would also be fun to let the title span across all three brands. It was a creative and fun concept a few years ago, and I'm sure that it would be a lot of fun to bring it back.

Besides, the Hornswoggle/Chavo thing is mercifully starting to die down, but they like booking Hornswoggle, so why not center the Hardcore Title around him? They have the celebrity guest hosts, why not let someone like Seth Green get a quick reign? It would allow them to get all of the silliness out in one segment, and at the same time, the quality of the Hardcore matches could be pretty good.

 

[King Patrick Star]

For Hornswoggle and Chavo, I think it would be a better idea to bring back the Cruiserweight Title. After all, the Little Bastard did win it from Chavito. He should do a complete Face Turn, and Hornswoggle could bring it back and give it to Lieutenant Loco as a token of appreciation for having a change of heart. One month later, Kerwin White turns back into the Guerrero he really is and “did all just to get HIS Strap back, including Lying, Cheating and Stealing!!”.

Besides, the Hardcore Title is just not what it once was, and it would take away from the “Extreme” Title. If anything, Chavo Jr. could “destroy” the Cruiserweight Title the exact same way Mr. Perfect did to Hogan’s, and create a “New” Hardcore Title out of “disrespect”. I don’t know. It’s just a thought that has historical connections. Plus the fact that we don't need another Mid - Card Title. We could, however use a Title WITH limits.

 

[David_Webb]

I agree, the hard core title would lack relevance in the PG era, it would not have the quality hardcore matches like before. Also the Cruiser Weight title should be brought back, and go between the three brands. It would give guys like Evan Bourne, Chavo, Hornswaggle, and more something to do instead of comedy segments.

 

[Mannic]

The Hardcore title was indeed a great title back when it was first introduced and even up to when it was done with.. But it would never work in the PG era hell they did the ppv last week with 0 blood in usually one of the bloodiest matches that the E has.. hardcore matches are nonexistent even on ECW.. it would never work..

and with the other title your talking about:

Why bring back a title and make it just a big joke? watch some of the old WcW footage mid to late 90s the "crusierweight" title was held with respect by alot of very good stars like Dean Melinko(still one of my fav wrestlers to this day) Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, and even at the time a decent Rey Mysterro.


Same with the "Light Heavyweight" title it had some kind of prestige.. There is no point to bring back a title like that when maybe only 5-8 or so wrestlers even qualify to be in that weight division esp if they just want to make it one big joke

 

[Klown_Karnage]

I liked the concept behind the Hardcore Title (even though it was without a doubt the ugliest belt in the history of professional wrestling) but in my opinion the 24/7 rule ruined it. It made it not really mean anything, or at least the amount of times someone managed to win it not mean anything. I mean, you could ambush an opponent at any time, with anything, no skill or stamina necessary, and pick it up off of them. When they were doing the 24/7 thing heavily, you might as well have just replaced Hardcore with Backstabber and had done with it. To be honest, the Hardcore title had so much potential, but it became a joke under 24/7 rules. As has been mentioned, with the PG era now upon us, it just doesn't work anymore. WWE is bloodless and a bloodless Hardcore title is a pointless hardcore title.

The cruserweight title? I think it should come back and it would give Horny an actually good storyline as he starts off as the first cruserweight champion in a long time and actually does what he can to keep it. It might be the first time since the end of the Illegitimate McMahon storyline in which Hornswoggle is able to play a semi-dramatic role. I'd love to see it, but with Vince's dislike of smaller wrestlers (as has been documented in many interviews) I don't think it's going to happen. Pity.

 

[Tank715]

it would be awesome to have the hardcore title back. the hardcore title was my favorite title whn it was out, but as posted by many of yall, it just wouldnt work in the pg era. they could bring it back bringin an end to the pg era, but the little kiddies vince panders too give him too much money for him to do tht. in this pg era they just couldnt do wht they did with the hardcore title in the past, plus how many wrestlers in the wwe build themselves around a hardcore base nowadays. i would love to see it happened but sadly it wont

 

[ncpowell]

Well, I liked the idea. Minus the comical gimmicks. It was just fun to watch two or more guys (sometimes girls) beat the hell out of each other for a belt that looked like it went through a garbage disposal.

Don't like the idea of bringing back the Cruiserweight title. Most of those title's never really meant anything, at least when WWE brought it in. ONLY time I was interested in the Cruiserweight championship was when Chavo Classic won it. After that, didn't care.

I personally don't see the reason to have the U.S. Title. It just isn't the Intercontinental title, no matter what anyone says. This is debatable, but I personally believe they should bring back, if any title, the European Championship. Used to be, it was on the same field as the Intercontinental Championship. With Shawn Michaels having it, British Bulldog bringing it to life, and with D'Lo, Jarrett, and Angle holding them simultaneously, I thought it was the cooooolest thing to be called the WWF Eurocontinental Champion. BUT, I digress.

No matter what anyone says, I will never look at the U.S. Championship as equal to the Intercontinental Championship, ever.

Sorry bout the rant, ANYWAY, Hardcore title? Either ECW exclusive or all three brands can grab it. For ECW, It would be better for the brand to have Two Titles, one joke of a championship and the other one a shell of its past (you pick which one, lol), than having just one title. All three brands, brings guys out who barely get tv time or vets who get squashed to have better competition. It would also, in my opinion, be a "better" way for vets to put older guys over, instead of just having them be squashed over and over again.

 

[Tyler44]

Besides, the Hornswoggle/Chavo thing is mercifully starting to die down, but they like booking Hornswoggle, so why not center the Hardcore Title around him?

Think about what you just said. You think the hardcore title should be fought between Hornswoggle and Chavo....?

Most people do not want to see even Chavo or Hornswoggle in a WWE ring, never mind fighting each other for a title. If this ever seemed to happen, the hardcore title's prestige would be less than the Divas belt.

There is no need for the hardcore belt because of a few reason:

1. Not many wrestlers in WWE are hardcore fighters
2. Too many belts in WWE
3. Who would even fight for it?

 

[gtajoker01]

to me wwe dont need or have to have a hardcore division they copied that from old school ecw anyway. but to me as long as a match and a live event is decent then im happy. I know theres a lot of hardcore style wrestling fans out there but im just saying a match dont need to be contested under no dq to be entertaining. Besides the title probably end up going to hornswoggle if they ever brought it back.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I loved the idea for the title originally, when it was handed to Mick Foley. Later on it was just ridiculous. Every one and their mother were hardcore champions. Even Molly Holly was a Hardcore Champion. I did like the fact that Edge and Foley were Co Hardcore champions, leading to their feud. Even though it is PG I guess WWE could bring it back since Chavo and Hornswoggle were feuding backstage anyways. It would be cool to see a Hardcore title on ECW that the new talent could feud over. I just don't like the 24/7 rule where everyone on the roster is like a 10 or 15 time Hardcore Champion.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Think about what you just said. You think the hardcore title should be fought between Hornswoggle and Chavo....?

I HATE Hornswoggle, but he's popular with the kids and they're going to keep using him. This is about the only acceptable way I'd want him on television. There's a way to do the Hardcore Title with the PG rating. Those matches were pretty cartoony to begin with.

3. Who would even fight for it?

Lower card guys who haven't been on TV for awhile. Guys like Festus are on the payroll and haven't done anything... it would be better to get some use out of them than to let them sit on the sidelines and get paid for it.

 

[raphael93]

I think that bringing back the hardcore title would be a great idea. but i don't think the hardcore matches would be all that exciting, being that the WWE banned blood. i mean blood screams the word "hardcore".

 

[Cjslick101]

If it was something that was a lot of fun and was WWE comedy that was actually funny and not a complete waste, it was the Hardcore Title contested under 24/7 rules. There were some hysterical segments, such as Crash defending at a playground or at an airport. There were also some pretty awesome Hardcore matches as well.

But there is a lot of underutilized talent on the rosters, and it could be a way to get them some TV time. It would also be fun to let the title span across all three brands. It was a creative and fun concept a few years ago, and I'm sure that it would be a lot of fun to bring it back.

Besides, the Hornswoggle/Chavo thing is mercifully starting to die down, but they like booking Hornswoggle, so why not center the Hardcore Title around him? They have the celebrity guest hosts, why not let someone like Seth Green get a quick reign? It would allow them to get all of the silliness out in one segment, and at the same time, the quality of the Hardcore matches could be pretty good.

Let's end this convo cause it's never gonna happen especially with vince mcmahon's new PG system! TNA could do something like that.... why not?
Bring back the Hardcore title since the originator is on that show...
Mick Foley could send TNA to the promise land...
or somewhere close!

 

[JBK2008]

The Hardcore Championship will not come back anytime soon under the PG rating and right now there arent many guys that scream "hardcore" and until the fan base gets older, it's simply not gonna happen.

 

[The Gribbler]

The title was a joke when it was brought in and it would be a joke now. It was an attempt to bring ECW to the WWE and now that is completely pointless.

Just My Opinion

 

[mister_b1LL]

I watched a clip on YT of this Japanese guy with his Hardcore Title and a ladder fell on him. A referee walks by and sees the ladder on him and does the 3 count. Yeah, dude, a freaking ladder beat a guy for the Hardcore Title. It just goes to show how weird and crazy 24/7 can get. And I don't want to see something like that happen in the WWE.

 

[Dragon]

Why don't they just make the ECW Championship the WWE Harcore Championship. This way they are less 1 world title (if u want to call it that) and have another championship that could provide some entertainment and different tv.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

In all honesty, the last thing the WWE need is yet another title, particularly the Hardcore title. Even when the Hardcore title was active it, for the most part, wasn't all that much to begin with. Personally, if you're going to have a hardcore title then you need wrestlers that have something of a specialty toward hardcore matches. I'm not just talking about the standard trash can, cookie pans and steel chairs, I'm also meaning stuff like barb wire, thumbtacks, flaming tables, broken glass, etc.

However, the problem is that, for a lot of people, the novelty of such matches wear off quickly. A handful of real hardcore matches a year and I'm fine. But one every week or at every ppv and I just start to care less and less until I'm either flipping the channel or just taking a piss break.

Also, with primarily PG oriented content, there'd be no real point to it. Nobody wants a watered down hardcore division and a hardcore division is exactly that when you don't have blood. But, as I said earlier, even then those matches lose their edge if they on a regular basis.

If the WWE ever decided to do something revolving around hardcore matches, I'd prefer something along the lines of just doing an annual tournament. A series of matches during a certain time of the year in which the winner gets a magnificent trophy and is proclaimed the toughest guy in the company. It's not going to happen, but I'd much prefer that to reinstating the Hardcore title really even if the WWE wasn't PG right now.

 

[TheLoyn]

WW(F)E doesn't need the hardcore title back in the PG era, as many people have stated, it just wouldn't work. ECW could use a mid card title though, my choice would be the Cruiserweight title. The idea of Ryder or Tatsu challenging for the ECW title seems as absurd as Rey Rey as World Heavyweight Champion - and hopefully Vinnie Mac has learnt that was a mistake. If they can carry the mid card on ECW (also throwing in the likes of Chavo, Wang, Jesse, Bourne) then move them to Raw or SD for a chance at the IC or US titles. It at least gives them something to do and some exposure.

 

[mdj2010]

Well this is an interesting one as there are clearly too many different titles right now in WWE that it's hard to know which truly matter more, and more titles really does hurt the legacy of the belts, particularly the mid card titles.
However the hardcore title (when it was being defended 24/7 by crash holly) actually was a good way of having an additional belt which gave the low carders a reason for being with the company other than jobbing whilst still being clearly distinguishable in it's importance from the IC title belt.

So i'm breaking the mould and saying that they should bring it back, maybe just call it the 24/7 title as I think they have trouble getting the hardcore element over right now with the PG rating.

But then Id only want that done if they unified the us and ic belt.

 

[Tastycles]

Hardcore wrestling was a fad largely coupled with the rise of ECW. When there was one roster, the lower card titles needed a bit of variation, so it was introduced. However, now they can have basically two identikit midcard diisions, with a straightforward title. It might spruce up ECW to have a hardcore title, but I'm not sure the demand is worth it to be honest.

 

[NSL]

I don't see the point in forcing another belt on to TV. There's enough guys as it is to squeeze onto the shows, and we don't need a meaningless comedy segment to push guys that deserve the time away (take note Santino, Santina, Hornswoggle, etc.).

If they want to haven more Extreme Rules matches, that's fine, but there's no reason to smother the title picture with another belt...Meaningless or not...

 

[Dave]

I agree with NSL.

I think that the WWE has realised their mistake with the belts and are now trying to remedy the situation. It is the case for the tag titles and now it seems like it will be a similar scenario for the Diva's titles. I think bringing back another title is kind of un-needed for the time being because their isn't enough interest in the titles that they have at the moment. I loved the Hardcore title but bringing it back at the minute just wouldn't work, in my opinion. You need to be careful of not over-saturating the company with too many belts and taking prestige away from the existing ones. I would like to see the Hardcore title come back at some point but I feel that right now is a bad time for it.

 

[tLight]

If I only type No it'd be spam and I'd get another weeks vacation from the forums.

So hell no. The Hardcore title wont come back in the PG Ear, and once it ends it doesn't need to return again. It was a worthless meaningless title. There have been more "hardcore/extreme" matches this year than in the past 5 years combined.

THREE HELL IN A CELL MATCHES ON ONE PPV?
There was a hardcore match on ECW (Christian vs Dreamer) a few months back
TLC Punk vs Hardy
NO DQ, Pins count anywhere blah blah blah blah

All the things that make a match "hard core" have been happening this year, there doesn't need to be a title in place just so we can have these already terrible matches occur on a weekly basis

 

[Nature Boy]

I quite liked the Hardcore Titles, both in WCW and WWF.

There were some great Hardcore Champions such as Mankind, Big Boss Man, Terry Funk, Al Snow, Bam Bam Bigelow, Raven and Brian Knobbs.

The 24/7 rule had some really funny moments and was highly entertaining.

In doing that however, the WWF sent a message (to me at least) that it wasn't meant to be a serious title.

But I enjoyed the divisions in both companies.

I'm not sure that the Hardcore Title would work in the WWE today.

What with their current TV rating, and the lack of 'Hardcore' Wrestlers I don't see any point in bringing it back, fun though it was.

It might however work work in 'ECW' as their 2nd singles Title if they are ever given one...