Do You Miss It? Hardcore 24/7.

[My Couch Pulls Out But I Don't]

If you missed the first edition of "Do You Miss It?", I have decided to post a series of threads where I bring up something from the past and you, the forum posters, debate whether or not you miss it and post why or why not. Also if you have any nostalgic memories of the topic, feel free to post them as well.

This edition is about: Hardcore 24/7

Back in the Attitude Era, the WWF introduced the Hardcore title.

When a very confident Crash Holly won the title, he proclaimed that he would defend the title 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, anywhere, and against anyone.

This allowed us great moments such as the "zip line hurricanrana" in a discovery zone kind of place and a few hotel room ambushes. It also showed us that the Mean Street Posse were clumsy. And even WWE Referee Jack Doan made an attempt to win the championship.

So, here is the question. Do you miss Hardcore 24/7?

Previous Entries:
European Championship
Results: Yes - 55.81% No - 44.19%

 

[RkoMachine]

i'll probably get some heat for this but in all honesty no i dont miss it. Hardcore matches have given us some great matches in the past such as Mick Foley vs Randy Orton, or Mick Foley vs edge, with that bein said i just dont miss the hardcore concept

The matches were bloody spotfests that to me got somewhat old and predictable, someone was gonna get thrown on tacks, someone was gonna get hit with a chair or kendo stick or both

i dont mind the pg rating because it makes wwe concentrate on the match bein good, not on the match bein hardcore

 

[TheSDQQKidJoe]

This was a GREAT idea. 24/7? I mean what if the WWE or World Heavyweight was defended 24/7? Chaos maybe? Anyway, this opened many opportunities for different stunts and segments. MOst of them were fast and funnny.
My favorite was when Crash went to Funtime USA. They were going down slides and around games. etc. It was pretty funny.

 

[Italiano Heat]

Yeah, i had to go ahead and vote no. This definitly was an interesting stip but some of the matches were just horrible. Brawling in bars and airports, lmao @ the time crash was fighting in the ballpit. Classic. But thats all it was good for to me. A cheap pop so to say people were winning and losing the title so often that i would forget who was champ. It was perfect for the attitude era. Perfect, i mean you had Kane running people over in a golf cart, the APA using just about everything to bust over someones head and some really badly botched spots. And thats my biggest problem with 24/7. So much seemed rushed, and a "just go for it" kinda feel. Add in the fact that they were often using dangerous objects and youve got the recipe for botch. And it taste horrible. It was perfect before Vince started going off the deep end and doing anything for ratings. Really embarresed and put some of those guys thru hell.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Hell no I don't miss it because it was an absolutely awful concept that rendered a title with little value/prestige in the first place completely worthless. There were a lot of bad ideas, concepts, ideas & angles that took place during the Attitude Era and this was one of them. I know that a lot of people see the Attitude Era as a golden age in which all was right with pro wrestling but it wasn't and this was just one example of why it wasn't.

The 24/7 rule rendered the Hardcore Championship a joke. I was never overly thrilled with the concept in the first place as I'm not a huge fan of hardcore wrestling. The occassional hardcore match can be fun but the idea of a hardcore title wasn't really a good idea even then. In the little more than 4 years it existed, it changed hands in excess of 200 times. Waste of time, space and energy that I'm glad to see has gone the way of the dinosaur.

 

[klunderbunker]

Nah. It was ok for a comedy bit with Crash but how many times can you see the same ten guys run out there and hit a single weapon shot and get a 20 second title reign? What's the point? There were a few instances where it was kind of funny but after awhile it got very stupid and time consuming. Just too repetitive and not interesting at all really after about a month of it. Naturally it went on for like two years.

 

[Sparky]

I can't really answer this question as even though I have seen ppv's when it was around I never once saw it defended, and a virgin don't really miss sex, but the concept of it if I had of seen it I don't think I would miss it now. Yes comedy purpose's it would be ok but it's not really making the title look strong enough to worry about missing.

 

[Wrestling Free Thinker]

I thought people cared about belts meaning something, and hated comedy like Santino?

No the belt was pointless and didn't have real hardcore matches like Foley/Edge. Just trash cans and shots with weapons and then a pin. And then have about 5 title changes every raw.

 

[aphazel1]

Well, yes & no. I miss the hardcore championship but don't miss the 24/7 concept because alot of the "title defenses" were too silly. Not all of the hardcore matches were bad though....Raven & Rhino had a great hardcore championship match at (I believe) Backlash in 2001. However, I'd love to see a hardcore or some kind of "extreme rules" division surface again.

 

[XgringolocoX]

No. I"m not hating on the Hardcore Title, or 24/7 either. Both had their place and I enjoyed it for the most part. 24/7 did get a bit silly though. The one thing I really took away from all that was Crash Holly's absolute frantic desire to retain his title. I could see it eating him alive! He made the title and the 24/7 stipulation work IMO. Plus I just enjoyed him as a character week in, and week out.
I said no because I don't want to see that back. Wrestling fans in broad general terms have to be retaught, or rehabilitated, what pro-wrestling is. It's not about crazy stunts and guys trying to alomst kill themselves to please a crowd.
Watch the Bret Hart / Mr. Perfect match for the IC Title from Summerslam. I want that back.

 

[entertainer101]

The 24/7 hardcore title concept was great. I can't say that I miss it though. It was great for the time that it lasted. It's one of those things that if they brought it back, it wouldn't work because it's already lived its life. That said, it gave me more of a reason to tune in. It was exciting knowing that the title could change hands at any time. Did I lose any sleep when a heel won the title, or mark out when a face won it? No. Because there was no prestige. But that was ok, because it was still entertaining. Exactly what it was there for. Anyone who uses the argument that it made the title have no prestige is an idiot. It's wrestling, you idiots. The title is fake and means nothing. Especially the hardcore title.

 

[DeathClutch]

The Hardcore title is/was and forever will be my favorite WWF/E Championship, it's inception was pretty much the standard Attitude Era thing, spure of the moment it seemed, it was a gimmick it was Foleys OWN Belt, until he built up momentum and while in the interim he had some pretty good hardcore matches with Shamrock and THE FIRST HARDOCRE TITLE LADDER MATCH with the Big Bossman who ultimately won the match allowing Mick to job but not loose any cred going into the following PPV (Rock Bottom).

I hated the 24/7 rule, it suited Crash Holly, once he left the scene the rule should of been scrapped, period.

In 1999 the full year before the 24/7 rule came into effect, had some of the best hardcore matches you'll ever see, with guys you NEVER thought, Road dogg/Al snow, Road dogg/Gangrel, Al snow/Hardcore Holly, Al snow/Bossman, Bossman/Hardcore Holly (BRUTAL Bossman nearly lost an eye after a glass jar smash went wrong) now most of these guys have tough man reps backstage but that title got guys OVER and all for a broken World title belt? it was magic it was raw, but times change.

The 24/7 rule came into affect and a huge effect on the roster, look at some of the names who've had it, Jeff Hardy, Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, RVD, Kurt Angle to name a few even The Rock had a HARDCORE TITLE Match so the title meant something but the rule was designed for Crash holly only, sure Blackman excelled in the 24/7 rule period but it's Crash who will be remembered for the Hardcore title.

And in this day and in age the title should and coule be brough back, imagine Santino with a 24/7 rule and Kozlov? Big Zeke even Bryan would bring something the title, plus with a roster FULL of guys who mostly don't get used much there is title for them to get on TV and could possibly do something magic like in 1999 with the midcard guys.

YES I miss the title but not so much the 24/7 rule but I could live with it being brought back, but ADD to the title have champions who can wrestle and make it work like in 1998-99 before the 24/7 rule came in.
People will bark PG & crazy stunts, but go back and you'll see Shane was the only guy who took crazy stunts while champ, and PG can work if WWE adopt the more wrestling and use chairs, tables etc etc as a big bump rather then excessive use.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

Absolutely not. I think it was a remarkably goofy gimmick that did absolutely nothing for the guys carrying it. It didn't put over the skill of anyone who won the belt via a sneak attack or something else like that. The last time it was around, it looked like a bunch of heels sneaking up on each other with a chair, covering their opponents, and running around like a comic book villain who just robbed a bank.

I believe it made for irrelevant, boring storylines that weren't popular for a good reason.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I really miss the Hardcore Title, and especially the 24/7 title rule. You just never knew what was going to happen and it provided alot of enjoyment for me.

For wrestlers who were otherwise not involved in storylines, it gave them TV time and something to do, and alot of the impromptu matches it created were funny and just enjoyable to watch. I can remember a diva trying to pin Crash when he was sleeping and random fights outside, in bars and in a ballpit, just entertaining.

Apart from the matches with RVD and Jeff Hardy, Steve Blackman, Raven and Rhino (all of whom actually suit the Hardcore division) the title wasnt ever really taken too seriously, and never had bloody, brutal matches like what happened for the World title (HHH v Austin 3 Stages of Hell, HHH v Cactus Jack etc), it was never meant to be a serious belt. It was just entertaining for the fan during the over-the-top attitude era.

I liked the fact there was always likely to be a title change on any given night, with surprises round every corner and a non-hardcore little guy like Crash was the "Houldini of Hardcore, always trying to escape with the belt, it was just really entertaining for me. I loved it. Also the 15 minute time limit title matches with about 40 title changes were brilliant fun.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

It's a past thing.. Do I miss it?? yes.. Do I want it to come back?? Not really..

It was really funny and enjoyed it a lot. Back then they had extra time on the show so that they could take a couple of minutes and show us some backstage hardcore action... TBH I would love to take some parts out of todays show and put some hardcore action in there.. but thats just something I want..

So to sum up.. I do miss it, but i'd rather it be left in the past...

 

[kazfan401]

I don't really miss it to be honest, but I would be very happy to see it come back, because I mean i'm a huge fan of hardcore matches, and by that I mean WWE hardcore not the CZW shit.

This concept was around in what 2000 and I started watching properly in late 2001 but I would occasionally watch in 2000, but I've seen alot of the oldhardcore matches because I have a bought a great DVD called WWF hardcore, which shows you a main feature which is highlights of hardcore matches and superstars favourite hardcore moments and stuff like that but the extras are the best part because there's about 20 matches including the crash holly matches at fun time USA and a laundry mat.

 

[m6usin786]

I'm in the middle of this argument because i miss it and i don't exactly miss it. It was great watching the hardcore matches and some of my favourite matches to date have been some hardcore matches but at the same time it was too much seeing blood and brutal behavior on every episode instead of seeing athletic talent. I would recommend WWE mix hardcore-ness with great talented wrestling ability.