AegonTargaryen
Championship Contender
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 I also remember a couple of good RVD matches for the HC title on Raw in 2002 before the title was withdrawn.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?
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?