4. WCW Hardcore Title Was Born
In November, 1998, the WWF introduced the Hardcore Title. The beat-up belt was handed to Mankind by Vince McMahon, and went on to become an interesting addition to the mid card scene in the company. One year on, the exact same could not be said of the WCW Hardcore Title. At Mayhem 1999, Norman Smiley bagged the strap by defeating Brian Knobbs in a tournament final. From there, the Hardcore belt became quite the cartoon spectacle, and not in a good way. Over in the WWF, Crash Holly eventually garnered laughs during his reign as champion. The '24/7' ruling entertained fans, and led to many funny backstage segments during which everyone from other wrestlers to referees attempted to trick Crash out of the belt. WCW tried to do something similar, but it just didn't feel as entertaining. Perhaps this is more down to where WCW were as a brand at this point, they were swimming upstream in the eyes of fans by late-1999. Adding yet another title to the packed mid card scene was a poor decision, because it just created another belt fans weren't invited to care about. Even when respected grapplers like Bam Bam Bigelow and Terry Funk held the gold, it didn't mean a thing.
Jamie Kennedy
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
See more from
Jamie