10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About The Hardcore Title

7. Tommy Dreamer's New York License Plate Belt

Tommy Dreamer Hardcore Title
WWE.com

The original Hardcore Title had a unique aesthetic that made it one of the most interesting belts in WWF/WWE history. Sure, it was a broken piece of metal, but it had charm. The same cannot be said for Tommy Dreamer's customised strap during one of his 14 reigns with the title.

Kids across the world have made their own wrestling belts from biscuit tin lids and whatever scrap materials they could find. That's how Dreamer's title came across, and the 'Innovator Of Violence' couldn't add 'Metalwork Expert' to his list of skills.

Fashioned from a car license plate and plastered over an old European Title replica, this looked horrible. There have been some great belt customisations over the years, such as Steve Austin's 'Smoking Skull' design or John Cena's spinner (yes, we went there), but Tommy's scrap heap effort was sorely lacking.

This was not a fitting replacement for the original, by any means.

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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.