10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About The Hardcore Title

5. The Belt Changed Hands 36 Times In July 2002

Bradshaw Jeff Hardy
WWE.com

By its very nature, the Hardcore Title was never supposed to facilitate lengthy title reigns. Often, the belt changed hands multiple times in the same match/segment. That was a given to fans, but July of 2002 took things to a whole new level.

In total, the Hardcore belt switched hands a colossal 36 times during that one month. Take a deep breath, because Steven Richards, Crash Holly, Christopher Nowinski, Bradshaw, Justin Credible, Spike Dudley, The Big Show, Shawn Stasiak, Johnny Stamboli, Raven, Tommy Dreamer, and Jeff Hardy were all champion at one point or another.

If you thought that was a one-off, then August had some surprises in store too. You'd think WWE might slow down after booking so many switches, but August featured no less than 23 changes.

Thank God many of these took place on non-televised house shows.

Advertisement
Contributor

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.