10 Times WWE Totally BOTCHED A New Title

9. WWE Hardcore Championship

Mick Foley 24/7 Championship
WWE

Everyone remembers the WWE Hardcore Championship fondly for its crazy 24/7 defense rule that saw the title change hands numerous times in random places, with attacks mid-match, backstage, and even in an airport.

But fans might not realize that the 24/7 rule didn’t take effect until February 2000, a full 14 months after the Hardcore Championship debuted. Up until that point, it was treated like a regular title defended in plunder matches.

The Hardcore title being awarded to Mankind in November 1998 was a cute little tribute, but it would become a hot potato passed around lower-card wrestlers after a strange stint with each of the New Age Outlaws holding the championship.

Even the 24/7 gimmick would run its course after a while, as the title would change hands literally hundreds of times, mainly at house shows, traded back and forth between wrestlers.

As a title, this probably could have been a Mick Foley tribute title for him to defend and then quietly retire it. The championship never had any prestige, and a lot of the weapons shots in those matches make you cringe today. But WWE and the superstars never took it too seriously, hence the very low ranking here.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.