10 Wrestling Storylines That Don't Get Enough Love

4. The Hardcore Title 24/7 Rule

Ric Flair Elizabeth
WWE Network

Consider the dirge of the WWE lower card, circa 2018.

Curt Hawkins' losing streak gimmick yields only the odd decent segment. Heath Slater's Royal Rumble spot was a dynamite running gag, but elsewhere, the joke has worn thin. The Ascension are a house show act earning TV money. This isn't just uncreative stuff; so often WWE does absolutely nothing with performers earning six-figure salaries.

Fans do remember how fun this was - but the Hardcore Title 24/7 Rule in its 2000 pomp was an absolute triumph of resourceful fun; never in any other company - even Vince Russo's WWF - has a writer/booker maximised every last resource available to them in such hugely entertaining fashion. This, to this day, is Russo's calling card. The man had nothing on Chris Kreski, the man who somehow contrived to wrench entertainment from the Headbangers in 2000. Every fringe player was suddenly provided a reason to exist, rendered hopelessly ambitious - deranged - by the elixir of the title, their psyches as cracked as the belt itself. Ivory attempted to capture under the pretence of giving champion Crash Holly a massage. The aforementioned Headbangers terrorised poor Crash in an indoor amusement arcade. Crash couldn't even sleep for challengers creeping quietly into his hotel room.

WWF TV, in the year 2000, was unbeatable. This storyline, deliriously inventive, had much to do with that.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!