Though the Big Boss Man boasts the longest single Hardcore title run of all97 daystheres something of an asterisk next to that record. In February 1999 Road Dogg was forced to vacate the title on the 48th day of his title reign. However upon returning, rather than go after the belt that he had previously held, he went on to challenge, successfully, for the Intercontinental Championship. So while Road Doggs reign officially clocked in at 48 days due to the vacation, he was never actually beaten for the belt. Had he regained the title upon his return, he could have added the subsequent reign to his previous tenure for a more realistic figure of his time as Hardcore Champion, but alas that was not the case. Instead Road Dogg may wish to make the convoluted claim that he remains the longest-reigning Hardcore champion of all time, given that hes yet to be beaten in over 15 years. That being said, even that wouldnt be a particularly impressive claim-to-fame given the Hardcore titles penchant for the ridiculous. Maybe well just give the Boss Man the benefit of the doubt here and stick with cutting off Road Doggs reign at 48 days.
