Hello HARDCORE HOLLICS welcome to my blog full of variety just like my youtube channel. Today i will be revealing my top 10 wwf hardcore champions. Shoutout to James Davie for this list suggestion!
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10) Mankind
Although enjoying only a solitary short reign as Hardcore Champion, Mick Foley still plays a crucial part in the belt's history. The belt was created for Mankind by Vince McMahon, making him the inaugural champion and solidifying the pseudo father-son relationship between the two. Unfortunately fans didn't get to witness the mayhem one would expect upon hearing the words "Mick Foley Hardcore Champion", as his reign lasted less than a month before a ladder match loss to the Big Boss Man.
9) The Undertaker
He made the title look legit and his reign was mostly entertaining squash matches against other guys but it was a shame when he was dethroned later by the likes of Maven.
8) Shane O'Mac
Like Foley, Shane enjoyed only one Hardcore Championship reign - as well as the dubious honour of being the only non-wrestler on this list. He fully deserves his place, however, for the utterly insane heights he was willing to scale (often literally) to create an exciting spectacle. The most memorable moment of his reign (and arguably his entire career) came at Summerslam 2000 when, defending against Steve Blackman, he scaled the TitanTron in order to escape his far more capable foe. The challenger climbed right up with him and smacked him with a kendo stick, sending the owner's son collapsing backwards to a crash-landing from a ridiculous height.
7) Big Boss Man
Although far from the most spectacular Hardcore Champion in history, the late Big Boss Man deserves recognition for his dedication and consistency in the division's early days. He owns the record for longest title reign: 97 days, a huge amount of time considering the speed with which the strap would sometimes change hands (often multiple times in the same show).
6) Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy brought a new level of prestige to the Hardcore title with his daredevil behaviour. He and brother Matt enjoyed a wild brawl for the belt on an episode of Smackdown, before an interfering Crash Holly ran in to steal the pinfall in typically chaotic fashion. Hardy's biggest contribution to the legacy of the belt, however, came in a match with Rob Van Dam at Summerslam 2001. The ladder match is generally regarded as the best Hardcore Championship bout in WWE history - not that there are a great number of worthy contenders - as well as one of the best matches of the entire Invasion angle. The pair absolutely tore into one another, both men taking a number of nasty bumps in the process. Jeff's final fall from the ladder sent him tumbling feet-first into the ropes, an admittedly horrible looking fall, but one which summed up the insanity of the Hardcore division as a whole.
5) RVD
Three of RVD's four Hardcore Championship reigns came at the title's peak; the Invasion angle saw every belt in the company as a key possession in the war between the two promotions. This led to the previously mentioned Summerslam 2001 encounter, which unquestionably did wonders for Van Dam's popularity. Just as he can be regarded as one of the few beneficiaries of the Invasion angle, so too can the Hardcore belt be seen as something which actually had its prestige boosted by the largely disappointing storyline. Rob also has the distinction of being the last ever champ, defeating Tommy Dreamer on a 2002 edition of Raw to unify both the Hardcore and Intercontinental belts. It's fitting that the last ever match of the championship's history was between two former-ECW stars, especially as many regard the Philadelphia promotion responsible for inspiring the extreme nature of the Attitude Era as a whole. The bout was fittingly hard-hitting, but also demonstrated a great deal of respect between the pair, who shared a tearful hug following RVD's eventual victory.
4) Al Snow
First of all, raise your hand if you were too young to get the “Head” joke at the time. How on earth did my parents let me watch this? Here he is, Big Boss Man’s opponent in the Kennel From Hell match. Unlike Boss Man, Snow was much more of an easy fit for the hardcore division. Hardcore wrestling occasionally works when a more straight-laced wrestler like Boss Man comes in and starts succeeding almost out of spite, but more often than not, you need a borderline crazy person like Al Snow. He was not the slightest bit afraid to get weird with it, and that was the charm. Also, this was about as creepy as mannequins got until Condemned: Criminal Origins came out.
3) Crash Holly
For all the weapon-swinging maniacs and muscle-bound big men who made the Hardcore division so violent, Crash Holly was responsible for providing championship with a vital second ingredient: comedy. Crash held the belt at various points over the 24/7-rule period (in which the title could be won or lost at any place or time), and completely went to town with the idea. From losing the belt while asleep to brawling with Mosh and Thrasher in a children's ball pit, Holly provided some of the most memorable entertaining moments in the history of the championship.
2) Raven
It's no surprise that Raven established a cult following during his time in the WWF, especially given his legendary status in ECW. The man embodied hardcore. He unquestionably added a great deal to the division during his record 27 reigns, especially in encounters with regular foes Al Snow, Rhyno, Crash Holly, and the next man on this list. The most important quality Raven brought to Hardcore title matches was variety. He threw out the long-established reliance upon chairs and tables, instead bringing an entire shopping cart of assorted weapons down to the ring for his bouts. Nothing was off limits for the brooding extremist, from singapore canes to fire extinguishers. While nobody tuned into a Raven championship match expecting a classic, entertainment was usually always guaranteed.
1) Steve Blackman
Steve Blackman probably owes as much to the Hardcore Championship as it owes to him. He spent more time with the belt than anyone else (an unthinkable 172 days across six reigns) and brought more to the division than anyone else. Combining the innovation of Raven - thanks to his assorted martial arts weapons and unique style - with the menace of Boss Man, Blackman has left an imprint upon the belt like no other. Fans loved his brutal deconstructions of opponents, going to work with lightning-fast strikes and painful shots with any weapon that took his fancy. He had the unique ability to look like a master of anything he wielded, leading to matches often resembling Hollywood action sequences as opposed to professional wrestling bouts. It's interesting to consider where Blackman would be without the Hardcore Championship. While never enjoying the most star-studded or long-term career, he will forever be beloved by many as the archetypal hardcore wrestler, the living embodiment of the WWE's particular brand of extreme action. A midcard popularity for which he is remembered to this day.
Thanks for visiting and reading! Stay shiny, see you soon!
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