Matthew Reine
Drawing inspiration from David Hunter’s incredible look at the Top 5 WWE European champions, I have decided to give a Top 5 of the greatest champions of another defunct WWE championship: The Hardcore Title.
When Extreme Championship Wrestling broke out in the mid-90’s, it was unlike anything the wrestling world had ever seen before. Its anarchist style emphasized a lack of rules ran opposite WWE’s cartoony take on pro wrestling. By the time the late 90’s rolled around, ECW had finally made it to pay-per-view and had a working relationship with WWE. The E’s Attitude Era was influenced heavily by the extreme promotion with its shock elements, heavy violence, and smash mouth characters. To help drive this point home, a new championship emerged in 1998. The hardcore title was only contested under matches possessing no rules and falls count anywhere. The areas where these bouts would end up bestow endless possibilities: in the crowd, the locker room, in catering, concession stands, and sometimes even outside the building causing all kinds of chaos and blood-fueled rage. The belt’s design itself was very unique as it was the old winged-eagle WWE world title that was destroyed by “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig during his feud with Hulk Hogan in 1989. It had duct tape across the cracked front with the words “Hardcore Champion” written in black marker completing it’s gritty design.
The inaugural champ was none other than the hardcore legend himself, Mick Foley (wrestling as Mankind), which helped set the tone for the rest of the title’s history. There were a few memorable titleholders to this crown so let’s take a peek at the best of the best, shall we?
5.) Al Snow
Al Snow had been wrestling all over the United States before making it big in the WWE. After a critically acclaimed match in 1995 against Chris Benoit in ECW, Snow was hired by WWE. Snow debuted as Avatar, a martial arts expert who would come to the ring holding a mask then promptly wear it before he fought. When that gimmick fizzled out, he became Shinobi, a ninja who was a hired gun of manager, Jim Cornette. After a few appearances, Shinobi was scrapped and Snow was then repackaged as Marty Jannetty’s new tag team partner, Leif Cassidy, forming the New Rockers. With these characters not catching on with fans, Snow was sent to work for ECW to try and reinvent himself. He did just that in a really peculiar way.
Snow transformed into an unbalanced enigma walking around with a mannequin head. He had the words “HELP ME” written backwards on his forehead and would often cut promos while talking to said head. The gimmick caught on like wildfire in ECW with fans sporting their own mannequin heads during his matches. After a little seasoning, he returned to WWE. His time with the hardcore federation helped him find a place in the E’s hardcore division. Snow would often use his mannequin head as a weapon and always had entertaining matches where he’d perform gags using weapons such as tossing a bowling ball between his opponents legs.
Snow was so talented as an unstable nutcase that he once wrestled himself in a hardcore match. Yes. He punched, threw his body into walls, and even jumped through a table, harming himself. Yes sir, Snow was one of the premiere components of WWE hardcore.
4.) Raven
This three-time former ECW champion performed as goofy manager, Johnny Polo for WWE in the early 90’s. After a run like that, it would seem hard for him to transition to a darker character. Except that he did with quick precision. Polo transformed into Raven, a dark, brooding character who enjoyed pain and amassed a cult of followers. Raven debuted in ECW in 1995 and became a top player instantly. His legendary feuds with Tommy Dreamer and the Sandman showed promoters and audiences that he can dish out punishment just as much as he can take it. He then took these bloodthirsty tendencies to World Championship Wrestling where he’d exclusively compete in “Raven’s Rules” matches which had only one rule: there were none.
Raven is partly responsible for kickstarting WCW’s own hardcore division in 1999 along with Bam Bam Bigelow and Hardcore Hak (Sandman). It’s no shock that once he made it to back to WWE in 2000 that he became a staple of its hardcore division. Raven adopted fellow ECW alumni New Jack’s gimmick of entering the ring with a shopping cart full of plunder to use on his opponents and use it to dish out unmeasurable punishment to any adversaries. Highlights of his reign include a fun triple threat match from Wrestlemania X-7 between himself, Big Show, and Kane where he bumped all over the Houston Astrodome like a pinball machine making the two giants look even more intimidating. Another underrated brawl was against his former ECW colleague, Rhino, at the Backlash PPV in April of 2001.
3.) Rob Van Dam
RVD stayed with ECW until the very end when they closed their doors in 2001. He was then picked up by WWE later that year. His high flying ability and laid back personality made him an instant hero to fans even when he was supposed to be a heel aligned with the anti-WWE faction, the Alliance. Upon his arrival, he immediately targeted fellow fan favorite, Jeff Hardy and the WWE Hardcore title. RVD and Hardy stole the show at the 2001 Invasion pay-per-view with an acrobatic and brutal hardcore match with Rob winning his taste of WWE gold. A later rematch at Summerslam, this time conducted under ladder rules, solidified Rob as the poster boy for the division. His selling in the ring from the brutality that his opponents dish out at him make a lot of his brawls a real treat to watch. Mr. Monday Night included a lot of his offense from his ECW days with creative, weapon-based maneuvers such as the Van Daminator, where he’s toss his opponent a steel chair and after they caught it, Rob would hit a spin kick, knocking the chair back in their face, and the Van Terminator, where a fallen foe would lie in the corner with a chair in front of their face while RVD would climb the opposite turnbuckle and jump across the ring and dropkick the chair back into their skull. Both were vitals elements to his rule-breaking style.
RVD’s hardcore match against the Undertaker at Vengeance 2001 is considered one of Taker’s best matches during his Biker gimmick.
2.) Crash Holly
While not producing the most memorable matches as champion, the pint-sized Crash Holly had one of the most entertaining runs with the title based on out-of-ring skits alone. The competitor’s small stature makes him an unlikely contender for such a roughneck championship at first glance but Crash was as tough and smart as they come. The Elroy Jetson look-a-like claimed that he was so good at hanging on to the title that he’d defend it anywhere, anytime, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Crash soon regretted those words as he was attacked in laundromats, airports, hotel rooms, and my personal favorite, at children’s play facilities!
Crash would be blindsided by WWE superstars as well as divas, commentators, and even his own allies such as his cousin, Hardcore Holly. Crash would often escape with the belt by the skin of his own teeth but also wasn’t afraid to throw down when the time was right. He was absolutely terrific in his role and was underrated as a wrestler. He really made the division fun to watch for the first time in awhile.
RIP Crash.
1.) Steve Blackman
Only one man produced such a badass attitude coupled with a complete disregard for his own safety. That man was the Lethal Weapon himself, Steve Blackman.
Like his former tag team partner, Al Snow, it took Blackman a years before catching on with the WWE universe. Blackman was actually an enhancement talent for WWE back in the early 90’s but took a hiatus before returning in 1997. After a few years as a heatless karate master, he found minimal success as a silent assassin, randomly attacking wrestlers for no explanation other than wanting to hurt them. It wasn’t until he was paired with Snow and made fun of the fact that he has zero personality that Blackman was really starting to get over. He played the straight man to Al’s wackiness and they had a fun little run in the tag team division for a few months. After their team dissolved, Blackman found his footing as a wrecking machine among the hardcore sector of WWE.
Steve utilized his legitimate martial arts background with his cold stare to produce the most entertainment bouts in hardcore title history. Blackman would incorporate kendo sticks, nun-chucks, and garbage cans into his onslaught while dishing out martial arts kicks and blows to down his foes which often left them in shambles. Sometimes he would even take high risks such as during his memorable match with Shane McMahon at Summerslam 2000:
The Hardcore title was retired in 2002 with Rob Van Dam being the final titleholder. The division had its up and downs but there were plenty of pretty entertaining parts to enjoy.
