WWE Hardcore Championship The World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) Hardcore Championship was a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment ( formerly the World Wrestling Federation ) and was contested for under " hardcore " rules ( no disqualifications , no countouts , and pinfalls count anywhere ) . In the latter part of the title ' s history , a rule was implemented allowing anyone to challenge the champion at any place or time , provided a referee was present ( dubbed the " 24 / 7 Rule " ) . History . Vince McMahon awarded Mankind the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) Hardcore Championship on November 2 , 1998 . After Mankind lost the title to The Big Boss Man , he never attempted to recapture it , mainly because of the main event push he received shortly afterward . At the time of conception , the idea was for the belt to be used in comedy segments to play on Mankind ' s reputation as a hardcore wrestler . But , as Mankind and hardcore wrestling became more popular with audiences , the Hardcore Championship became a more serious title . Its popularity led competitor World Championship Wrestling to create its own Hardcore Championship , a move followed by numerous independent promotions . 24 / 7 Rules . When Crash Holly won the belt , he introduced the " 24 / 7 rule " which said the belt was to be defended at all times , as long as a referee was present . This allowed for many comic relief moments , such as the belt changing hands while the champion was asleep , and The Headbangers chasing Crash Holly around an amusement park in Brooklyn ( Holly eventually escaped from a ball pit and ran from the building , still the champion ) . At WrestleMania X8 , Maven defended the title against Goldust . After they knocked each other out with trash can lids , Spike Dudley entered and pinned Maven to win the title . Then , in the backstage area , The Hurricane pinned Spike for the title . Mighty Molly ( The Hurricane ' s sidekick ) told The Hurricane to go to the " Hurri - cycle " before knocking him out with a frying pan when his back was turned and pinning him . While looking for a safe place , Christian won the title by pinning Molly after hitting her in the head with a door . As he was about to leave the building in a taxi , he was attacked and pinned by Maven , who regained the title and escaped in the taxi . Trish Stratus faced Jazz ( managed by then - Hardcore Champion Stevie Richards ) for the Women ' s Championship , and lost due to Richards ' interference . After the match , Bubba Ray Dudley attacked Richards from behind and pinned him for the title . Raven appeared and pinned Dudley , but quickly lost the title to Justin Credible , who was then pinned by Crash Holly . Dudley hit Holly with a trash can , but Stratus stole the pin on him . Dudley tried to attack Stratus from behind , but Jazz sprayed him with a fire extinguisher . Richards then stole the final pin of the night after Dudley accidentally powerbombed Stratus through a wooden table . This rule has allowed the shortest title reigns and quickest title changes in WWE history . Four women have held the Hardcore Championship : Molly Holly , Trish Stratus , Terri Runnels , and Godfather ' s ho . The championship often changed hands at house show s , to give the audience a " big moment " . In the end , the title always returned to its original holder . At WrestleMania 2000 , a battle royal match , in the style of Championship Scramble was booked where the title changed hands 10 times during the 15 minutes . The eventual winner was Hardcore Holly . Between the Invasion storyline and Wrestlemania X - 8 , the " 24 / 7 " rule was only used twice , during matches on the RAW editions of August 13 , 2001 and September 10 , 2001 respectively . Both matches were coincidentally between Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam . On the August 13 edition , Jeff Hardy interfered and brought a referee with him , and pinned Van Dam for the title , setting up a match for them at that year ' s Summerslam . On the September 10 edition , however , Angle won the match , then was thrown off the entrance ramp by Steve Austin , who then also threw Van Dam off the ramp too . Van Dam landed on Angle and a referee counted the pin . After the Invasion storyline , The Undertaker won the title from Van Dam . He defended against numerous opponents ( usually smaller than him ) and assaulted them after the matches ( with the exception of the Big Show ) . After Maven won the belt from The Undertaker on the February 5 , 2002 " SmackDown ! " , the 24 / 7 rule resumed . The 24 / 7 rule ended on August 19 , 2002 when Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff suspended it after a six - minute Hardcore Battle Royal , won by Tommy Dreamer . Previously , a 24 - hour suspension on the rule was in place for Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy ' s match at " WWF Invasion " . Commissioner Mick Foley also suspended the rule while Shane McMahon held the belt , to ensure he was still the champion at " SummerSlam ( 2000 ) " , to defend against Steve Blackman , whom he cheated out of the belt . Unification and retirement . The title was unified with the WWE Intercontinental Championship on August 26 , 2002 , when Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated Hardcore Champion Tommy Dreamer . This was one month after Van Dam defeated Jeff Hardy in a ladder match to unify the Intercontinental and European Championships . On the June 23 , 2003 episode of " Raw " , Mick Foley ( who was the first champion , as " Mankind " ) was awarded the WWE Hardcore Championship belt ( but not the championship ) by the Raw authority figure , Stone Cold Steve Austin , for his contributions to hardcore wrestling . Edge and Foley declared themselves co - holders of the championship in 2006 , as part of a storyline involving alumni of the hardcore wrestling - based Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion . The title was not defended and soon quietly disappeared . Origin of the belt . The WWE Hardcore Championship belt is a replica of the " Winged Eagle " WWF Championship title , which was smashed in several places and reassembled with two pieces of duct tape , with the words " Hardcore " and " Champion " written on it in marker . Rumor says this belt was the same one stolen by Mr . Perfect from Hulk Hogan on the November 25 , 1989 episode of " Saturday Night ' s Main Event " and destroyed with a hammer . However , some allege the destroyed belt was kept by former WWF referee / booker Mel Phillips and a new belt was purposely destroyed to create the Hardcore Championship belt . When Bradshaw won the title in June 2002 , he briefly renamed it the Texas Hardcore Championship , and wore a belt customized with the Texas flag and artificial bull horns . The original design returned when Raven reclaimed the championship . Tommy Dreamer used a variation of the belt with a New York license plate as a centerplate .