
The WCW Hardcore Championship was a title in World Championship Wrestling. The title was defended in hardcore matches, in which there were few rules and restrictions and weapons were allowed. Eventually, the rules were changed so that matches began in the backstage area but would only end by pinfall in the ring, but later were changed back to 'Falls Count Anywhere' rules.
Reigns:[]
No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | |||
1 | Norman Smiley | November 21, 1999 | Mayhem | Toronto, ON | 1 | 51 | Smiley defeated Brian Knobbs in the finals of a tournament to become the inaugural champion. |
2 | Brian Knobbs | January 12, 2000 | Thunder | Erie, PA | 1 | 27 | |
3 | Bam Bam Bigelow | February 7, 2000 | Nitro | Tulsa, OK | 1 | 13 | |
4 | Brian Knobbs | February 20, 2000 | SuperBrawl 2000 | San Francisco, CA | 2 | 8 | |
5 | Evan Karagias, Gregory Helms and Shannon Moore | February 28, 2000 | Nitro | Minneapolis, MN | 1 | 20 | Helms, Karagias, and Moore, known as the 3 Count stable, defeated Brian Knobbs simultaneously in a match, and as a result, WCW allowed the Freebird Rule in which all three wrestlers were able to defend the championship. |
6 | Brian Knobbs | March 19, 2000 | Uncensored | Miami, FL | 3 | 22 | |
— | Vacated | April 10, 2000 | Nitro | Denver, CO | — | — | WCW Presidents Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff vacated every WCW championship during WCW's reboot. |
7 | Terry Funk | April 16, 2000 | Spring Stampede | Chicago, IL | 1 | 36 | Funk defeated Norman Smiley to win the vacant championship. |
8 | Shane Douglas | May 22, 2000 | Nitro | Grand Rapids, MI | 1 | 1 | |
9 | Terry Funk | May 23, 2000 | Thunder | Saginaw, MI | 2 | 13 | |
10 | Eric Bischoff | June 5, 2000 | Nitro | Atlanta, GA | 1 | 1 | |
11 | Big Vito and Johnny the Bull | June 6, 2000 | Thunder | Knoxville, TN | 1 | 13 | WCW President Eric Bischoff awarded Vito and Johnny the championship, and he announced that the Freebird Rule was in effect for this title reign, allowing both wrestlers to defend the title. |
12 | Big Vito | June 19, 2000 | Nitro | Billings, MT | 2 | 35 | Vito defeated Johnny the Bull to be named the sole champion. |
13 | Lance Storm | July 24, 2000 | Nitro | Cleveland, OH | 1 | 21 | Storm renamed championship "Saskatchewan Hardcore International Title" shortly after winning it. |
14 | Carl Ouellet | August 14, 2000 | Nitro | Kelowna, BC | 1 | <1 | Lance Storm awarded Ouellet the championship. |
15 | Norman Smiley | August 14, 2000 | Nitro | Kelowna, BC | 2 | 42 | |
— | Vacated | September 27, 2000 | Thunder | Wilkes-Barre, PA | — | — | The championship was vacated by WCW Commissioner Mike Sanders and a tournament announced to begin that night. |
16 | Reno | October 2, 2000 | Nitro | San Francisco, CA | 1 | 37 | Sgt. AWOL originally defeated Reno to win the vacant championship in a tournament final. However, Mike Sanders reversed the decision and awarded Reno the title. |
17 | Crowbar | November 8, 2000 | Thunder | Chicago, IL | 1 | 39 | |
18 | Terry Funk | December 17, 2000 | Starrcade | Washington, D.C. | 3 | 28 | |
19 | Meng | January 14, 2001 | Sin | Indianapolis, IN | 1 | 7 | |
— | Deactivated | January 21, 2001 | — | — | — | — | Meng left WCW a week after winning the title, and the championship was abandoned. |