From Iwe
The WCW Hardcore Championship was a professional wrestling Hardcore Championship contested for in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). During late 1999, WCW promoted various hardcore matches, bouts where there were no disqualifications or countouts, that mainly involved Norman Smiley and Brian Knobbs. The developing rivalry between the two wrestlers led WCW to announce the creation of the WCW Hardcore Championship in November 1999. In January 2001, the champion Meng signed a contract with the International Wrestling Federation (IWF) after his WCW contract expired. The WCW Hardcore Championship was vacated; a few months later, WCW was purchased by the IWF, and while the IWF used WCW's World Heavyweight, United States, Cruiserweight, and Tag Team Championships in the subsequent Invasion storyline, the WCW Hardcore Championship was not re-introduced.
Title reigns were determined by professional wrestling hardcore match types with wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripts feuds, plots and storylines or were awarded the title due to scripted circumstances. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or fan favorites as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a hardcore wrestling type match or series of matches for the championship. The inaugural champion was Norman Smiley, who defeated Brian Knobs at Mayhem. Before the promotion's purchase, the title was vacant, though, Meng was the final wrestler to hold the championship. The title was won in Canadian municipalities and in American states. Smiley held the title the longest at 51 days, and at less than one day, Carl Oullete has the shortest title reign. Brian Knobs has won the title on three occasions, the most in the championship's history; this also ties with the number of times the title was vacated. Overall, there were 18 reigns.
[edit] Title history
Key
| No.
| The overall championship reign
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| Reign
| The reign number for the specific champion listed
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| Days
| The number of the days that the champion held the title for
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| No.
| Champion
| Championship change
| Reign statistics
| Notes
| Ref.
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| Date
| Event
| Location
| Reign
| Days
|
| 1
| Fit Finlay
| July 11, 1999
| Bash at the Beach
| Fort Lauderdale, FL
| 1
| 29
| Won the Junkyard Invitational to win the WCW Hardcore Championship, represented by a trophy. Unrecognized by WCW, however IWE recognizes the trophy as a reign.
|
| —
| Vacated
| August 9, 1999
| Nitro
| Boise, ID
| —
| —
| WCW President Eric Bischoff vacated the title due to a leg injury sustained by Fit Finlay. Finlay’s reign would not be recognized in the title's history.
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| 2
| 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.
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| 3
| Brian Knobbs
| January 12, 2000
| Thunder
| Erie, PA
| 1
| 27
| This title changed aired on tape delay.
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[edit] List of combined reigns
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Template:WCW Championships
Template:WCW Hardcore Championship
