5 WWE titles that were retired (and why they will never return)
The biggest storyline development on the post-Money In The Bank 2019 episode of WWE Raw came when Mick Foley unveiled the company’s newest title: the 24/7 Championship.
Per WWE.com, the rules of the title are as follows:
The new championship calls to mind the “24/7 Rule” of the retired Hardcore Championship, of which Foley was the initial bearer in 1998. Superstars can challenge for the title whenever or wherever they choose, meaning that any 24/7 Champion will always have a massive target on their back.
Titus O’Neil became the inaugural holder of the 24/7 Championship when he won a Championship Scramble – a glorified name to describe a scenario in which he simply picked up the title and became champion – but his reign lasted mere seconds before he was pinned by Robert Roode.
Later on Raw, R-Truth tricked Roode into thinking that he could hide from the rest of the Raw roster in his car. When the new champion emerged from the back of the car, Truth quickly pinned him in the parking lot to become the third holder of the title.
Given that the 24/7 Championship is essentially the Hardcore Championship but with a different name, let’s take a look at five WWE titles that were retired and, perhaps more importantly, why they will never return.
#5 Hardcore Championship (1998-2002)
Why did WWE retire the Hardcore Championship?
In WWE’s storylines, the Hardcore Championship was unified with the Intercontinental Championship when Rob Van Dam defeated Tommy Dreamer in August 2002.
In reality, there had been 150 title changes in the space of six months leading up to the retirement of the Hardcore Championship, and the 24/7 rule had become so ridiculous that the title lost any meaning that it previously had.
Why will the Hardcore Championship never return?
In the PG era, WWE Superstars saying the word “hardcore” on WWE programming on a weekly basis is not going to work. The concept of the title is a great idea, hence the introduction of the 24/7 Championship, but the Hardcore Championship name will never be used as long as WWE is PG.