Comparing the 24x7 title with the Hardcore title

The WWE 24X7 title is just one title change short of reaching a century in title reigns and with R-Truth having held the title for a couple of weeks now, it is likely that next week's RAW might witness the historic(?) event. With more than half of the championship winners holding the belt for less than a day, Akira Tozawa and his ninjas might get the better of Truth sooner rather than later to kick start another reign.

The 24x7 title has also just completed a year of existence and this has called for comparisons with the earlier version of the belt - the WWF Hardcore championship that lasted for about four years. The Hardcore title had 240 reigns among 52 wrestlers over that period, even though the 24x7 rule for title change wasn't always active. The 24x7 title has had 99 reigns by 36 people.

The Hardcore title was definitely considered to be more prestigious, with the title having had standard wrestling matches on two different WrestleManias, the most famous being Kane beating The Big Show and Raven to land the title at WrestleMania 17.

This list takes a look at five other parameters to compare the two belts to see how the 24x7 title stacks up with the Hardcore championship.

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#1 First Champion: Mick Foley vs Titus O'Neil

Mick Foley was the first Hardcore champion

A Championship is very much defined by which Superstar is chosen to be the inaugural champion - The Hardcore title scores heavily over the 24x7 title in this aspect. The first Hardcore champion was Mick Foley whereas the first 24x7 champion was Titus O'Neil.

The introduction of the 24x7 title was a damp squib, with the live crowd booing the segment that led to its unveiling. The first champion was decided in a championship scramble and the fact that it was someone as low key as O'Neil devalued the title from the get-go.

The title changed hands twice more on that day though and the end of that evening's RAW saw the title come into the hands of the man who has defined the championship - R-Truth.

As for the Hardcore title, it was just handed out to Mick Foley in a throwaway segment. While the unveiling was nothing special, the fact that it was handed to a true Hardcore legend elevated the championship instantly.

#2 Most reigns: Raven (27) vs R-Truth (37)

R-Truth and Raven have had most title reigns for each version of the belt

The original Hardcore title wasn't centered around a single Superstar with as many as 10 wrestlers enjoying eight or more reigns with the title. The 24x7 title, on the other hand, has just one wrestler who has accomplished the same feat - none other than R-Truth. Truth has won the 24x7 title a whopping 37 times with Mojo Rowley coming a distant second with seven reigns.

As far as the Hardcore title is concerned, Raven leads the way with 27 separate title reigns ahead of Crash Holly with 22 and Steven Richards with 21.

There are just four men who have won both the Hardcore and 24x7 titles. R-Truth has had 2 Hardcore title reigns in his previous incarnation as K-Kwik while Gerald Brisco has 2 Hardcore titles to his credit in addition to a sole 24x7 title run. Additionally, Kane and Pat Patterson have won both titles once each.

The sheer number of reigns defines Truth as the flag bearer for the 24x7 title, but it is an act that is losing its sheen due to the lack of a long term pay-off. The Hardcore title was more distributed over the roster, with considerably better storylines for the talent. Additionally, the Hardcore title was supposed to be a speciality, with a big bump or weapons a virtual certainty in all the title defences, but the 24x7 title relies on the surprise element too frequently.

#3 Longest reign: Big Boss Man (97 days) vs Rob Gronkowski (57 days)

Big Boss Man came close to breaking the 100-day mark for a single title run

The Big Boss Man's four runs with the Hardcore title involved feuds with the likes of Mick Foley and Al Snow, adding a storyline aspect to the title picture. The most infamous one was the angle with Snow where Boss Man kidnapped Snow's dog Pepper and (kayfabe) fed it to Al due to a feud over the title. It was Boss Man's fourth reign that takes the record for the longest Hardcore title run, though.

After trading titles with Al Snow five times over a three-month period including the infamous Kennel from Hell match - which has been described as one of the worst gimmick matches in WWE history featuring uninterested dogs placed inside Hell in a Cell - Boss Man started his final reign by beating Snow and the Big Show in a triple threat match on SmackDown. Boss Man would hold the title for 97 days before losing to Test on January 2000.

On the other hand, the longest title reign for the 24x7 title is just 57 days - a record set by NFL celebrity Rob Gronkowski. He won the 24x7 title from Mojo Rawley at this year's WrestleMania and proceeded to hold on to it for nearly two months before R-Truth took the 24x7 title off him by pinning Gronk in his own backyard. The COVID-19 situation contributed to the title staying with Gronk for this long. Hopefully, Truth can hold the 24x7 title long enough and break this record in the near future.

#4 Number of World Champions with title reigns: 11 (Hardcore title) vs. 2 (24x7 title)

The Undertaker is the most prominent Superstar to have won the Hardcore title

While both titles are essentially third-tier comedy championships, having a Superstar with World championship credentials can definitely elevate the belt. One of the reasons the 24x7 title has never been taken seriously is because of the relative lack of main eventers winning the championship. Among the 36 different Superstars who have won the 24x7 title, only two have won the World title in the WWE.

The first person in that list is Jinder Mahal, whose forgettable WWE title reign didn't do the 24x7 title any favors. The only other World champion to hold the 24x7 title is Kane, who won the title in his real-life persona long after he had effectively retired from in-ring competition.

At the same time, there have been 11 World champions who have had runs with the Hardcore title. The man with the most reigns under the category is Rob Van Dam, who has won the title on four separate occasions and was also the final Hardcore champion. The title was elevated to its peak by The Undertaker in 2002 after he gained the title from RVD.

In his American Badass gimmick, Taker played the perfect heel who demanded respect from other members of the roster while carrying around the Hardcore title. It led to a memorable angle with the rookie Maven, who would surprisingly eliminate Undertaker from the Royal Rumble and eventually take the title off him as well.

Other past/future world champions to hold the belt include JBL (18 reigns), Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Big Show, Christian, Jeff Hardy, Booker T, Kane, and Mick Foley.

#5 Women Champions: 4 (Hardcore title) vs 6 (24x7 title)

Female winners of the 24x7 title include Kelly Kelly and Candice Michelle

As far as diversity is concerned, the 24x7 title ranks higher than the Hardcore title. While having non-wrestlers getting runs with the title hasn't gone down well with wrestling fans, the 24x7 title has seen more female wrestlers win the belt in its one-year history than the entirety of the Hardcore title's four-year run.

Only four women have won the Hardcore title in the WWE and all of those reigns lasted less than a day. The first woman to win the title was Cynthia Lynch - an obscure wrestler who had a blink-and-miss run in the company as part of Godfather's entourage. Additionally, Molly Holly, Terri, and Trish Stratus also won the title in the company for short reigns.

As for the 24x7 title, at least two women were involved in storylines when they won the belt. Carmella - the only woman to win either of the titles more than once - had a long-running angle as R-Truth's sidekick, a run that resulted in two title reigns for a combined duration of 11 days. Maria Kanellis won the title from her husband Mike during her pregnancy storyline and held the belt for a week.

Other than the duo, Tamina is the only main roster female talent to have won the title, having done so in a short segment at Hell in a Cell last year. Alundra Blayze, Kelly Kelly, and Candice Michelle have all had cameos winning the belt as well.