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The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hardcore Championship was a hardcore wrestling championship defended in World Wrestling Entertainment under hardcore rules.

• No Disqualifications, meaning all weapons and interference are legal.
• Falls Count Anywhere, meaning that pinfalls and submissions do not have to take place in the ring.
• No Holds Barred, meaning that the referee will allow anything and will only end the match with a pinfall or submission.
• 24/7 Rules (added during Crash Holly's first reign in February 2000), meaning the belt was being defended at all times, allowing the championship to change hands anytime as long as there was a referee present.

Vince McMahon first awarded Mankind the belt, originally known as World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Hardcore Championship, on November 2, 1998. After losing the title to the Big Bossman, he never attempted to recapture it, mainly because of his main event push he received shortly after he lost the belt. At the time of the belt's conception, the idea was that the belt was to have been used in comedy segments to try to push Mankind's reputation as a famous hardcore wrestler, but as Foley was getting over with the crowd as well as the rising popularity of hardcore wrestling at the time, the Hardcore Championship seemed to gain a life of its own. Its growing popularity led competitor World Championship Wrestling to create their own Hardcore Championship, a move followed by numerous independent promotions. Following the beginning of the Brand Extension, the Hardcore Championship became exclusive to the RAW brand. The belt was retired in August 2002, unifed with the Intercontinental championship by Rob Van Dam.

When Crash Holly won the belt, he introduced the "24/7 rule"; which meant the belt was to be defended "at all times...as long as there was a referee present." This allowed for many comic relief moments, including the belt once changing hands while the champion was asleep, and a segment on an episode of RAW where The Headbangers chased Crash Holly around Funtime USA, an amusement park in Brooklyn, New York with Crash escaping repeated attempts to take the title from him before escaping from the ball pit.

The addition of this rule is said to have made the division both more interesting and unpredictable, adding a vast array of holders and matches. Still, others believed this rule cheapened and devalued the championship for the same reasons. This rule has led to the shortest title reigns and quickest title changes in WWE history. On April 2, 2000 at WrestleMania 2000 in Anaheim, California, for example, there were 10 title changes in a period of 15 minutes.

During this time, four women have held the Hardcore Championship: Molly Holly, Trish Stratus, Terri Runnels, and Cynthia Lynch.

The 24/7 rule was enforced until August 19, 2002 when RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff decided to suspend it following a six minute Hardcore Battle Royal won by Tommy Dreamer.

The WWE Hardcore Championship belt itself is a replica of the "Winged Eagle" WWF Championship title that is smashed in several places and reassembled with two long pieces of duct tape with the words "Hardcore" and "Champion" written in marker. A long standing rumor stated that this belt was the same one that was stolen by Mr. Perfect from Hulk Hogan on a 1989 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event and destroyed with a hammer at the end of the episode. This is false. That destroyed belt was kept by then WWF referee/booker Mel Phillips. A new belt was purposely destroyed to create the Hardcore Championship. ^[1]

When Bradshaw won the title in June 2002, he briefly renamed it the Texas Hardcore Championship, and brought a custom belt to the ring with a Texas flag and oversized bull horns. This belt was actually a redressed Steve Austin Smoking Skull belt. The original design was resumed later in June when Raven reclaimed the championship. Tommy Dreamer would use a variation of the belt with a license plate where the main buckle section should be.

• List of WWE Hardcore Champions
• List of WWE Hardcore Championship reigns by length

• WWE Hardcore Title History