In 2019, WWE introduced a new title in the form of the 24/7 Championship, a belt that could be won at any time and anywhere so long as there was a referee to count a fall. It was immediately clear that this was a belt with zero prestige but loads of potential for comedy, as title changes could happen in all kinds of wacky locations and scenarios.
But that wasn’t the first time WWE had a belt with those rules. During the Attitude Era, WWE introduced the Hardcore Championship, which adopted the same 24/7 concept. The Hardcore and 24/7 belts have had some ridiculous scenarios for “matches,” so let’s take a look at the weirdest locations for both titles.
10 24/7: A Golf Course (Twice)
The ace of the 24/7 “division” is R-Truth, who has like 50 runs with the championship to date. As WWE’s actual funniest wrestler, the title was pretty much made for him. As a result, Truth has been forced to defend the title in all kinds of places.
In 2019, he ended up having to defend it at a golf course as Jinder Mahal rolled him up for the three in a video WWE posted online. Of course, R-Truth immediately won it back.
9 Hardcore Title: The Circus
Established in 1998, the Hardcore Championship didn’t have the 24/7 stipulation until Crash Holly won it in February of 2000, and his wacky defenses outside of the ring would make for the best title run.
On an episode of SmackDown, Crash Holly was leaving a circus, covered in balloon animals and in a great mood when he was attacked by a trio of clowns who were revealed to be The Mean Street Posse. Rather than get quickly pinned via roll-up like the 24/7 Belt, Holly successfully defended the title and escaped the Posse.
8 24/7 Title: Drake Maverick’s Wedding
In mid-2019, Drake Maverick was OBSESSED with capturing the 24/7 Title -- so much that it interfered with his duties as the onscreen boss of 205 Live. Drake had successfully won it after pinning R-Truth in the parking lot of an arena and took it with him to marry his fiance, Renee Michelle.
Two days later, Truth would invade Drake and Renee’s wedding, pinning Drake during the ceremony as the newlyweds were leaving down the aisle.
7 Hardcore Title: A Blizzard
On the 1/4/1999 episode of Raw, Al Snow challenged Road Dogg for the Hardcore Title in a match that would ultimately be overshadowed by Mankind’s landmark WWE Title victory later that evening.
While the bout started as a typical fight through the arena and backstage, the two eventually took it outside and straight into a blizzard. Somewhat appropriately, Road Dogg would hit Al Snow with a snow shovel during the match and eventually deliver a piledriver to retain.
6 24/7 Title: Rob Gronkowski’s House
While Rob Gronkowski’s stint with the WWE would be incredibly brief as the football star opted to stick with the NFL, Gronk does have the distinction of being the longest-reigning 24/7 Champion at 57 days, having pinned IRL buddy Mojo Rawley for the belt at WrestleMania 36. But that reign had to end somehow given his departure from WWE, so R-Truth tracked Gronk down to his house in Foxborough, MA, and pinned the champ while disguised as a landscaper.
5 Hardcore Title: An Indoor Playground
On the March 16, 2000, episode of SmackDown, The Headbangers followed Hardcore Champion Crash Holly to an arcade/family fun center called Fun Time USA, which prompted Jerry Lawler on commentary to ask what Holly was even doing there. A brawl with Mosh and Thrasher ensued in the indoor playground area, as they fought in the ball pit. At one point, a cameraman followed them down an indoor slide. It was great.
4 24/7 Title: International Airspace
En route to Saudi Arabia for Super Showdown -- the one where Undertaker fought Goldberg -- Jinder Mahal pinned R-Truth on the tarmac of the Frankfurt airport in Germany to win the 24/7 Title. But this was ultimately a foolish move, as the two would be sharing a plane on an international flight.
On the next leg of the flight, Mahal fell asleep in his seat, which allowed R-Truth to sneak up and score one of the easiest wins in the history of the 24/7 Championship.
3 Hardcore Title: The Mississippi River
At the 1999 pay-per-view, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, Al Snow and Hardcore Holly -- both stablemates in the J.O.B. Squad -- competed for the Hardcore Championship, which had been vacated when Road Dogg got injured. While their match began inside the ring at the Memphis Pyramid arena where the show was taking place, eventually the two left the venue and reached the nearby Mississippi River. After the two brawled in water, mud, and trash, Holly would pin Snow after wrapping him in a chain-link fence.
2 24/7 Title: A Gynecologist’s Office
In the summer of 2019, Maria Kanellis had become 24/7 Champion by forcing her husband Mike to lie down so she could get an easy pin. But Mike wasn’t so determined to let that fly and ended up pinning her during her OB-GYN appointment as the referee was disguised as a nurse.
However, the victory would be short-lived, as R-Truth would by lying in wait -- appropriately, in the office’s waiting room. The whole set was obviously just backstage at the arena, but for the sake of kayfabe, let’s just go with it.
1 Hardcore Title: Baggage Claim
After all the insane extracurricular clashes for the title, it would have been hilarious if Crash Holly had finally lost the championship in the ring via a regular wrestling match. But that was not to be, as Holly’s first reign ended at the Newark Airport at baggage claim.
The Mean Street Posse would stage their attack right next to the baggage carousel, with Pete Gas scoring the pinfall. His reign with the title would last mere seconds, as Crash Holly would immediately hit Gas with an object, pin him, and win it back.