A lot of people have compared the feud leading to next Sunday's ladder match between R-Truth, Bad News Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Stardust and Luke Harper to the old Hardcore Championship. both as a compliment and a criticism.
WWE is now openly embracing the comparison between the rampant Intercontinental belt theft and the Hardcore strap's 24/7 defense stipulation in the newest Five Things YouTube video with Tom Phillips. Along the way, they also name the five most surprising Hardcore titleholders:
5. R-Truth
4. (tie) One of Godfather's "employees" / Molly Holly / Trish Stratus / Terri Runnels
3. (tie) Vince's Stooges - Pat Patterson & Gerald Brisco
2. British Bulldog
1. Maven
Tom closes by telling us the Hardcore Championship changed hands over 200 hands times in its four year life.
Excited to see if the IC belt can beat that record between now and 2019?