Welcome to a new eWrestlingNews Question of the Day!
The long-awaited final of the WWE Speed Women’s Championship tournament was recently broadcasted, with Candice LeRae conquering Iyo Sky for the premiere title. Hence, we have now Andrade as the men’s champion and Candice LeRae as the women’s champion for this distinctive extra division.
However, let’s imagine if, instead of speedy matches showcased on X upon the WWE Speed idea, they chose to revive the Hardcore Championship. Hypothetically, in this situation instead of the speed gimmick, the focus would be on No Disqualification matches and other Extreme Rules situations.
Today’s question for you is “If the WWE reinstated the hardcore title by awarding a belt to one male and one female competitor on the roster, who would be your choices as the inaugural champions?”
Please share your picks in the comments below.
Now for my take…
I’ll approach this in the same way that WWE seems to tackle its Speed concept. It seems they are using this as an auxiliary thing for wrestlers presently without any other significant storyline and predominantly designate it to the SmackDown brand.
This implies that anyone at a more substantial level will not be selected. There won’t be any top-tier talents like Drew McIntyre or Damian Priest, and even a repeated presence like Dominik Mysterio would not win these titles. The same holds true for the women’s division.
With these limits narrowing down the choices, there are still some wrestlers who’d make great hardcore-style champions.
On the men’s division, I feel Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, Santos Escobar or Shinsuke Nakamura would be good contenders. Pete Dunne from Raw also comes to mind. However, there are two names worthy of consideration even if they break my criteria.
Seamus having regular good old fashioned brawls would be great, wouldn’t it? If I had to pick someone from SmackDown, it would be Corbin, as a hardcore style could possibly rejuvenate his career.
However, my ultimate choice, if Raw participants are allowed, would be Karrion Kross. He fits the bill perfectly of being idle yet has potential. Being a hardcore champion could reestablish Kross’s identity and perhaps help his career.
As for the women’s division, my top picks would be Nikki Cross, Shayna Baszler, Sonya Deville, Zoey Stark, and Blair Davenport. Baszler returning to her dominant nature from NXT days sounds appealing.
However, sticking to recency bias and SmackDown, I would choose Michin as my top pick for the WWE Women’s Hardcore Championship, if it were to happen. She showcased her abilities in the dumpster match against Chelsea Green. Despite her journey in WWE being rocky, she’s good; better than the credit she’s been given.
Let’s hear your thoughts below!