WWE Raw: 24/7 Championship has more potential than the Hardcore Championship

Mick Foley recently unveiled WWE’s newest championship on Monday Night Raw —the 24/7 Championship — which is very similar to an old title.

Most wrestling fans knew exactly what Mick Foley was going to unveil as the WWE’s newest championship when it was announced that he would be appearing on Monday Night Raw. A hardcore icon himself, the expectation was that WWE would be bringing back the Hardcore Championship.

That is pretty much what the company did, although the title is not being donned the Hardcore Championship and instead, is the 24/7 Championship.

The premise is practically the same. The belt can be won (or lost, in Titus O’Neil and Robert Roode’s case) at any time, anywhere, as long as a referee is present.

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The title changed hands twice on its first night, which was rather predictable due to the nature of the belt and WWE wanting to get fans accustomed to it. O’Neil won the belt by being the first to grab it out of the ring, only for Roode to roll him up on the entrance ramp.

Chaos ensued for Roode and WWE actually booked a pretty funny segment (crazy, I know) where R-Truth “helped” Roode hide in his trunk, only to reveal that he was hiding a referee in the vehicle to pin Roode.

The idea of Truth convincing a WWE official to hide in his passenger seat is a rather funny one and it was fitting that Truth left the arena as champion, being the first to hold both the Hardcore and 24/7 belt in his career.

The initial response was not great for the title as it’s design and name are a work in progress. If WWE was going to bring back the Hardcore belt, many fans feel as if they should have just named it that, to begin with.

While the 24/7 Championship does have the same premise as the Hardcore Championship, it can accomplish much more in its existence than the Hardcore Championship did. It is all in the name that people aren’t fond of.

We are in a digital age that was unheard of when the Hardcore Championship was around. WWE has its own network, YouTube channels, social media accounts, a website; anything and everything to get more eyes and make more revenue.

That is what makes this 24/7 Championship so special: it can capitalize on the things that were not around during the Attitude Era. It should not be overdone, as it will become hard to follow, but not every title change needs to be on Television.

Perhaps the champion could get pinned on an episode of UpUpDownDown (Xavier Wood’s YouTube channel) after losing a game of Madden. Maybe the champion can be doing something completely unrelated on an Instagram story only to be surprised and pinned for the belt.

Heck, whoever the champion is could do a Periscope on Twitter, answering user-submitted questions, only for another wrestler to pop in and tell the champion to “turn around” leading to a finisher and pinfall (wouldn’t that be awesome with an RKO?).

There is so much that WWE can do with the 24/7 Championship that would make it fun, refreshing and draw attention to every medium.

As long as it is not overdone and some people are able to avoid these surprises or even kick out of these pinfalls, then it truly has special potential. Let’s see if the creative team actually capitalizes on it, though.