In the end, the title would always return to its original holder. Also during this time, the championship would change hands at house shows in an attempt to allow the fans in attendance to see something big. During this time, four women have held the Hardcore Championship: Molly Holly, Trish Stratus, Terri Runnels, and Bobcat. This rule has led to the shortest title reigns and quickest title changes in WWE history. Still, others believed this rule cheapened and devalued the championship for the same reasons. 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.

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 SmackDown! where The Headbangers chased Crash Holly around Funtime USA and an amusement park in Brooklyn, New York with Crash escaping repeated attempts to take the title from him before escaping from the ball pit and running from the building. Its growing popularity led competitor World Championship Wrestling to create their own Hardcore Wrestling, a move followed by numerous independent promotions. 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. After losing the title to The Big Boss Man, he never attempted to recapture it, mainly because of the main event push he received shortly after he lost the belt. Vince McMahon first awarded Mick Foley, known as Mankind at the time, the belt, originally known as World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Hardcore Championship, on November 2, 1998.

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