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It’s the end of an era as the WWE 24/7 Championship has been relegated to the trash bin of history… literally. Nikki Cross won the title from champion Dana Brooke on WWE Raw last night, and after the match, proceeded to throw the title in the trash. The trashing of the title was a fitting end for a symbol of some of the worst tendencies of WWE at the end of Vince McMahon’s tenure as head of creative.
The 24/7 Championship was introduced by Mick Foley back in 2019 as one of many attempts to recapture a grittier atmosphere for the obnoxiously overproduced WWE Raw. Ahead of the reveal, fans expected a revival of the Hardcore Championship Foley once held, but instead, they got a combination of the worst features of that title and a horrendously-designed green strap. The 24/7 Championship followed the tradition of the Hardcore Championship in that the title had to be defended anytime, anywhere, but it immediately leaned far too heavily into comedy, with multiple celebrities winning the title and dozens of wrestlers with seemingly nothing better to do seen chasing the title, immediately identifying them all as jobbers with no serious future in the company (at least while McMahon was in charge).
The one bright spot of the title was the fact that it led to more television appearances by R-Truth, who made some segments tolerable by sheer force of will. But not even R-Truth’s unlimited charisma was enough to save the belt from a cringeworthy legacy of running the same joke into the ground over the course of several years.
When Vince McMahon was forcibly ousted from WWE by scandals, the writing was on the wall for the 24/7 Championship, which was ignored until it was brought out for Nikki Cross to give it a satisfying ending. In fact, it’s almost enough to make up for that horrendous superhero gimmick!
So, so long, WWE 24/7 Championship. You never should have lasted as long as you did, but at least it’s all over now. That is, unless R-Truth finds the title in the trash next week and decides to keep it for himself again.
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