The WWE Hardcore Championship belt itself is a replica of the "Winged Eagle" WWF Championship title that was smashed in several places and reassembled with two long pieces of duct tape with the words "Hardcore" and "Champion" written in marker. A long-standing rumor stated that this belt was the same one that was stolen by Mr. Perfect from Hulk Hogan on a 1989 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event and destroyed with a hammer at the end of the episode. However, this has been proved to be false, since the destroyed belt was kept by then WWF referee/booker Mel Phillips. A new belt (replica) was purposely destroyed to create the Hardcore Championship. When
Bradshaw won the title in June 2002, he briefly renamed it the
Texas Hardcore Championship, and brought a custom belt to the ring with a Texas flag and oversized bull horns. The original design was resumed later in June when
Raven reclaimed the championship. Tommy Dreamer would use a variation of the belt with a New York license plate where the center plate should be.