The last official champion was Rob Van Dam when he won the title from Tommy Dreamer to unify the title with the WWE Intercontinental Championship . The title was finally retired on August 26 , 2002 when WWE Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated Hardcore Champion Tommy Dreamer to unify the titles . This was exactly a month after Van Dam defeated Jeff Hardy in a ladder match to unify the WWE Intercontinental title and the European Championship .