The WWF Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling cruiserweight championship operated by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Only wrestlers that weighed less than 220 pounds (100 kg), called "light heavyweights" by the WWF, were allowed to challenge for the title. From 1981 through the 1990s, the WWF had a business partnership with the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), a Mexican-based lucha libre promotion, which resulted in the creation of the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship for the UWA. When the UWA ceased operations in 1995, the title traveled to the Japanese promotions Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In 1997, as a result of the WWF owning the trademarks to the championship, NJPW was forced to return the title to the WWF. One month later, the WWF began operating the title in the United States.[1] After World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and its assets were acquired by the WWF in March 2001,[2] the conceptually similar WCW Cruiserweight Championship was also used by the promotion, before completely replacing the Light Heavyweight Championship in 2002.[3]
Title reigns were determined by professional wrestling matches that involved wrestlers in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines or were awarded the title due to scripted circumstances. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or heroes as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a match or series of matches for the championship.[4] The title was won in Japan, Mexico, and 11 American states. The first champion to be recognized by the UWA and NJPW was Perro Aguayo, who won the title in a tournament final in March 1981. Shinjiro Otani was the final champion recognized by the NJPW before the title was returned to the WWF; he had won the title in August 1997. Although his reign is unrecognized by the WWF, Último Dragón is the only wrestler to hold a WWF championship and a WCW championship at the same time before WWF's purchase of WCW, having held the WWF Light Heavyweight and WCW Cruiserweight championships simultaneously in 1996. The first champion recognized by the WWF was Taka Michinoku, who won the title in a tournament final on December 7, 1997. After winning the championship in August 2001, X-Pac was the final wrestler to have held the title before it was replaced by the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. Aguayo and Villano III held the title the most times, with eight reigns each. At 826 days, Villano III's reign from 1984 to 1986 was the longest in the title's history. Perro Aguayo and Scotty 2 Hotty had the shortest reigns, each having reigns lasting eight days. Overall, there were 45 title reigns in the championship's history.
Reigns
editRecognition by the UWA/MPW/NJPW
edit| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
| 1 | Perro Aguayo | March 26, 1981 | NJPW Big Fight Series | Shimizu, Japan | 1 | 183 | Aguayo defeated Gran Hamada in a tournament final to become the inaugural champion. | |
| 2 | Fishman | September 25, 1981 | Hollywood Wrestling house show | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | 15 | ||
| 3 | Perro Aguayo | October 10, 1981 | Hollywood Wrestling house show | Los Angeles, CA | 2 | 8 | ||
| 4 | Chris Adams | October 18, 1981 | UWA house show | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 56 | ||
| 5 | Perro Aguayo | December 13, 1981 | UWA house show | Mexico City, Mexico | 3 | 129 | ||
| 6 | Gran Hamada | April 21, 1982 | NJPW house show | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 130 | ||
| 7 | Perro Aguayo | August 29, 1982 | UWA house show | Mexico City, Mexico | 4 | 203 | ||
| 8 | Villano III | March 20, 1983 | UWA house show | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 140 | ||
| 9 | Perro Aguayo | August 7, 1983 | UWA house show | Mexico City, Mexico | 5 | 254 | ||
| 10 | Gran Hamada | April 17, 1984 | UWF Opening Series | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 33 | [5] | |
| 11 | Villano III | May 20, 1984 | UWA house show | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 826 | ||
| 12 | Fishman | August 24, 1986 | UWA house show | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 122 | ||
| 13 | Perro Aguayo | December 24, 1986 | UWA house show | Mexico City, Mexico | 6 | 130 | ||
| — | Vacated | May 3, 1987 | — | — | — | — | The UWA forced Perro Aguayo to relinquish the championship after a title defense against Villano III ended in controversy. | [6] |
| 14 | Villano III | June 17, 1987 | UWA house show | Mexico City, Mexico | 3 | 109 | Villano III defeated Perro Aguayo in a rematch for the championship. | |
| 15 | Rambo | October 4, 1987 | UWA house show | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 281 | ||
| 16 | Villano III | July 11, 1988 | UWA house show | Mexico City, Mexico | 4 | 399 | ||
| 17 | Sangre Chicana | August 14, 1989 | UWA house show | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 62 | ||
| 18 | Perro Aguayo | October 15, 1989 | UWA house show | Mexico City, Mexico | 7 | 49 | ||
| 19 | Sangre Chicana | December 3, 1989 | UWA house show | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 175 | ||
| 20 | Villano III | May 27, 1990 | UWA house show | Naucalpan, Mexico | 5 | 280 | [7] | |
| 21 | Pegasus Kid | March 3, 1991 | UWA house show | Naucalpan, Mexico | 1 | 560 | [8] | |
| 22 | Villano III | September 13, 1992 | UWA house show | Naucalpan, Mexico | 6 | 110 | ||
| 23 | El Signo | January 1, 1993 | UWA house show | Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico | 1 | 563 | ||
| 24 | Villano III | July 18, 1994 | UWA house show | Puebla, Mexico | 7 | 176 | ||
| — | Vacated | January 10, 1995 | — | — | — | — | Villano III was forced to vacate the championship by the UWA after he signed a contract with the PROMELL promotion. | |
| 25 | Aero Flash | June 16, 1995 | UWA house show | Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico | 1 | 282 | Flash won the vacant championship by defeating The King in a tournament final. | |
| 26 | The Great Sasuke | March 24, 1996 | MPW house show | Shirakawa, Japan | 1 | 90 | ||
| 27 | El Samurai | June 22, 1996 | MPW house show | Naruko, Japan | 1 | 43 | ||
| 28 | The Great Sasuke | August 4, 1996 | NJPW G1 Climax 1996 | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 68 | During this reign, the championship becomes part of the NJPW's J-Crown. | |
| 29 | Último Dragón | October 11, 1996 | WAR Osaka Crush Night! | Osaka, Japan | 1 | 85 | ||
| 30 | Jushin Thunder Liger | January 4, 1997 | NJPW Wrestling World 1997 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 183 | ||
| 31 | El Samurai | July 6, 1997 | NJPW Summer Struggle 1997 | Sapporo, Japan | 2 | 35 | ||
| 32 | Shinjiro Otani | August 10, 1997 | NJPW The Four Heaven in Nagoya | Nagoya, Japan | 1 | 87 | ||
| — | Vacated | November 5, 1997 | — | — | — | — | On November 5, 1997, the J-Crown championships (with the exception of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship) were vacated. Shinjiro Otani returned its component belts to their home promotions, including the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. | |
Recognition by the WWF
edit| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Days recog. | Number of days held recognized by the promotion |
| † | Championship change is unrecognized by the promotion |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Days recog. | ||||
| 33 | Taka Michinoku | December 7, 1997 | D-Generation X: In Your House | Springfield, MA | 1 | 315 | 314 | Michinoku defeated Brian Christopher in a tournament final to win the championship. | |
| 34 | Christian | October 18, 1998 | Judgment Day: In Your House | Chicago, IL | 1 | 30 | 29 | ||
| 35 | Gillberg | November 17, 1998 | Raw is War | Columbus, OH | 1 | 448 | 445 | This match aired on November 23, 1998 via tape delay. Gillberg won the title under the ring name "Duane Gill" but defended it under the name Gillberg. | |
| 36 | Essa Rios | February 8, 2000 | Heat | Austin, TX | 1 | 34 | 31 | This match aired on February 13, 2000 via tape delay. | |
| 37 | Dean Malenko | March 13, 2000 | Raw | East Rutherford, NJ | 1 | 35 | 34 | ||
| 38 | Scotty 2 Hotty | April 17, 2000 | Raw | State College, PA | 1 | 8 | 9 | ||
| 39 | Dean Malenko | April 25, 2000 | SmackDown! | Charlotte, NC | 2 | 322 | 321 | This match aired on April 27, 2000 via tape delay. | |
| 40 | Crash Holly | March 13, 2001 | Heat | Anaheim, CA | 1 | 47 | 44 | This match aired on March 18, 2001 via tape delay. | |
| 41 | Jerry Lynn | April 29, 2001 | Heat | Chicago, IL | 1 | 37 | 38 | ||
| 42 | Jeff Hardy | June 5, 2001 | SmackDown! | Grand Forks, ND | 1 | 20 | 17 | This match aired on June 7, 2001 via tape delay. | |
| 43 | X-Pac | June 25, 2001 | Raw | New York City, NY | 1 | 42 | 41 | X-Pac later defeated Billy Kidman on July 30, 2001 to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. | |
| 44 | Tajiri | August 6, 2001 | Raw | Anaheim, CA | 1 | 13 | 12 | X-Pac's WCW Cruiserweight Championship was not on the line. | |
| 45 | X-Pac | August 19, 2001 | SummerSlam | San Jose, CA | 2 | 201 | 201 | X-Pac was the reigning WCW Cruiserweight Champion until losing the Cruiserweight title to Billy Kidman on October 9, 2001. X-Pac was the final wrestler to hold the title, a title unification match at Survivor Series against WCW Cruiserweight Champion Tajiri was canceled because X-Pac was injured. | [9] |
| — | Deactivated | March 8, 2002 | — | — | — | — | — | The championship was removed from television after X-Pac's injury, but he would continue to defend the title on house shows until it was officially retired on March 8, 2002. | |
Combined reigns recognized by the UWA/MPW/NJPW
edit| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Villano III | 7 | 2,040 |
| 2 | Perro Aguayo | 7 | 956 |
| 3 | El Signo | 1 | 563 |
| 4 | The Pegasus Kid | 1 | 560 |
| 5 | Aero Flash | 1 | 282 |
| 6 | Rambo | 1 | 281 |
| 7 | Sangre Chicana | 2 | 237 |
| 8 | Jushin Thunder Liger | 1 | 183 |
| 9 | Gran Hamada | 2 | 163 |
| 10 | The Great Sasuke | 2 | 158 |
| 11 | Fishman | 2 | 137 |
| 12 | Shinjiro Otani | 1 | 87 |
| 13 | Último Dragón | 1 | 85 |
| 14 | El Samurai | 2 | 78 |
| 15 | Chris Adams | 1 | 56 |
Combined reigns recognized by WWE
edit| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duane Gill/Gillberg | 1 | 448 |
| 2 | Dean Malenko | 2 | 357 |
| 3 | Taka Michinoku | 1 | 315 |
| 4 | X-Pac | 2 | 243 |
| 5 | Crash Holly | 1 | 47 |
| 6 | Jerry Lynn | 37 | |
| 7 | Essa Rios | 34 | |
| 8 | Christian | 30 | |
| 9 | Jeff Hardy | 20 | |
| 10 | Tajiri | 13 | |
| 11 | Scotty 2 Hotty | 8 |
See also
editReferences
edit- General
- "WWF Light Heavyweight Championship reigns by Wrestling Title Histories". Wrestling Title Histories by Royal Duncan & Gary Will. Solie.org. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
- "History of the Light Heavyweight Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
- Specific
- ^ "WWF Light Heavyweight Championship History". Wrestling Title Histories by Royal Duncan and Gary Will. Solie.org. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
- ^ "WWE Entertainment, Inc. acquires WCW from Turner Broadcasting". World Wrestling Entertainment Corporate. 2001-03-23. Archived from the original on 2005-04-08. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
- ^ "WWF LightHeavyweight Championship at WWE.com". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
The title was abandoned in 2001 when WWE finally put the WCW/ECW Alliance out of business. WWE then adopted the WCW Cruiserweight Championship as its version of the Cruiserweight Championship.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Archived from the original on 2013-11-08. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (April 17, 2020). "Daily pro wrestling (04/17): WCW Spring Stampede 1994". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ^ Centinela, Teddy (May 3, 2015). "En un día como hoy… 1987: Perro Aguayo casi pierde la vida en el ring… Última función de El Toreo antes de la muerte de Francisco Flores". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved July 1, 2015.
- ^ Centinela, Teddy (May 27, 2015). "En un día como hoy… 1990: Fallece Guillermo Hernández "Lobo Negro"… Villano III recupera el título WWF". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved July 1, 2015.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (March 3, 2019). "Daily pro wrestling history (03/03): Sting wins TNA World Title". Figure Four Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
- ^ "History of the Light Heavyweight Championship". WWE. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
External links
edit- Official WWF Light Heavyweight Championship title history
- WWF Light Heavyweight Championship at Wrestling-Titles.com