List of WWF Light Heavyweight Champions
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 in professional wrestling, 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 lucha libre-based 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 New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. 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] World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and its assets were acquired by the WWF in March 2001, which included the copyrights to their championships.[2] The WCW Cruiserweight Championship, a counterpart to the Light Heavyweight Championship, was one of these titles. After acquiring WCW, the WWF used the Cruiserweight Title, among other WCW championships, during The Invasion storyline, which featured former WCW wrestlers feuding with original WWF wrestlers before WCW's purchase. After The Invasion narrative ended in December 2001, the WWF replaced the Light Heavyweight Title with the Cruiserweight Championship, which had the WWF acronym added to its name.[3] World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the successor of the WWF, operated the Cruiserweight Championship until 2007, when the title was deactivated.[4]
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.[5] The title was won in Japan, Mexico, and 11 American states. The first champion to be recognized by the UWA was Perro Aguayo, who won the title in a tournament final in March 1981. Shinjiro Otani was the final champion recognized by the UWA before the title was returned to the WWF; he had won the title in August 1997. Although his reign is unrecognized by the WWF, Ultimo Dragon is the only wrestler to hold a WWF championship and a WCW championship at the same time before WWF's purchase of WCW. 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 Cruiserweight Championship. Aguayo and Villano III held the title the most times, with eight. 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 have the shortest reign, at eight days. Overall, there were 45 title reigns.
Title history
Recognition by the UWA/NJPW
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 | House show | Shimizu, Japan | 1 | 183 | Aguayo defeated Gran Hamada in a tournament final for the title | |
2 | Fishman | September 25, 1981 | House show | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | 15 | ||
3 | Perro Aguayo | October 10, 1981 | House show | Los Angeles, CA | 2 | 8 | ||
4 | Chris Adams | October 18, 1981 | House show | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 56 | ||
5 | Perro Aguayo | December 13, 1981 | House show | Mexico City, Mexico | 3 | 129 | ||
6 | Gran Hamada | April 21, 1982 | House show | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 130 | ||
7 | Perro Aguayo | August 29, 1982 | House show | Mexico City, Mexico | 4 | 203 | ||
8 | Villano III | March 20, 1983 | House show | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 140 | ||
9 | Perro Aguayo | August 7, 1983 | House show | Mexico City, Mexico | 5 | 254 | ||
10 | Gran Hamada | April 17, 1984 | House show | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 33 | ||
11 | Villano III | May 20, 1984 | House show | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 826 | ||
12 | Fishman | August 24, 1986 | House show | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 122 | ||
13 | Perro Aguayo | December 24, 1986 | House show | Mexico City, Mexico | 6 | 130 | ||
— | Vacated | May 3, 1987 | — | — | — | — | The UWA forced Aguayo to relinquish the championship after a title defense against Villano III ended in controversy | [6] |
14 | Villano III | June 17, 1987 | House show | Mexico City, Mexico | 3 | 109 | Villano III defeated Perro Aguayo in a rematch for the title | |
15 | Rambo | October 4, 1987 | House show | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 281 | ||
16 | Villano III | July 11, 1988 | House show | Mexico City, Mexico | 4 | 399 | ||
17 | Sangre Chicana | August 14, 1989 | House show | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 62 | ||
18 | Perro Aguayo | October 15, 1989 | House show | Mexico City, Mexico | 7 | 49 | ||
19 | Sangre Chicana | December 3, 1989 | House show | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 175 | ||
20 | Villano III | May 27, 1990 | House show | Naucalpan, Mexico | 5 | 280 | [7] | |
21 | Pegasus Kid | March 3, 1991 | House show | Naucalpan, Mexico | 1 | 560 | ||
22 | Villano III | September 13, 1992 | House show | Naucalpan, Mexico | 6 | 110 | ||
23 | El Signo | January 1, 1993 | House show | Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico | 1 | 563 | ||
24 | Villano III | July 18, 1994 | 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 | House show | Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico | 1 | 282 | Aero Flash won the title in a tournament final | |
26 | The Great Sasuke | March 24, 1996 | House show | Shirakawa, Japan | 1 | 90 | ||
27 | El Samurai | June 22, 1996 | House show | Naruko, Japan | 1 | 43 | ||
28 | The Great Sasuke | August 4, 1996 | House show | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 68 | Championship becomes part of the NJPW's J-Crown | |
29 | Último Dragón | October 11, 1996 | House show | Osaka, Japan | 1 | 85 | ||
30 | Jushin Thunder Liger | January 4, 1997 | Wrestling World | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 183 | ||
31 | El Samurai | July 6, 1997 | House show | Sapporo, Japan | 2 | 35 | ||
32 | Shinjiro Otani | August 10, 1997 | House show | Nagoya, Japan | 1 | 87 | ||
— | Vacated | November 5, 1997 | — | — | — | — | On November 5, 1997, the J-Crown was vacated. Otani returned five of the belts except the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Otani was the final wrestler in the NJPW to hold the title before it was returned to the WWF |
Recognition by the WWF
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 | ||||
33 | Taka Michinoku | December 7, 1997 | D-Generation X: In Your House | Springfield, MA | 1 | 315 | Michinoku defeated Brian Christopher in a tournament final to win the title | |
34 | Christian | October 18, 1998 | Judgment Day: In Your House | Chicago, IL | 1 | 30 | ||
35 | Gillberg | November 17, 1998 | Raw is War | Columbus, OH | 1 | 448 | Aired on November 23, 1998 | |
36 | Essa Rios | February 8, 2000 | Sunday Night Heat | Austin, TX | 1 | 34 | Aired on February 13, 2000 | |
37 | Dean Malenko | March 13, 2000 | Raw is War | East Rutherford, NJ | 1 | 35 | ||
38 | Scotty 2 Hotty | April 17, 2000 | Raw is War | State College, PA | 1 | 8 | ||
39 | Dean Malenko | April 25, 2000 | SmackDown! | Charlotte, NC | 2 | 322 | Aired on April 27, 2000 | |
40 | Crash Holly | March 13, 2001 | Sunday Night Heat | Anaheim, CA | 1 | 47 | Aired on March 18, 2001 | |
41 | Jerry Lynn | April 29, 2001 | Sunday Night Heat | Chicago, IL | 1 | 37 | ||
42 | Jeff Hardy | June 5, 2001 | SmackDown! | Grand Forks, ND | 1 | 20 | Aired on June 7, 2001 | |
43 | X-Pac | June 25, 2001 | Raw is War | New York City, NY | 1 | 42 | Also defeated Billy Kidman on July 30, 2001 to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship | |
44 | Tajiri | August 6, 2001 | Raw is War | Anaheim, CA | 1 | 13 | X-Pac's WCW Cruiserweight Championship was not on the line | |
45 | X-Pac | August 19, 2001 | SummerSlam | San Jose, CA | 2 | 91 | Reigning WCW Cruiserweight Champion until losing 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 | [8] |
— | Deactivated | November 18, 2001 | — | — | — | — | The title was deactivated on November 18 after X-Pac's injury |
Combined reigns
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 | Gillberg | 1 | 448 |
6 | Dean Malenko | 2 | 357 |
7 | Taka Michinoku | 1 | 315 |
8 | Aero Flash | 1 | 282 |
9 | Rambo | 1 | 281 |
10 | Sangre Chicana | 2 | 237 |
11 | Jushin Thunder Liger | 1 | 183 |
12 | Gran Hamada | 2 | 163 |
13 | The Great Sasuke | 2 | 158 |
14 | Fishman | 2 | 137 |
15 | X-Pac | 2 | 133 |
16 | Shinjiro Otani | 1 | 87 |
17 | Último Dragón | 1 | 85 |
18 | El Samurai | 2 | 78 |
19 | Chris Adams | 1 | 56 |
20 | Crash Holly | 1 | 47 |
21 | Jerry Lynn | 1 | 37 |
22 | Essa Rios | 1 | 34 |
23 | Christian | 1 | 30 |
24 | Jeff Hardy | 1 | 20 |
25 | Tajiri | 1 | 13 |
26 | Scotty 2 Hotty | 1 | 8 |
See also
References
- 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.
- ↑ "WWE Cruiserweight Championship Reigns". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
- ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Archived from the original on 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
- ↑ 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". SuperLuchas Magazine (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". SuperLuchas Magazine (in Spanish). Retrieved July 1, 2015.
- ↑ "History of the Light Heavyweight Championship". WWE. Retrieved December 30, 2017.