List of NXT Cruiserweight Champions

The NXT Cruiserweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on their NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live brands. It is exclusively for wrestlers with a maximum weight of 205 lb (93 kg), referred to as cruiserweights. It is the only active WWE championship with a weight limit.

Current champion Jordan Devlin from NXT UK; due to a travel ban as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, he is unable to defend the title
Santos Escobar from NXT (shown here as El Hijo del Fantasma, the persona under which he won the title) is serving as the interim champion

Established as the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, the title was originally part of the Raw brand and defended on Monday Night Raw until the premiere of 205 Live, after which, it was defended on both shows until WrestleMania 34. Following this event, 205 Live became its own brand and the title became exclusive to 205 Live until October 2019 when it began to be defended on NXT. The title was subsequently renamed to NXT Cruiserweight Championship.[1][2][3] In January 2020, the title was extended to NXT's sister brand NXT UK.[4]

The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition. The inaugural champion was T.J. Perkins, who was awarded the title for winning the Cruiserweight Classic on September 14, 2016. The title is currently held by Jordan Devlin from NXT UK, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating champion Angel Garza, Travis Banks, and Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, who Devlin pinned, in a fatal four-way match at Worlds Collide in Houston, Texas on January 25, 2020. However, due to a travel ban as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an interim champion was determined until Devlin's return. The current interim champion is Santos Escobar, who is in his first reign. He defeated Drake Maverick in the interim championship tournament final under his previous persona of El Hijo del Fantasma, which occurred during the May 27 tapings of NXT (aired June 3) in Winter Park, Florida.

Overall, there have been seventeen reigns between fifteen champions and one vacancy—at present, an interim champion is serving in place of the actual champion, with both recognized as champion. Neville and Enzo Amore have the most reigns at two. Neville's first reign is the longest reign at 197 days and he also has the longest combined reign at 232 days (196 days and 231 days, respectively, as recognized by WWE). Akira Tozawa has the shortest reign at 6 days (5 days as recognized by WWE). The oldest champion is The Brian Kendrick, winning the title at 37 years old, while the youngest champion is Lio Rush winning at 24 years old.

Title history

Names
Name Years
WWE Cruiserweight Championship September 14, 2016 – October 2, 2019
NXT Cruiserweight Championship October 2, 2019 – present

Reigns
Key
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
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign DaysDays recog.
WWE: Raw
1 T.J. Perkins September 14, 2016 Cruiserweight Classic Finale Winter Park, FL 1 4645 Before the finale of the Cruiserweight Classic, WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H revealed that the winner would also win the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Championship for WWE's revived cruiserweight division exclusive to the Raw brand. T.J. Perkins defeated Gran Metalik in the tournament final to become the inaugural champion. [5]
2 The Brian Kendrick October 30, 2016 Hell in a Cell Boston, MA 1 3030 [6]
3 Rich Swann November 29, 2016 205 Live Columbia, SC 1 6160 This was the inaugural episode of 205 Live. [7]
4 Neville January 29, 2017 Royal Rumble San Antonio, TX 1 197196 [8]
5 Akira Tozawa August 14, 2017 Raw Boston, MA 1 65 [9]
6 Neville August 20, 2017 SummerSlam
Kickoff		 Brooklyn, NY 2 3535 [10]
7 Enzo Amore September 24, 2017 No Mercy Los Angeles, CA 1 1515 [11]
8 Kalisto October 9, 2017 Raw Indianapolis, IN 1 1312 This was a lumberjack match. [12]
9 Enzo Amore October 22, 2017 TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs Minneapolis, MN 2 9392 [13]
— Vacated January 23, 2018 — — — —— The title was vacated due to Enzo Amore's release following publicized accusations of sexual assault and harassment. [14][15]
10 Cedric Alexander April 8, 2018 WrestleMania 34
Kickoff		 New Orleans, LA 1 181180 Defeated Mustafa Ali in a tournament final to win the vacant championship.
The title then became exclusive to the 205 Live brand.		 [16]
WWE: 205 Live
11 Buddy Murphy October 6, 2018 Super Show-Down Melbourne, Australia 1 183183 [17]
12 Tony Nese April 7, 2019 WrestleMania 35
Kickoff		 East Rutherford, NJ 1 7777 [18]
13 Drew Gulak June 23, 2019 Stomping Grounds
Kickoff		 Tacoma, WA 1 108108 This was a triple threat match also involving Akira Tozawa, who Gulak pinned to win the championship.
In October 2019, the title became shared between 205 Live and NXT, and it was renamed the NXT Cruiserweight Championship.		 [19][3]
WWE: NXT and 205 Live
14 Lio Rush October 9, 2019 NXT Winter Park, FL 1 6363 [20]
15 Angel Garza December 11, 2019 NXT Winter Park, FL 1 4544 [21]
16 Jordan Devlin January 25, 2020 Worlds Collide Houston, TX 1 153+153+ This was a fatal four-way match also involving Travis Banks and Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, who Devlin pinned. With Devlin's win, the title was extended to the NXT UK brand. [4]
WWE: NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live
— El Hijo del Fantasma/Santos Escobar May 27, 2020 NXT Winter Park, FL 1 30+23+ Due to a travel ban as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an interim champion was crowned until current champion Jordan Devlin, who resides in the United Kingdom, can return to the United States. El Hijo del Fantasma defeated Drake Maverick in the finals of an eight-man tournament to become the interim champion. On the June 10 episode, Fantasma unmasked and changed his ring name to Santos Escobar.
WWE recognizes Escobar's reign as beginning on June 3, 2020, when the episode aired on tape delay.		 [22][23]

Combined reigns
Two-time and longest single and combined reigning Cruiserweight Champion Neville, shown here with the previous belt

As of June 26, 2020.

† Indicates the current champion
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns		 Combined days Combined days
recognized by WWE
1 Neville2232231
2 Buddy Murphy1183
3 Cedric Alexander1181180
4 Jordan Devlin †1153+
5 Enzo Amore2108107
Drew Gulak1108
7 Tony Nese177
8 Lio Rush163
9 Rich Swann16160
10 T.J. Perkins14645
11 Angel Garza14544
12 El Hijo del Fantasma/Santos Escobar †130+23+
13 The Brian Kendrick130
14 Kalisto11312
15 Akira Tozawa165

References
  1. McMahon, Vince (November 30, 2016). "Vince McMahon on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  2. "WHY 205 LIVE STARS DISAPPEARED OFF RAW, WHY IMPACT CONTRACTED TALENTS CAN WRESTLE ANYWHERE AND MORE". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  3. Nash, Anthony (October 2, 2019). "Cruiserweight Championship Gets Renamed, Defended Next Week On NXT". Wrestle Zone. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  4. Powell, Jason. "WWE Worlds Collide results: Powell's live review of Undisputed Era vs. Imperium, Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm for the NXT Championship, Angel Garza vs. Isaiah Scott vs. Travis Banks vs. Jordan Devlin for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dragunov, DIY vs. Moustache Mountain". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  5. Caldwell, James. "9/14 WWE Cruiserweight Tourney Finals – Caldwell's Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  6. Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE Hell in a Cell 2016 live review: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte for the WWE Women's Championship, Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship, Roman Reigns vs. Rusev for the U.S. Championship". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  7. Namako, Jason. "WWE 205 Live Results – 11/29/16 (Rich Swann wins the WWE Cruiserweight Championship on the premiere episode)". WrestleView. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  8. Powell, Jason. "1/29 Powell's WWE Royal Rumble 2017 live review: AJ Styles vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship, Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns in a No DQ match for the WWE Universal Championship with Chris Jericho in a shark cage". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  9. Keller, Wade. "KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 7/14: Final episode before Summerslam with latest on Seth-Dean, Women's Title match, Fatal Four-way". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  10. Powell, Jason. "08/20 Powell's WWE SummerSlam Kickoff Show coverage: New Day vs. The Usos for the Smackdown Tag Titles, Akira Tozawa vs. Neville for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, and Jason Jordan vs. Miz, Bo Dallas, and Curtis Axel". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  11. Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE No Mercy 2017 live review: Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman for the WWE Universal Championship, John Cena vs. Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins vs. Sheamus and Cesaro for the Raw Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  12. Keller, Wade. "KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 10/9: Shield reunion continues, Miz TV with Sheamus & Cesaro, TLC build up continues". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  13. Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE TLC 2017 live review: Kurt Angle, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman, Kane, The Miz, Sheamus, and Cesaro in a TLC match, AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor, Asuka debuts, Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James for the Raw Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  14. "Enzo Amore released". WWE. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  15. Enzo Amore released from WWE after Allegations of sexual assault - Sky Sports.com
  16. Powell, Jason. "Powell's WrestleMania 34 Kickoff Show live review: WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal, Cedric Alexander vs. Mustfa Ali for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  17. Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE Super Show-Down live review: Undertaker vs. Triple H for the final time, AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe in a no DQ, no count-out match for the WWE Title, The Shield vs. Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre, and Dolph Ziggler, Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte for the Smackdown Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  18. Powell, Jason. "WrestleMania 35 Kickoff Show results: Powell's live review of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, WWE Women's Battle Royal, Buddy Murphy vs. Tony Nese for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  19. Powell, Jason. "WWE Stomping Grounds Kickoff Show results: Powell's live review of the pre-show". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  20. Moore, John. "10/09 NXT TV results: Moore's live review of Drew Gulak vs. Lio Rush for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, WWE UK Champion Walter vs. Kushida in a non-title match, NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong vs. Isaiah "Swerve" Scott". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  21. Moore, John. "12/11 NXT TV results: Moore's live review of Finn Balor vs. Keith Lee vs. Tommaso Ciampa in a Triple Threat for a shot at the NXT Championship, Lio Rush vs. Angel Garza for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, Dakota Kai vs. Mia Yim". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  22. Moore, John. "6/3 NXT TV results: Moore's review of El Hijo Del Fantasma vs. Drake Maverick in the finals of the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Title tournament, Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae, final hype for Takeover: In Your House". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  23. Johnson, Mike (April 17, 2020). "MORE ON NEW WWE TAPING SCHEDULE". PWInsider. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
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