TheWWF Light Heavyweight Championship was aprofessional wrestlingcruiserweightchampionship owned and promoted by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF). Only cruiserweight 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 theUniversal Wrestling Association (UWA), a Mexican-basedlucha librepromotion, 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 promotionsMichinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW) andNew 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 utilizing the title in the United States.[1] AfterWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) and its assets were acquired by the WWF in March 2001,[2] the conceptually similarWCW Cruiserweight Championship was also used by the promotion, before completely replacing the Light Heavyweight Championship in 2002.[3]
Title reigns were determined byprofessional wrestling matches that involved wrestlers in pre-existingscriptedfeuds,plots, andstorylines or were awarded the title due to scripted circumstances. Wrestlers were portrayed as eithervillains orheroes 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 wasPerro 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 wasTaka 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 andVillano 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 andScotty 2 Hotty had the shortest reigns, each having reigns lasting eight days. Overall, there were 45 title reigns in the championship's history.
| 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 | |||||||
| Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) | |||||||||||
| 1 | Perro Aguayo | March 26, 1981 | NJPW Big Fight Series | Shimizu,Japan | 1 | 183 | Aguayo defeatedGran Hamada in a tournament final to become the inaugural champion. | ||||
| 2 | Fishman | September 25, 1981 | Hollywood Wrestlinghouse show | Los Angeles,CA | 1 | 15 | |||||
| 3 | Perro Aguayo | October 10, 1981 | Hollywood Wrestlinghouse show | Los Angeles,CA | 2 | 8 | |||||
| 4 | Chris Adams | October 18, 1981 | UWAhouse show | Mexico City,Mexico | 1 | 56 | |||||
| 5 | Perro Aguayo | December 13, 1981 | UWAhouse show | Mexico City,Mexico | 3 | 129 | |||||
| 6 | Gran Hamada | April 21, 1982 | NJPWhouse show | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 130 | |||||
| 7 | Perro Aguayo | August 29, 1982 | UWAhouse show | Mexico City,Mexico | 4 | 203 | |||||
| 8 | Villano III | March 20, 1983 | UWAhouse show | Mexico City,Mexico | 1 | 140 | |||||
| 9 | Perro Aguayo | August 7, 1983 | UWAhouse 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 | UWAhouse show | Mexico City,Mexico | 2 | 826 | |||||
| 12 | Fishman | August 24, 1986 | UWAhouse show | Mexico City,Mexico | 2 | 122 | |||||
| 13 | Perro Aguayo | December 24, 1986 | UWAhouse show | Mexico City,Mexico | 6 | 130 | |||||
| — | Vacated | May 3, 1987 | — | — | — | — | The UWA forcedPerro Aguayo to relinquish the championship after a title defense againstVillano III ended in controversy. | [6] | |||
| 14 | Villano III | June 17, 1987 | UWAhouse show | Mexico City,Mexico | 3 | 109 | Villano III defeatedPerro Aguayo in a rematch for the championship. | ||||
| 15 | Rambo | October 4, 1987 | UWAhouse show | Mexico City,Mexico | 1 | 281 | |||||
| 16 | Villano III | July 11, 1988 | UWAhouse show | Mexico City,Mexico | 4 | 399 | |||||
| 17 | Sangre Chicana | August 14, 1989 | UWAhouse show | Mexico City,Mexico | 1 | 62 | |||||
| 18 | Perro Aguayo | October 15, 1989 | UWAhouse show | Mexico City,Mexico | 7 | 49 | |||||
| 19 | Sangre Chicana | December 3, 1989 | UWAhouse show | Mexico City,Mexico | 2 | 175 | |||||
| 20 | Villano III | May 27, 1990 | UWAhouse show | Naucalpan,Mexico | 5 | 280 | [7] | ||||
| 21 | Pegasus Kid | March 3, 1991 | UWAhouse show | Naucalpan,Mexico | 1 | 560 | [8] | ||||
| 22 | Villano III | September 13, 1992 | UWAhouse show | Naucalpan,Mexico | 6 | 110 | |||||
| 23 | El Signo | January 1, 1993 | UWAhouse show | Nezahualcóyotl,Mexico | 1 | 563 | |||||
| 24 | Villano III | July 18, 1994 | UWAhouse 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 thePROMELLpromotion. | ||||
| Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW) | |||||||||||
| 25 | Aero Flash | June 16, 1995 | UWAhouse show | Nezahualcóyotl,Mexico | 1 | 282 | Flash won the vacant championship by defeating The King in a tournament final. During this win the title was recognized byMichinoku Pro Wrestling. | ||||
| 26 | The Great Sasuke | March 24, 1996 | MPWhouse show | Shirakawa,Japan | 1 | 90 | |||||
| 27 | El Samurai | June 22, 1996 | MPWhouse show | Naruko,Japan | 1 | 43 | |||||
| 28 | The Great Sasuke | August 4, 1996 | NJPWG1 Climax 1996 | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 68 | During this reign, the championship becomes part of theNJPW'sJ-Crown. | ||||
| 29 | Último Dragón | October 11, 1996 | WAR Osaka Crush Night! | Osaka,Japan | 1 | 85 | |||||
| 30 | Jushin Thunder Liger | January 4, 1997 | NJPWWrestling 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, theJ-Crown championships (with the exception of theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship) were vacated.Shinjiro Otani returned its component belts to their home promotions, including the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. | ||||
| 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. | ||||||
| World Wrestling Federation (WWF) | |||||||||||
| 33 | Taka Michinoku | December 7, 1997 | D-Generation X: In Your House. | Springfield, MA | 1 | 315 | 314 | Michinoku defeatedBrian Christopher in a tournament final to win the championship. After this win WWF recognizedTaka Michinoku as the inaugural champion. | |||
| 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 viatape delay. Gillberg won the title under thering 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 viatape 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 viatape delay. | |||
| 40 | Crash Holly | March 13, 2001 | Heat | Anaheim, CA | 1 | 47 | 44 | This match aired on March 18, 2001 viatape 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 viatape delay. | |||
| 43 | X-Pac | June 25, 2001 | Raw | New York City, NY | 1 | 42 | 41 | X-Pac later defeatedBilly Kidman on July 30, 2001 to win theWCW Cruiserweight Championship. | |||
| 44 | Tajiri | August 6, 2001 | Raw | Anaheim, CA | 1 | 13 | 12 | X-Pac'sWCW Cruiserweight Championship was not on the line. | |||
| 45 | X-Pac | August 19, 2001 | SummerSlam | San Jose, CA | 2 | 201 | 201 | X-Pac was the reigningWCW Cruiserweight Champion until losing the Cruiserweight title toBilly Kidman on October 9, 2001. X-Pac was the final wrestler to hold the title, a title unification match atSurvivor Series against WCW Cruiserweight ChampionTajiri was canceled because X-Pac was injured. | [9] | ||
| — | Deactivated | March 8, 2002 | — | — | — | — | — | The championship was removed from television afterX-Pac's injury, but he would continue to defend the title onhouse shows until it was officially retired on March 8, 2002. | |||
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 | Duane Gill/Gillberg | 1 | 448 |
| 6 | Dean Malenko | 2 | 357 |
| 7 | Taka Michinoku | 1 | 315 |
| 8 | Aero Flash | 1 | 282 |
| 9 | Rambo | 1 | 281 |
| 10 | X-Pac | 2 | 243 |
| 11 | Sangre Chicana | 2 | 237 |
| 12 | Jushin Thunder Liger | 1 | 183 |
| 13 | Gran Hamada | 2 | 163 |
| 14 | The Great Sasuke | 2 | 158 |
| 15 | Fishman | 2 | 137 |
| 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 | 37 | |
| 22 | Essa Rios | 34 | |
| 23 | Christian | 30 | |
| 24 | Jeff Hardy | 20 | |
| 25 | Tajiri | 13 | |
| 26 | Scotty 2 Hotty | 8 |
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.