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TheNXT Cruiserweight Championship (originally known as the WWE Cruiserweight Championship from 2016 to 2019) is a formerprofessional wrestlingchampionship that was created and promoted by theAmericanpromotionWWE. Before its retirement, it was defended on theNXT,NXT UK, and205 Livebrands. It was contested exclusively for wrestlers with a maximum bill weight of 205 lb (93 kg), referred to ascruiserweights. During its tenure, it was the only WWE championship with a weight limit.
Established as the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, the title was originally part of theRaw brand and defended onMonday Night Raw until the premiere of205 Live, after which, it was defended on both shows untilWrestleMania 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 was generally contested inprofessional wrestling matches, in which participants executedscripted finishes rather than contend indirect competition. The inaugural champion wasT. J. Perkins, who was awarded the title for winning theCruiserweight Classic on September 14, 2016.Carmelo Hayes is recognized as the final champion. He defeatedRoderick Strong on the specialNew Year's Evil episode ofNXT 2.0 on January 4, 2022, tounify the title with theNXT North American Championship; the Cruiserweight Championship was immediately retired following his win.
Throughout the championship's short history, there were 20 reigns between 18 champions and onevacancy. The oldest champion was Roderick Strong, winning the title at 38 years old, while the youngest champion wasLio Rush when he won it at 24.Neville andEnzo Amore were tied for the most reigns at two. Jordan Devlin's sole reign was the longest reign at 439 days, while final champion Carmelo Hayes' singular reign was the shortest at less than a minute as the title was immediately retired after he won it in a title unification match.
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| WWE Cruiserweight Championship | September 14, 2016 – October 2, 2019 |
| NXT Cruiserweight Championship | October 2, 2019 – January 4, 2022 |
| Unified NXT North American Championship | January 4, 2022 |
| 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 |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Days recog. | ||||||
| WWE:Raw | |||||||||||
| 1 | T. J. Perkins | September 14, 2016 | Cruiserweight Classic Finale | Winter Park, FL | 1 | 46 | 45 | Before the finale of theCruiserweight Classic, WWEChief Operating OfficerTriple H revealed that the winner would also win the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Championship for WWE's revivedcruiserweight division exclusive to theRawbrand. T. J. Perkins defeatedGran 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 | 30 | 30 | [6] | |||
| 3 | Rich Swann | November 29, 2016 | 205 Live | Columbia, SC | 1 | 61 | 60 | This was the inaugural episode of205 Live. | [7] | ||
| 4 | Neville | January 29, 2017 | Royal Rumble | San Antonio, TX | 1 | 197 | 196 | [8] | |||
| 5 | Akira Tozawa | August 14, 2017 | Raw | Boston, MA | 1 | 6 | 5 | [9] | |||
| 6 | Neville | August 20, 2017 | SummerSlam Kickoff | Brooklyn, NY | 2 | 35 | 35 | [10] | |||
| 7 | Enzo Amore | September 24, 2017 | No Mercy | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | 15 | 15 | [11] | |||
| 8 | Kalisto | October 9, 2017 | Raw | Indianapolis, IN | 1 | 13 | 12 | This was alumberjack match. | [12] | ||
| 9 | Enzo Amore | October 22, 2017 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Minneapolis, MN | 2 | 93 | 92 | [13] | |||
| — | Vacated | January 23, 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | Vacated due toEnzo Amore's release from WWE one day after it was confirmed that Amore was under investigation for an alleged sexual assault that was reported to the police in October 2017. | [14][15] | ||
| 10 | Cedric Alexander | April 8, 2018 | WrestleMania 34 Kickoff | New Orleans, LA | 1 | 181 | 180 | DefeatedMustafa Ali in atournament final to win the vacant championship. The title then became exclusive to the205 Live brand. | [16] | ||
| WWE:205 Live | |||||||||||
| 11 | Buddy Murphy | October 6, 2018 | Super Show-Down | Melbourne, Australia | 1 | 183 | 183 | [17] | |||
| 12 | Tony Nese | April 7, 2019 | WrestleMania 35 Kickoff | East Rutherford, NJ | 1 | 77 | 77 | [18] | |||
| 13 | Drew Gulak | June 23, 2019 | Stomping Grounds Kickoff | Tacoma, WA | 1 | 108 | 108 | This was atriple threat match also involvingAkira Tozawa, whom Gulak pinned. In October 2019, the title became shared between205 Live andNXT, and it was renamed the NXT Cruiserweight Championship. | [19][3] | ||
| WWE:NXT and205 Live | |||||||||||
| 14 | Lio Rush | October 9, 2019 | NXT | Winter Park, FL | 1 | 63 | 63 | [20] | |||
| 15 | Angel Garza | December 11, 2019 | NXT | Winter Park, FL | 1 | 45 | 44 | [21] | |||
| 16 | Jordan Devlin | January 25, 2020 | Worlds Collide | Houston, TX | 1 | 439 | 438 | This was afatal four-way match also involvingTravis Banks andIsaiah "Swerve" Scott, whom Devlin pinned. With Devlin's win, the title was extended to theNXT UK brand. Devlin's reign ended on April 8, 2021 atTakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night 2, whenSantos Escobar defeated him to determine the undisputed champion. From May 27, 2020 (aired June 3) until April 8, 2021, both Devlin and Escobar were recognized as champion. | [4][22] | ||
| WWE:NXT,NXT UK, and205 Live | |||||||||||
| 17 | El Hijo del Fantasma/Santos Escobar | May 27, 2020 | NXT | Winter Park, FL | 1 | 321 | 313 | Due to a travel ban as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic, aninterim champion was crowned in the United States untilJordan Devlin could return; Devlin, who resided in the United Kingdom, still defended the title onNXT UK while the U.S.-based interim champion defended the title onNXT. Fantasma defeatedDrake Maverick in the finals of an eight-man tournament to become the interim champion in the U.S. WWE recognizes his reign as beginning on June 3, 2020, when the episode aired ontape delay. On the June 10 episode, Fantasma unmasked and changed his ring name to Santos Escobar. After Devlin made his return to the U.S. the following year, Escobar defeated Devlin in aladder match atTakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night 2 on April 8, 2021 to determine the undisputed champion (recognized as a continuation of his reign as interim champion). | [23][24][22] | ||
| 18 | Kushida | April 13, 2021 | NXT | Orlando, FL | 1 | 161 | 160 | [25] | |||
| 19 | Roderick Strong | September 21, 2021 | NXT 2.0 | Orlando, FL | 1 | 105 | 105 | [26] | |||
| 20 | Carmelo Hayes | January 4, 2022 | NXT 2.0: New Year's Evil | Orlando, FL | 1 | <1 | <1 | This was atitle unification match in which Hayes also defended theNXT North American Championship. WWE's official title history incorrectly lists his reign as ending on January 5, 2022. | [27] | ||
| — | Unified | January 4, 2022 | NXT 2.0: New Year's Evil | Orlando, FL | — | — | — | Carmelo Hayes defeatedRoderick Strong to unify theNXT Cruiserweight Championship into theNXT North American Championship. The Cruiserweight Championship was retired with Hayes going forward as North American Champion. | [27] | ||
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| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days | Combined days rec. by WWE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Devlin | 1 | 439 | 438 |
| 2 | El Hijo del Fantasma/Santos Escobar | 1 | 321 | 313 |
| 3 | Neville | 2 | 232 | 231 |
| 4 | Buddy Murphy | 1 | 183 | |
| 5 | Cedric Alexander | 1 | 181 | 180 |
| 6 | Kushida | 1 | 161 | 160 |
| 7 | Enzo Amore | 2 | 108 | 107 |
| Drew Gulak | 1 | 108 | ||
| 9 | Roderick Strong | 1 | 105 | |
| 10 | Tony Nese | 1 | 77 | |
| 11 | Lio Rush | 1 | 63 | |
| 12 | Rich Swann | 1 | 61 | 60 |
| 13 | T. J. Perkins | 1 | 46 | 45 |
| 14 | Angel Garza | 1 | 45 | 44 |
| 15 | The Brian Kendrick | 1 | 30 | |
| 16 | Kalisto | 1 | 13 | 12 |
| 17 | Akira Tozawa | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| 18 | Carmelo Hayes | 1 | <1 | |