| WWE Cruiserweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 The WWE Cruiserweight Championship belt (2002–2007) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | WCW (1996–2001) WWF/WWE (2001–2007) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | March 20, 1996[a] October 27, 1991[b] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date retired | September 28, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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TheWWE Cruiserweight Championship was aprofessional wrestlingchampionship originally used inWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later,World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/WWE). It was contested by wrestlers under 225 lbs, billed ascruiserweights. Following the acquisition of WCW by the then-WWF in 2001, it became a WWF (and later, WWE) championship and replaced theWWF Light Heavyweight Championship. During the firstWWE brand extension, it was the only title to be exclusive to theSmackDown! brand during its entire tenure.
The championship was created in WCW in 1996, withShinjiro Otani as the inaugural champion. However, following WCW's purchase, the WWF/E considered the title to be a continuation of the earlierWCW Light Heavyweight Championship, which had been created in 1991 withBrian Pillman as the inaugural champion. The World Cruiserweight Championship was retired in 2007 withHornswoggle as its final holder.
Another WWE Cruiserweight Championship was created in 2016, and although both championships had shared the same name (before the newer title was renamed toNXT Cruiserweight Championship in 2019), the newer championship did not carry the lineage of the original.[2][3] The newer title also had a different weight limit of 205 lbs (93 kg) before the championship was retired in 2022.
The championship was originally created as the WCW Cruiserweight Championship on March 20, 1996. However, after the acquisition ofWorld Championship Wrestling's (WCW) assets by rival companyWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), both lineages of theWCW Light Heavyweight Championship and the WCW Cruiserweight Championship were considered to be one and the same, with WWE referring to the holders of the Light Heavyweight Championship as former Cruiserweight Champions.[4] During the existence of WCW, the two titles were considered distinct and did not share a common lineage.[5]
Following the introduction of the Light Heavyweight Championship in 1991 (which WCW had considered to be a separate title), a tournament was held to determine the inaugural champion. On October 27,Brian Pillman defeatedRichard Morton in the tournament final to win the title.[6] However, whenBrad Armstrong was forced to relinquish the title due to injury on September 2, 1992, it became inactive. Then, on March 20, 1996,Shinjiro Otani defeatedWild Pegasus (Chris Benoit) in a decision match to win what then became known as the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.
In March 2001, the WWF purchased WCW. Soon after, "The Invasion" took place, in whichThe Alliance was ultimately dismantled. Following theSurvivor Seriespay-per-view in November 2001, the title was renamed the WWF Cruiserweight Championship, replacing theWWF Light Heavyweight Championship.[7] After the introduction of thebrand extension in March 2002, the championship became exclusive to theSmackDown!brand. The title was then renamed as the WWE Cruiserweight Championship after the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May that same year. Around 2005, WWE began referring to the title as the "Cruiserweight Championship of the World", but the official name of the title was not changed to reflect this.[8]
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On September 28, 2007, the title was vacated after the final champion,Hornswoggle, was stripped of the championship bySmackDown! General Manager,Vickie Guerrero.[9] Hornswoggle had won the championship in a Cruiserweight Open at that year'sThe Great American Bash pay-per-view event. The last match contested for the title occurred on the August 31, 2007, episode ofSmackDown!, where Hornswoggle successfully defended the title againstJamie Noble.
After a six-month absence, WWE removed the championship from the active championship web page to the defunct championship list. In this way, the title was quietly retired. WWE lists its retirement year as 2007.[10][11]
Following the introduction of the brand split on March 25, 2002, all titles in WWE became exclusive to either theRaw or SmackDown! brand.
| Date of transition | Brand | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| March 25, 2002 | SmackDown! | Tajiri wasdrafted toSmackDown! as the Cruiserweight Champion, taking the championship with him in the process. |
The original design of the title has a blue with gold imprinting of the earth in the middle with the word world above it in the center plate that's gold squarely surrounded by the color black, It also has the word wrestling champions under the blue earth in that same way. It also has the word cruiserweight in the middle that's gold and the center with a circle-ish red surrounding it in the center of the earth and the side plates are a square-ish gold with the WCW Logos on the side that are a thick red with one extra side plate on the right side that's smaller than them all. All of the plates on the title are gold mainly with indented designs, colors & wordings.[12]
The 2002–2007 design of the title is similar to the first but with 4 side plates minus an earth in the middle and WWE Logos on the side plates (On two only closest to the center plate minus the two out-ist) and in the middle plate at the top.[13]
Gregory Helms' third reign was the longest reign at 385 days (384 days as recognized by WWE). Helms won the championship at the2006 Royal Rumble in a Cruiserweight Open, despite originally being a member of the Raw brand; he transferred to SmackDown! in conjunction with winning the title. He lost it in a Cruiserweight Open atNo Way Out in 2007, thirteen months later, toChavo Guerrero.Psicosis had the shortest title reign, holding it for approximately one hour.Rey Mysterio Jr. had the most reigns at eight, spread across both WCW and WWE (five reigns in WCW and three in WWE). Three women held the championship;Madusa andDaffney both had reigns in WCW, whileJacqueline was the only woman to win it after it became a WWE championship.
Media related toWrestlers as the WWE Cruiserweight champion at Wikimedia Commons