WWE Cruiserweight Championship

WWE Cruiserweight Championship
The WWE Cruiserweight Championship belt with default side plates
Details
Promotion	WWE
Brand	Raw
Date established	September 14, 2016
Current champion(s)	Neville
Date won	January 29, 2017
Statistics First champion(s) T.J. Perkins Most reigns All titleholders (1) Longest reign Neville (7002197000000000000♠197+ days) Shortest reign The Brian Kendrick (30 days)[lower-alpha 1] Oldest winner The Brian Kendrick (7004136690000000000♠37 years, 154 days) Youngest winner Rich Swann (7003941900000000000♠25 years, 288 days) Heaviest champion Neville (194 lb (88 kg)) Lightest champion The Brian Kendrick (157 lb (71 kg))

The WWE Cruiserweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on the Raw brand. It is defended on Monday Night Raw and the cruiserweight-exclusive 205 Live.^[1] The current champion is Neville, who is in his first reign and is the longest reigning champion.

Unveiled on September 14, 2016, as the award for the inaugural Cruiserweight Classic, which was won by TJ Perkins, it is contested in WWE's cruiserweight division by wrestlers at a maximum weight of 205 lb (93 kg). The championship was exclusive to Monday Night Raw until the premiere of 205 Live in November 2016.

The title is distinct from the previous WWE Cruiserweight Championship that originated in World Championship Wrestling and was retired in 2007. The two titles share the name but not the title history.^[2]

History

The inaugural Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins

The Cruiserweight Classic was a WWE Network series and tournament for cruiserweights.^[3] Tournament qualifying matches took place in various promotions of the independent circuit, including well known promotions such as Revolution Pro Wrestling, Progress Wrestling, and Evolve. Many cruiserweight wrestlers from around the world were given the chance to qualify for the 32-man tournament, which took place over four dates: June 23, July 13, August 26, and September 14, 2016.^[4]

The final of the Cruiserweight Classic came down to TJ Perkins and Gran Metalik. Before the final match, Triple H revealed that the winner would not only receive a trophy, but would also become WWE Cruiserweight Champion for the new cruiserweight division on the Raw brand. Perkins defeated Metalik to become the inaugural champion.^[5][6] Like the WWE Championship's side plates, the Cruiserweight title's side plates include removable round sections, allowing the holder's personal logo to be added to the championship belt; the default sections show silver and purple world maps with the WWE logo over them.^[7] During Neville's reign, the color of the slash under the center plate's logo was changed from purple to orange.

In addition to Monday Night Raw, the Cruiserweight Championship is defended on 205 Live, a cruiserweight-exclusive show on the WWE Network that premiered on November 29, 2016.^[8] On the premiere episode, Rich Swann defeated The Brian Kendrick for the championship.^[9]

Inaugural tournament

Round of 32 Taped June 23

Round of 16 Taped July 14

Quarterfinals Taped August 26

Semifinals Live on September 14

Final Live on September 14

July 20 –

Kenneth Johnson

Pin

August 17 –

Akira Tozawa

09:46[10]

Akira Tozawa

Pin

August 3 –

Jack Gallagher

11:38[11]

Jack Gallagher

Pin

August 31 -

Fabian Aichner

06:45[12]

Akira Tozawa

Pin

July 20 –

Gran Metalik

15:49[13]

Tajiri

Pin

August 10 –

Damian Slater

05:28[10]

Tajiri

Pin

July 13 –

Gran Metalik

10:53[14]

Alejandro Saez

Pin

September 14 –

Gran Metalik

04:04[15]

Gran Metalik

Pin

July 27 –

Zack Sabre, Jr.

13:13[6]

Harv Sihra

Sub

August 24 –

Drew Gulak

05:18[16]

Drew Gulak

Pin

July 27 –

Zack Sabre, Jr.

08:27[17]

Zack Sabre, Jr.

Sub

September 7 -

Tyson Dux

08:28[16]

Zack Sabre, Jr.

Sub

August 3 –

/ Noam Dar

15:46[18]

/ Noam Dar

Sub

August 17 –

Gurv Sihra

05:26[12]

/ Noam Dar

Sub

July 13 –

Ho Ho Lun

07:02[11]

Ariya Daivari

Pin

September 14 –

Ho Ho Lun

05:03[15]

Gran Metalik

Sub

July 27 –

TJ Perkins

17:47[6]

Raul Mendoza

Sub

August 17 –

The Brian Kendrick

07:35[16]

The Brian Kendrick

Sub

July 27 –

Tony Nese

13:42[11]

Anthony Bennett

Pin

August 31 -

Tony Nese

06:34[16]

The Brian Kendrick

Pin

July 13 –

Kota Ibushi

13:58[13]

Kota Ibushi

Pin

August 10 –

Sean Maluta

09:40[15]

Kota Ibushi

Pin

July 13 –

Cedric Alexander

15:00[14]

Cedric Alexander

Pin

September 14 –

Clement Petiot

05:58[15]

Kota Ibushi

Sub

July 20 –

TJ Perkins

14:52[6]

TJ Perkins

Sub

August 24 –

Da Mack

06:32[10]

TJ Perkins

Sub

August 3 –

Johnny Gargano

12:18[17]

Johnny Gargano

Pin

September 7 -

Tommaso Ciampa

10:47[12]

TJ Perkins

Sub

July 20 –

Rich Swann

17:03[18]

Mustafa Ali

Pin

August 24 –

Lince Dorado

05:55[10]

Lince Dorado

Pin

August 3 –

Rich Swann

08:14[17]

Rich Swann

Pin

Jason Lee

03:47[12]

Reigns

Neville, the current and longest reigning champion

As of August 14, 2017, there have been 4 reigns between 4 champions. The inaugural champion was TJ Perkins. The oldest champion is The Brian Kendrick at 37 years old, while the youngest champion is Rich Swann at 25 years old. Neville is the longest reigning champion at 7002197000000000000♠197+ days, while Kendrick has the shortest reign at 30 days ( WWE recognises the reign as 31 days).

Neville is the current champion in his first reign. He won the title by defeating Rich Swann on January 29, 2017 in San Antonio, Texas at the Royal Rumble.

See also

• Cruiserweight Classic
• WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1991–2007)
• List of current champions in WWE

Notes

References

External links

• Official WWE Cruiserweight Title History