WWE Cruiserweight Championship
| WWE Cruiserweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The WWE Cruiserweight Championship belt | |||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | WWE | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brand |
Raw 205 Live | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | September 14, 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Rich Swann | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | November 29, 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
The WWE Cruiserweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The title is defended on the Raw brand (the original home of the division), and the cruiserweight-exclusive program 205 Live. The current champion is Rich Swann, who is in his first reign.
Unveiled on September 14, 2016, as the award for the inaugural Cruiserweight Classic, which was won by T.J. Perkins, it is contested in WWE's cruiserweight division by wrestlers at a maximum weight of 205 lb (93 kg). 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.[1]
History
The Cruiserweight Classic was a WWE Network series and tournament for cruiserweights.[2] 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.[3]
The final of the Cruiserweight Classic came down to T.J. 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.[4][5]
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[6] | |||||||||||||||||
| Akira Tozawa | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Jack Gallagher | 11:38[7] | |||||||||||||||||
| Jack Gallagher | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 31 - | ||||||||||||||||||
 Fabian Aichner | 06:45[8] | |||||||||||||||||
| Akira Tozawa | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 20 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Gran Metalik | 15:49[9] | |||||||||||||||||
| Tajiri | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 10 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Damian Slater | 05:28[6] | |||||||||||||||||
| Tajiri | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik | 10:53[10] | |||||||||||||||||
 Alejandro Saez | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 14 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik | 04:04[11] | |||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre, Jr. | 13:13[5] | |||||||||||||||||
 Harv Sihra | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 24 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Drew Gulak | 05:18[12] | |||||||||||||||||
| Drew Gulak | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre, Jr. | 08:27[13] | |||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre, Jr. | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| September 7 - | ||||||||||||||||||
 Tyson Dux | 08:28[12] | |||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre, Jr. | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 / Noam Dar | 15:46[14] | |||||||||||||||||
| / Noam Dar | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 17 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gurv Sihra | 05:26[8] | |||||||||||||||||
| / Noam Dar | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Ho Ho Lun | 07:02[7] | |||||||||||||||||
 Ariya Daivari | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 14 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ho Ho Lun | 05:03[11] | |||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 / T.J. Perkins | 17:47[5] | |||||||||||||||||
| Raul Mendoza | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 17 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| The Brian Kendrick | 07:35[12] | |||||||||||||||||
| The Brian Kendrick | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tony Nese | 13:42[7] | |||||||||||||||||
| Anthony Bennett | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 31 - | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tony Nese | 06:34[12] | |||||||||||||||||
| The Brian Kendrick | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi | 13:58[9] | |||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 10 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Sean Maluta | 09:40[11] | |||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cedric Alexander | 15:00[10] | |||||||||||||||||
| Cedric Alexander | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 14 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Clement Petiot | 05:58[11] | |||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 20 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| / T.J. Perkins | 14:52[5] | |||||||||||||||||
| / T.J. Perkins | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 24 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Da Mack | 06:32[6] | |||||||||||||||||
| / T.J. Perkins | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Johnny Gargano | 12:18[13] | |||||||||||||||||
| Johnny Gargano | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 7 - | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tommaso Ciampa | 10:47[8] | |||||||||||||||||
| / T.J. Perkins | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 20 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rich Swann | 17:03[14] | |||||||||||||||||
 Mustafa Ali | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 24 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Lince Dorado | 05:55[6] | |||||||||||||||||
| Lince Dorado | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rich Swann | 08:14[13] | |||||||||||||||||
| Rich Swann | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Jason Lee | 03:47[8] | |||||||||||||||||
Reigns
As of December 5, 2016, there have been 3 reigns between 3 champions. The inaugural champion was T.J. Perkins, who is also the longest reigning champion at 46 days. The oldest champion is The Brian Kendrick at 37 years old, and the youngest champion is Rich Swann at 25 years old.
The current champion is Rich Swann. He defeated The Brian Kendrick on November 29, 2016 in Columbia, South Carolina on the premiere of WWE 205 Live.
| Reign | The reign number for the specific champion listed |
|---|---|
| Location | The city in which the title was won |
| Event | The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title was won |
| — | Used for vacated reigns so as not to count it as an official reign |
| + | Indicates the current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Event | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | T.J. Perkins | 1 | September 14, 2016 | 46 | Winter Park, FL | Cruiserweight Classic Finale | Defeated Gran Metalik in the final of the Cruiserweight Classic to become the inaugural champion. | [5] |
| 2 | Brian Kendrick | 1 | October 30, 2016 | 30 | Boston, MA | Hell in a Cell | [15] | |
| 3 | Rich Swann | 1 | November 29, 2016 | 6+ | Columbia, SC | 205 Live | [16] |
Combined reigns
As of December 5, 2016.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
|---|
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | T.J. Perkins | 1 | 46 |
| 2 | The Brian Kendrick | 1 | 30 |
| 3 | Rich Swann † | 1 | 6+ |
See also
References
- ↑ "WWE Cruiserweight Championship". WWE.com.
- ↑ "WWE Network adds Global Cruiserweight Series to robust 2016 programming slate". wwe.com. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ↑ "WWE Cruiserweight Classic tickets available starting Friday, May 20". WWE. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
- ↑ "WWE Cruiserweight Classic: T.J. Perkins becomes Raw's first WWE Cruiserweight Champion". WWE. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Caldwell, James. "9/14 WWE Cruiserweight Tourney Finals – Caldwell's Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Caldwell, James (2016-07-20). "7/20 WWE Cruiserweight Results – Caldwell's Week 2 Report on Akira Tozawa, Tajiri, TJP, excellent Dorado vs. Ali match". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
- 1 2 3 Caldwell, James (2016-08-17). "8/17 WWE Cruiserweight Results – Caldwell's Report on stellar Kendrick vs. Nese and Gallagher vs. Tozawa Sweet 16 matches". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
- 1 2 3 4 Caldwell, James (2016-08-03). "8/3 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament Results – Caldwell's Report on Week 4 to conclude First Round, including Gargano vs. Ciampa". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
- 1 2 Caldwell, James (2016-08-31). "8/31 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament Week 8 – Caldwell's Report on Ibushi vs. Kendrick, Tozawa vs. Metalik Elite 8 matches". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
- 1 2 Caldwell, James (2016-08-10). "8/10 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament Results – Caldwell's Report on Ibushi vs. Alexander classic, Tajiri vs. Metalik in Sweet 16". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- 1 2 3 4 Caldwell, James (2016-07-13). "7/13 WWE Cruiserweight Results – Caldwell's Week 1 Report on Ibushi, Cedric Alexander, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
- 1 2 3 4 Caldwell, James (2016-07-27). "7/27 WWE Cruiserweight Results – Caldwell's Week 3 Report on Zack Sabre, Brian Kendrick, more in action". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
- 1 2 3 Caldwell, James (2016-08-24). "8/24 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament Week 7 – Caldwell's Report on Gargano vs. TJP, Sabre vs. Gulak, Swann vs. Dorado to finish Sweet 16". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
- 1 2 Caldwell, James (2016-09-07). "9/7 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament – Caldwell's Report on Sabre vs. Dar, Swann vs. Perkins to conclude Elite 8 Round". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Namako, Jason. "WWE 205 Live Results – 11/29/16 (Rich Swann wins the WWE Cruiserweight Championship on the premiere episode)". WreslteView. Retrieved November 29, 2016.