WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1991–2007)
The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. It is competed for by cruiserweights at no more than a weight of 220 lbs.[1] and was originally a World Championship Wrestling title. During its time in WWE, it was only competed for on the SmackDown brand.
| WWE Cruiserweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Matt Hardy as Cruiserweight Champion | |||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | WCW (1991–2001) WWF/WWE (2001–2007) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brand | SmackDown (2002–2007) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date created | March 20, 1996[a] October 27, 1991[b] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other name(s) | * WCW Light Heavyweight Championship (1991–1992)[c]
| ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
History
Following the title's introduction in 1991, a tournament was held to determine the first champion. On October 27, Brian Pillman beat Richard Morton in the tournament final to win the title. However, it was vacated on September 2, 1992, due to Brad Armstrong's knee injury during his reign. Then, on March 20, 1996, Shinjiro Ohtani beat Chris Benoit in another tournament final to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.
In March 2001, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. purchased World Championship Wrestling. Following this, the "Invasion" storyline happened, in which WCW was "destroyed". During the "Invasion", only four WCW championship titles remained active, including the WCW Cruiserweight title. On July 30, the WCW Cruiserweight Championship and the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship were up for grabs in what was billed as a unification match when the WWF Light Heavyweight Champion, X-Pac, beat the WCW Cruiserweight Champion, Billy Kidman.[2] However, the titles were still defended separately after that.[3] After the end of the "Invasion" at Survivor Series 2001, the WCW Cruiserweight Championship remained active and was renamed the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Cruiserweight Championship, while the Light Heavyweight Title was retired.[4]
After six months without a champion, on March 3, 2008, WWE removed the championship from the active championship web page, where originally the title was listed as "vacant." Afterward, the title was removed from the active titles list on WWE's title histories web page to the defunct (or retired) championship list. In this way, the title was quietly retired. As a result, Hornswoggle is the last WWE Cruiserweight Champion.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1991–2007) Media
Hornswoggle, who is recognized as the final champion
Notes
- ↑ The date it was established in WCW before WWE's purchase.
- ↑ As per WWE's official title history, which considers the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship and the Cruiserweight Championship to be one and the same.
- ↑ As per WWE's official title history, which considers the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship and the Cruiserweight Championship to be one and the same.
- ↑ Otani was the inaugural champion in WCW before WWE's purchase.
- ↑ As per WWE's official title history, which considers the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship and the Cruiserweight Championship to be one and the same.
References
- ↑ "Fathers and sons who won the same championship". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
- ↑ "X-Pac's Reign". WWE. Archived from the original on 2012-01-27. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
- ↑ "WWE.com, Light Heavyweight - Tajiri". Archived from the original on 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
- ↑ "Light Heavyweight Championship". WWE.