WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1996–2007)
Professional wrestling championship / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The WWE Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/WWE). It was contested by wrestlers 220 lbs (100 kg) and under, billed as cruiserweights. Following the acquisition of WCW by the then-WWF in 2001, it became a WWF (and later, WWE) championship and replaced the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. During the first WWE brand extension, it was the only title to be exclusive to the SmackDown! brand during its entire tenure.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Promotion | WCW (1996–2001) WWF/WWE (2001–2007) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Date established | March 20, 1996[lower-alpha 1] October 27, 1991[lower-alpha 2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Date retired | September 28, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The championship was created in WCW in 1996, with Shinjiro Otani as the inaugural champion. However, following WCW's purchase, the WWF/E considered the title to be a continuation of the earlier WCW Light Heavyweight Championship, which had been created in 1991 with Brian Pillman as the inaugural champion. The Cruiserweight Championship was retired in 2007 with Hornswoggle 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 to NXT 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.