IWRG Intercontinental Middleweight Championship

The IWRG Intercontinental Middleweight Championship (Campeonato Intercontinental de Peso Medio IWRGL in Spanish) is a professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG). The official definition of the Middleweight weight class in Mexico is between 82 kg (181 lb) and 87 kg (192 lb), but the weight limits are not always strictly adhered to.^[a][2] Because Lucha Libre puts more emphasis on the lower weightclasses, this division is considered more important than the normally more prestigious heavyweight division of the promotion.^[3]

IWRG Intercontinental Middleweight Championship
The middleweight championship belt
Details
Promotion	International Wrestling Revolution Group
Date established	July 27, 1997[1]
Current champion(s)	Arez
Date won	May 1, 2024
Statistics First champion(s) El Pantera[1] Most reigns Bombero Infernal (7 reigns) Longest reign Pentagón Black (At least 351 days) (Individual) Bombero Infernal (At least 488 days) (Combined) Shortest reign Nitro (6 days) (Confirmed)

The current champion is Arez who defeated then-champion Noisy Boy for the title on May 1, 2024. Arez is the 49th overall champion. The first champion was Pantera, who defeated Tony Rivera in Naucalpan, Mexico on July 27, 1997 in the finals of a tournament.^[1] It has since been defended throughout Mexico, but primarily in Naucalpan which is the IWRG's "home ground". In November 2007 Negro Casas, who was under contract with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) but worked for IWRG under a talent sharing agreement between IWRG and CMLL, won the title. The talent sharing agreement ended in 2008 but the Middleweight championship was not declared vacant even though Negro Casas was not able to defend it. After four years of inactivity, the title was vacated and put up in a tournament in May 2012 and has been active in IWRG since.

As it is a professional wrestling championship, the championship was not won not by actual competition, but by a scripted ending to a match determined by the bookers and match makers.^[b] On occasion the promotion declares a championship vacant, which means there is no champion at that point in time. This can either be due to a storyline,^[c] or real life issues such as a champion suffering an injury being unable to defend the championship,^[d] or leaving the company.^[e]

Championship tournaments

Details of the initial tournament in July 1997 has not been verified only that Pantera II defeated Tony Rivera in the finals of an eight-man tournament.^[1]

November 2007 Championship tournament

IWRG stripped Pentagón Black of the championship and started an eight-man, single elimination tournament on October 15, 2007. The final match took place on November 1, 2007 at IWRG's annual El Castillo del Terror tournament.^[8]

Quarter-finals

semi-finals

Finals

1

Ultraman, Jr.

W

8

Oficial Fierro

[8]

Ultraman, Jr.

[8]

Negro Casas

W

4

Nitro

[8]

5

Negro Casas

W

Negro Casas

W

Villano III

[8]

2

Villano III

W

7

El Felino

[8]

Villano III

W

Damian 666

[8]

3

Bogeman

[8]

6

Damian 666

W

May 2012 Championship tournament

The Middleweight Championship had been inactive since late 2007 until May 1, 2012 when IWRG officially announced that the championship was vacated and would be decided in an eight-man tournament that was the focal point of their May 6, 2013 Caravan de Campeones show.^[9]

Quarter-finals

semi-finals

Finals

1

The Mummy

W

8

Tony Rivera

[9]

The Mummy

[9]

Oficial AK-47

W

4

Oficial Spartan

[9]

5

Oficial AK-47

W

Oficial AK-47

W

Veneno

[9]

2

Veneno

W

7

El Hijo del Diablo

[9]

Veneno

W

Super Nova

[9]

3

Dr. Cerebro

[9]

6

Super Nova

W

Title history

Key

No.	Overall reign number
Reign	Reign number for the specific champion
Days	Number of days held
N/A	Unknown information
(NLT)	Championship change took place "no later than" the date listed
†	Championship change is unrecognized by the promotion
+	Current reign is changing daily

No.	Champion	Championship change			Reign statistics		Notes	Ref.
		Date	Event	Location	Reign	Days
1	Pantera II	July 27, 1997	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	[f]	Won an 8-man tournament by defeating Tony Rivera to become first champion.	[1]
2	El Hijo del Gladiador	Unknown	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	[g]		[1]
3	Magnum Tokyo	July 5, 1998	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	91		[1]
4	Mr. Niebla	October 4, 1998	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	98		[1]
5	Bombero Infernal	January 10, 1999	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	147		[1]
6	Mr. Niebla	June 6, 1999	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	2	140	During this reign Mr. Niebla is unmasked and begins to work under the ring name Mr. Mexico.	[1]
7	Bombero Infernal	October 24, 1999	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	2	53		[1]
8	Último Vampiro (III)	December 16, 1999	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	24		[1]
9	Black Dragon	January 9, 2000	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	315		[10][11]
10	Bombero Infernal	November 19, 2000	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	3	126		[11][10]
11	Último Vampiro (III)	March 25, 2001	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	2	246		[12]
12	Bombero Infernal	November 25, 2001	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	4	13		[12]
13	Último Vampiro (III)	December 2, 2001	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	3	53		[12]
14	Pantera	January 24, 2002	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	2	49	Defeated Último Vampiro in a "title vs. mask" triangle match that also included Pentagón Black.	[13][14]
15	Bombero Infernal	March 14, 2002	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	5	136		[13]
16	Tony Rivera	July 28, 2002	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	28		[13]
17	Último Vampiro (V)	August 25, 2002	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	569	A different wrestler had taken over the Último Vampiro character, but the reign was recognized as uninterrupted.	[13]
—	Vacated	March 16, 2004	—	—	—	—	Championship vacated when Último Vampiro left the promotion
18	Fantasy	March 18, 2004	Rey del Ring	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	66	Won the championship by winning the annual IWRG Rey del Ring tournament.	[15]
19	Cerebro Negro	May 23, 2004	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	[h]		[15]
20	Matrix	2004	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	6	[i]	Previously won the title under the name Bombero Infernal.	[15]
21	Veneno	January 13, 2005	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	147		[16]
22	Black Dragon	June 9, 2005	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	2	7		[16]
23	Veneno	June 16, 2005	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	2	35		[16]
24	Cyborg	July 21, 2005	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	143		[16]
25	Veneno	December 11, 2005	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	3	231		[16]
26	Pantera	July 30, 2006	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	3	71		[17]
27	Nitro	October 9, 2006	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	6		[17]
28	Pentagón Black	October 15, 2006	IWRG show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	365		[17]
—	Vacated	October 15, 2007	—	—	—	—	Championship vacated when Pentagón Black left the promotion.	[8]
29	Negro Casas	November 1, 2007	El Castillo del Terror	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	1,643	Defeated Villano III in the finals of an eight-man tournament to win the vacant title.	[8]
—	Vacated	May 1, 2012	—	—	—	—	Championship officially vacated due to inactivity.
30	Oficial AK-47	May 6, 2012	Caravana de Campeones	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	154	Defeated Veneno in the finals of an eight-man tournament to win the vacant title.	[9]
31	El Ángel	October 7, 2012	Live event	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	186	This was a ten-man steel cage match, also involving Carta Brava Jr., Carta Brava Jr. (II), El Hijo del Dr. Wagner, El Hijo de Pirata Morgan, El Hijo de Máscara Año 2000, Oficial Factor, Veneno and Violencia Jr.	[18]
32	Eterno	April 11, 2013	Live event	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	49		[19]
33	El Hijo de Pirata Morgan	April 11, 2013	Live event	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	668		[20]
34	Veneno	March 29, 2015	Live event	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	4	210		[21]
35	Heddi Karaoui	October 25, 2015	Live event	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	315		[22]
36	Imposible	September 4, 2016	La Hora de la Verdad	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	140		[23]
37	Relámpago	January 22, 2017	IWRG House show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	238		[24]
38	Eterno	September 17, 2017	Caravana de Campeones	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	2	14		[25]
39	Bombero Infernal	October 1, 2017	IWRG House show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	7	324		[26]
40	Dr. Cerebro	January 21, 2018	IWRG House show	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	231
41	Imposible	September 9, 2018	Caravana de Campeones	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	2	479		[27]
—	Vacated	January 1, 2020	—	—	—	—
42	Demonio Infernal	January 1, 2020	Cinco Luchas en Jaula	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	298	Demonio Infernal defeated Fuerza Guerrera Nueva Generacion, Pasion Cristal, Ave Rex, Emperador Azteca, El Hijo del Alebrije in a Steel cage match for the "Briefcase of Glory" and the vacant title.	[28]
43	Dragon Bane	October 25, 2020	Live event	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	469		[29]
44	Travis Banks	February 6, 2022	IWRG El Protector 2022	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	56		[30]
45	Dr. Cerebro	April 3, 2022	IWRG Guerra del Golfo 2022	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	2	56		[31]
46	Tonalli	May 29, 2022	Live event	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	154		[32]
47	Puma de Oro	October 30, 2022	IWRG Castillo Del Terror 2022	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	361	This was a title vs. title match in which Puma de Oro also defended the Mexico Championship.	[33]
—	Vacated	February 18, 2024	—	—	—	—
48	Noisy Boy	February 18, 2024	IWRG El Protector 2024	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	73	Defeated Aster Boy, El Hijo del Alebrije, Septimo Dragon and Spider Fly in a five-way match for the vacant title.	[34]
49	Arez	May 1, 2024	IWRG Choque De Fieras Encadenados	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	1	219+		[35]

Combined reigns

†	Indicates the current champion
¤	The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used.
+	Indicates that the date changes daily for the current champion

Rank	Wrestler	No. of reigns	Combined days
1	Negro Casas	1	1,643
2	Bombero Infernal/Matrix	7	675¤
3	El Hijo de Pirata Morgan	1	668
4	Veneno	4	623
5	Imposible	2	619
6	Último Vampiro (V)	1	569
7	Puma de Oro	1	476
8	Dragon Bane	1	469
9	Pentagón Black	1	365
10	Black Dragon	2	322
11	Heddi Karaoui	1	315
12	Demonio Infernal	1	298
13	Dr. Cerebro	2	287
14	Último Vampiro (III)	3	280
15	Mr. Niebla	2	238
	Relámpago	1
17	Arez †	1	219+[36]
18	El Ángel	1	186
19	Oficial AK-47	1	154
	Tonalli
21	Cyborg	1	143
22	Pantera / Pantera II	3	121¤
23	Magnum Tokyo	1	91
24	Noisy Boy	1	73
25	Fantasy	1	66
26	Eterno	2	63
27	Travis Banks	1	56
28	Tony Rivera	1	28
29	Nitro	1	6
30	El Hijo del Gladiador	1	N/A
	Cerebro Negro	1	N/A

Footnotes

1. One example the weightlimits not being strictly enforced is Mephisto winning the CMLL World Welterweight Championship, a championship with a 78 kg (172 lb) upper limit despite weighing 90 kg (200 lb).
2. Hornbaker (2016) p. 550: "Professional wrestling is a sport in which match finishes are predetermined. Thus, win–loss records are not indicative of a wrestler's genuine success based on their legitimate abilities – but on now much, or how little they were pushed by promoters"^[4]
3. Duncan & Will (2000) p. 271, Chapter: Texas: NWA American Tag Team Title [World Class, Adkisson] "Championship held up and rematch ordered because of the interference of manager Gary Hart"^[5]
4. Duncan & Will (2000) p. 20, Chapter: (United States: 19th Century & widely defended titles – NWA, WWF, AWA, IW, ECW, NWA) NWA/WCW TV Title "Rhodes stripped on 85/10/19 for not defending the belt after having his leg broken by Ric Flair and Ole & Arn Anderson"^[6]
5. Duncan & Will (2000) p. 201, Chapter: (Memphis, Nashville) Memphis: USWA Tag Team Title "Vacant on 93/01/18 when Spike leaves the USWA."^[7]
6. The exact date Pantera lost the Championship is not known placing the title reign between 1 and 342 days.
7. The exact date Hijo del Gladiador won the Championship is not known placing the title reign between 1 and 342 days.
8. The exact date on which Cerebro Negro lost the title is not documented, which means the title reign lasted between 1 and 222 days.
9. The exact date on which Matrix won the title is not documented, which means the title reign lasted between 13 and 234 days.

References

• Hornbaker, Tim (2016). "Statistical notes". Legends of Pro Wrestling - 150 years of headlocks, body slams, and piledrivers (Revised ed.). New York, New York: Sports Publishing. ISBN 978-1-61321-808-2.
• Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

1. Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "MEXICO: IWRG Intercontinental World Middleweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 402. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
2. Arturo Montiel Rojas (2001-08-30). "Reglamento de Box y Lucha Libre Professional del Estado de Mexico" (PDF). Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 30, 2006. Retrieved August 18, 2009. Articulo 242: "Super welter 82 kilos / Medio 87 kilos"
3. Madigan, Dan (2007). ""Okay... what is Lucha Libre?"". Mondo Lucha a Go Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publisher. pp. 29–40. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
4. Hornbaker 2016, p. 550.
5. Duncan & Will 2000, p. 271.
6. Duncan & Will 2000, p. 20.
7. Duncan & Will 2000, p. 201.
8. "2007 Lo Mejor de la Lucha Mexicana". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). December 26, 2007. issue 244. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
9. "Los campeones, firmes en sus tronos en IWRG; AK-47, nuevo campeón de peso medio". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). May 7, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
10. "SLAM! Wrestling International -- 2000: The Year-In-Review Mexico". Slam Wrestling!. Canoe. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
11. "2000 Especial". Box y Lucha Magazine (in Spanish). January 9, 2001. pp. 2–20. issue 2488.
12. "2001: Los Campeones". Box y Lucha Magazine (in Spanish). January 13, 2002. pp. 15–17. issue 2540.
13. "2002: considerar detrás". Box y Lucha Magazine (in Spanish). January 19, 2003. 2593.
14. Hoops, Brian (January 24, 2020). "Pro wrestling history (01/24): WWF Royal Rumble 1999". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
15. "Número Especial - Lo mejor de la lucha libre mexicana durante el 2004". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). January 24, 2005. 91.
16. "2005 Lo Mejor de la Lucha Mexicana". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). January 3, 2006. issue 140.
17. "Lo Mejor de la Lucha Libre Mexicana duranted el 2006". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). December 23, 2006. issue 192. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
18. "El Ángel, nuevo campeón de peso medio". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). October 8, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
19. "Sigue la guerra entre Toscano y Máscara Año Dos Mil jr". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). April 11, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
20. Eguiluz, Diego Mejía (April 12, 2013). "Sigue la guerra entre Toscano y Máscara Año Dos Mil jr" (in Spanish). The Gladiatores. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
21. Eguiluz, Diego Mejía (March 30, 2015). "Pese a ser una pareja disfuncional, Negro Navarro y Pirata Morgan salieron con el brazo en alto" (in Spanish). The Gladiatores. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
22. Eguiluz, Diego Mejía (October 26, 2015). "Con ayuda de un capo, el francés Karaoui es el nuevo campeón de peso medio" (in Spanish). The Gladiatores. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
23. Reyes Ruiz, Eduardo (September 4, 2016). "Canis Lupus pierde la máscara, su verdugo, el Trauma Primero". Estrellas del Ring (in Spanish). Retrieved September 5, 2016.
24. Mejía Eguiluz, Diego (January 23, 2017). "Relámpago destronó al Imposible". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). Retrieved January 23, 2017.
25. Lizárraga, Alfonso (September 18, 2017). "Los Warriors continúan como campeones de parejas en Naucalpan". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). Retrieved September 19, 2017.
26. Lizárraga, Alfonso (October 2, 2017). "Bombero Infernal nuevo campeón Intercontinental Medio de IWRG". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). Retrieved October 2, 2017.
27. Lizarraga, Alfonso (September 10, 2018). "Mr. Electro continúa como campeón, Cuervo y Escoria llegan a Naucalpan". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). Retrieved September 15, 2018.
28. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "IWRG El Protector 2022". cagematch.net. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
29. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "IWRG Cinco Luchas En Jaula". cagematch.net. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
30. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "IWRG El Protector 2022". cagematch.net. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
31. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "IWRG Guerra del Golfo 2022". cagematch.net. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
32. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "IWRG Live event". cagematch.net. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
33. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "IWRG Castillo Del Terror 2022". cagematch.net. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
34. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "IWRG El Protector 2024". cagematch.net. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
35. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "IWRG Choque De Fieras Encadenados". cagematch.net. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
36. As of December 6, 2024.

External links

• Wrestling-titles.com
• Solie.org
• Cagematch.net