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The NXT Cruiserweight Championship (originally known as the WWE Cruiserweight Championship from 2016 to 2019) is a former professional wrestling championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. Before its retirement, it was defended on the NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live brands. It was contested exclusively for wrestlers with a maximum bill weight of 205 lb (93 kg), referred to as cruiserweights. During its tenure, it was the only WWE championship with a weight limit.
Inaugural champion T. J. Perkins
Final champion Carmelo Hayes
Established as the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, the title was originally part of the Raw brand and defended on Monday Night Raw until the premiere of 205 Live, after which, it was defended on both shows until WrestleMania 34. Following this event, 205 Live became its own brand and the title became exclusive to 205 Live until October 2019 when it began to be defended on NXT. The title was subsequently renamed to NXT Cruiserweight Championship.[1][2][3] In January 2020, the title was extended to NXT's sister brand NXT UK.[4]
The championship was generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants executed scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition. The inaugural champion was T. J. Perkins, who was awarded the title for winning the Cruiserweight Classic on September 14, 2016. Carmelo Hayes is recognized as the final champion. He defeated Roderick Strong on the special New Year's Evil episode of NXT 2.0 on January 4, 2022, to unify the title with the NXT North American Championship; the Cruiserweight Championship was immediately retired following his win.
Throughout the championship's short history, there were 20 reigns between 18 champions and one vacancy. The oldest champion was Roderick Strong, winning the title at 38 years old, while the youngest champion was Lio Rush when he won it at 24. Neville and Enzo Amore were tied for the most reigns at two. Jordan Devlin's sole reign was the longest reign at 439 days, while final champion Carmelo Hayes' singular reign was the shortest at less than a minute as the title was immediately retired after he won it in a title unification match.
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Names
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| WWE Cruiserweight Championship | September 14, 2016 – October 2, 2019 |
| NXT Cruiserweight Championship | October 2, 2019 – January 4, 2022 |
Reigns
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Days recog. | Number of days held recognized by the promotion |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Days recog. | |||||
| WWE: Raw | ||||||||||
| 1 | T. J. Perkins | September 14, 2016 | Cruiserweight Classic Finale | Winter Park, FL | 1 | 46 | 45 | Before the finale of the Cruiserweight Classic, WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H revealed that the winner would also win the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Championship for WWE's revived cruiserweight division exclusive to the Raw brand. T. J. Perkins defeated Gran Metalik in the tournament final to become the inaugural champion. | [5] | |
| 2 | The Brian Kendrick | October 30, 2016 | Hell in a Cell | Boston, MA | 1 | 30 | 30 | [6] | ||
| 3 | Rich Swann | November 29, 2016 | 205 Live | Columbia, SC | 1 | 61 | 60 | This was the inaugural episode of 205 Live. | [7] | |
| 4 | Neville | January 29, 2017 | Royal Rumble | San Antonio, TX | 1 | 197 | 196 | [8] | ||
| 5 | Akira Tozawa | August 14, 2017 | Raw | Boston, MA | 1 | 6 | 5 | [9] | ||
| 6 | Neville | August 20, 2017 | SummerSlam Kickoff |
Brooklyn, NY | 2 | 35 | 35 | [10] | ||
| 7 | Enzo Amore | September 24, 2017 | No Mercy | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | 15 | 15 | [11] | ||
| 8 | Kalisto | October 9, 2017 | Raw | Indianapolis, IN | 1 | 13 | 12 | This was a lumberjack match. | [12] | |
| 9 | Enzo Amore | October 22, 2017 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Minneapolis, MN | 2 | 93 | 92 | [13] | ||
| — | Vacated | January 23, 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | Vacated due to Enzo Amore's release from WWE one day after it was confirmed that Amore was under investigation for an alleged sexual assault that was reported to the police in October 2017. | [14][15] | |
| 10 | Cedric Alexander | April 8, 2018 | WrestleMania 34 Kickoff |
New Orleans, LA | 1 | 181 | 180 | Defeated Mustafa Ali in a tournament final to win the vacant championship. The title then became exclusive to the 205 Live brand. |
[16] | |
| WWE: 205 Live | ||||||||||
| 11 | Buddy Murphy | October 6, 2018 | Super Show-Down | Melbourne, Australia | 1 | 183 | 183 | [17] | ||
| 12 | Tony Nese | April 7, 2019 | WrestleMania 35 Kickoff |
East Rutherford, NJ | 1 | 77 | 77 | [18] | ||
| 13 | Drew Gulak | June 23, 2019 | Stomping Grounds Kickoff |
Tacoma, WA | 1 | 108 | 108 | This was a triple threat match also involving Akira Tozawa, whom Gulak pinned. In October 2019, the title became shared between 205 Live and NXT, and it was renamed the NXT Cruiserweight Championship. |
[19][3] | |
| WWE: NXT and 205 Live | ||||||||||
| 14 | Lio Rush | October 9, 2019 | NXT | Winter Park, FL | 1 | 63 | 63 | [20] | ||
| 15 | Angel Garza | December 11, 2019 | NXT | Winter Park, FL | 1 | 45 | 44 | [21] | ||
| 16 | Jordan Devlin | January 25, 2020 | Worlds Collide | Houston, TX | 1 | 439 | 438 | This was a fatal four-way match also involving Travis Banks and Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, whom Devlin pinned. With Devlin's win, the title was extended to the NXT UK brand. Devlin's reign ended on April 8, 2021 at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night 2, when Santos Escobar defeated him to determine the undisputed champion. From May 27, 2020 (aired June 3) until April 8, 2021, both Devlin and Escobar were recognized as champion. | [4][22] | |
| WWE: NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live | ||||||||||
| 17 | El Hijo del Fantasma/Santos Escobar | May 27, 2020 | NXT | Winter Park, FL | 1 | 321 | 313 | Due to a travel ban as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an interim champion was crowned in the United States until Jordan Devlin could return; Devlin, who resided in the United Kingdom, still defended the title on NXT UK while the U.S.-based interim champion defended the title on NXT. Fantasma defeated Drake Maverick in the finals of an eight-man tournament to become the interim champion in the U.S. WWE recognizes his reign as beginning on June 3, 2020, when the episode aired on tape delay. On the June 10 episode, Fantasma unmasked and changed his ring name to Santos Escobar. After Devlin made his return to the U.S. the following year, Escobar defeated Devlin in a ladder match at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night 2 on April 8, 2021 to determine the undisputed champion (recognized as a continuation of his reign as interim champion). |
[23][24][22] | |
| 18 | Kushida | April 13, 2021 | NXT | Orlando, FL | 1 | 161 | 160 | [25] | ||
| 19 | Roderick Strong | September 21, 2021 | NXT 2.0 | Orlando, FL | 1 | 105 | 105 | [26] | ||
| 20 | Carmelo Hayes | January 4, 2022 | NXT 2.0: New Year's Evil |
Orlando, FL | 1 | <1 | <1 | This was a title unification match in which Hayes also defended the NXT North American Championship. WWE's official title history incorrectly lists his reign as ending on January 5, 2022. |
[27] | |
| — | Unified | January 4, 2022 | NXT 2.0: New Year's Evil |
Orlando, FL | — | — | — | Carmelo Hayes defeated Roderick Strong to unify the NXT Cruiserweight Championship into the NXT North American Championship. The Cruiserweight Championship was retired with Hayes going forward as North American Champion. | [27] | |
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Neville (left) and Enzo Amore (right) tied the record for most reigns at two
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| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined days |
Combined days rec. by WWE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Devlin | 1 | 439 | 438 |
| 2 | El Hijo del Fantasma/Santos Escobar | 1 | 321 | 313 |
| 3 | Neville | 2 | 232 | 231 |
| 4 | Buddy Murphy | 1 | 183 | |
| 5 | Cedric Alexander | 1 | 181 | 180 |
| 6 | Kushida | 1 | 161 | 160 |
| 7 | Enzo Amore | 2 | 108 | 107 |
| Drew Gulak | 1 | 108 | ||
| 9 | Roderick Strong | 1 | 105 | |
| 10 | Tony Nese | 1 | 77 | |
| 11 | Lio Rush | 1 | 63 | |
| 12 | Rich Swann | 1 | 61 | 60 |
| 13 | T. J. Perkins | 1 | 46 | 45 |
| 14 | Angel Garza | 1 | 45 | 44 |
| 15 | The Brian Kendrick | 1 | 30 | |
| 16 | Kalisto | 1 | 13 | 12 |
| 17 | Akira Tozawa | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| 18 | Carmelo Hayes | 1 | <1 | |
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