NXT Cruiserweight Championship
| NXT Cruiserweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
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 The current NXT Cruiserweight Championship belt with default side plates (2020–present) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | WWE | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brand | NXT NXT UK 205 Live | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | September 14, 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Jordan Devlin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | January 25, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other name(s) | |||||||||||||||||||
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The NXT Cruiserweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on their NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live brands. Unveiled on September 14, 2016, as the award for the Cruiserweight Classic, which was won by T.J. Perkins, it is contested in the promotion's cruiserweight division by wrestlers at a maximum weight of 205 lb (93 kg), the only active WWE championship with a weight limit. The current champion is Jordan Devlin from NXT UK, who is in his first reign.
Established as the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, it was originally defended on Monday Night Raw as part of the Raw brand's cruiserweight division before the premiere of the cruiserweight-exclusive 205 Live in November 2016, after which, it was defended on both shows. Following WrestleMania 34 in 2018, the title became exclusively defended on the 205 Live brand.[1][2] In October 2019, the title became shared between 205 Live and NXT and was renamed NXT Cruiserweight Championship, and was then extended to NXT UK in January 2020.
The title is distinct from the previous WWE Cruiserweight Championship that originated in World Championship Wrestling and was retired in 2007. Although the two titles had shared the same name, they do not share the same title history.[3]
History
The Cruiserweight Classic was a WWE Network series and tournament for cruiserweights.[4] 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.[5]
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 revived cruiserweight division on the Raw brand. Perkins defeated Metalik to become the inaugural champion.[6][7]
Originally, the championship was defended exclusively on Monday Night Raw. On November 29, 2016, a cruiserweight-exclusive show on the WWE Network premiered called 205 Live.[8] On the premiere episode, Rich Swann defeated The Brian Kendrick for the championship.[9] The title then became defended on both Raw and 205 Live. In early 2018, Triple H was given creative control over 205 Live, as he has with the NXT brand, and began restructuring the show. Following WrestleMania 34, 205 Live became its own brand where the title became exclusively defended. Although the title became exclusive to 205 Live, it was still defended on WWE's main roster pay-per-views with Raw and SmackDown.[2]
After then-champion Enzo Amore was released from WWE on January 23, 2018, and the title was vacated,[10][11] it was announced that a general manager would be appointed for 205 Live and would address the championship.[12] On the January 30 episode of 205 Live, Drake Maverick (formerly known as Rockstar Spud in Impact Wrestling) was appointed as the 205 Live General Manager. Maverick announced that there would be a 16-man single elimination tournament to crown a new WWE Cruiserweight Champion, with the finals to occur on the WrestleMania 34 pre-show. The tournament came down to Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali where Alexander defeated Ali to win the vacant championship.[13]
Just prior to NXT moving to the USA Network in September 2019, NXT head Triple H spoke with Newsweek and said that "You'll start to see 205 [Live] begin to become part of NXT". He said that 205 Live's talent would start moving towards NXT, that 205 Live had "become lost in [the] limbo", and that the Cruiserweight Championship would have more meaning on NXT where it could create more opportunities for the cruiserweight wrestlers.[14] It was then reported that the NXT Creative Team would be in charge of 205 Live.[15] The following month, the title was renamed to the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, becoming part of the NXT brand, and started being defended on the NXT show. NXT, previously a developmental territory for WWE, became the promotion's third major brand with the move to USA.[16]
On October 18, 2019, Drake Maverick – who himself was drafted to SmackDown but remaining as the General Manager of 205 Live – announced that following the 2019 WWE Draft, he had made a talent exchange agreement with NXT General Manager William Regal, whereby NXT wrestlers (who are within the 205 pound weight limit) could also wrestle on 205 Live.[17][18] With Jordan Devlin's win at Worlds Collide on January 25, 2020, the title also became shared with the NXT UK brand.[19]
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[20] | |||||||||||||||||
| Akira Tozawa | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Jack Gallagher | 11:38[24] | |||||||||||||||||
| Jack Gallagher | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 31 - | ||||||||||||||||||
 Fabian Aichner | 06:45[21] | |||||||||||||||||
| Akira Tozawa | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 20 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Gran Metalik | 15:49[27] | |||||||||||||||||
| Tajiri | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 10 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Damian Slater | 05:28[20] | |||||||||||||||||
| Tajiri | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik | 10:53[25] | |||||||||||||||||
 Alejandro Saez | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 14 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik | 04:04[22] | |||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre, Jr. | 13:13[7] | |||||||||||||||||
 Harv Sihra | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 24 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Drew Gulak | 05:18[23] | |||||||||||||||||
| Drew Gulak | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre, Jr. | 08:27[26] | |||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre, Jr. | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| September 7 - | ||||||||||||||||||
 Tyson Dux | 08:28[23] | |||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre, Jr. | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
/ Noam Dar | 15:46[28] | |||||||||||||||||
| / Noam Dar | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 17 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gurv Sihra | 05:26[21] | |||||||||||||||||
| / Noam Dar | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Ho Ho Lun | 07:02[24] | |||||||||||||||||
 Ariya Daivari | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 14 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ho Ho Lun | 05:03[22] | |||||||||||||||||
| Gran Metalik | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 T.J. Perkins | 17:47[7] | |||||||||||||||||
| Raul Mendoza | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 17 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| The Brian Kendrick | 07:35[23] | |||||||||||||||||
| The Brian Kendrick | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 27 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tony Nese | 13:42[24] | |||||||||||||||||
| Anthony Bennett | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 31 - | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tony Nese | 06:34[23] | |||||||||||||||||
| The Brian Kendrick | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi | 13:58[27] | |||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 10 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Sean Maluta | 09:40[22] | |||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| July 13 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cedric Alexander | 15:00[25] | |||||||||||||||||
| Cedric Alexander | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 14 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Clement Petiot | 05:58[22] | |||||||||||||||||
| Kota Ibushi | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 20 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| T.J. Perkins | 14:52[7] | |||||||||||||||||
| T.J. Perkins | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 24 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Da Mack | 06:32[20] | |||||||||||||||||
| T.J. Perkins | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Johnny Gargano | 12:18[26] | |||||||||||||||||
| Johnny Gargano | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| September 7 - | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tommaso Ciampa | 10:47[21] | |||||||||||||||||
| T.J. Perkins | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| July 20 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rich Swann | 17:03[28] | |||||||||||||||||
 Mustafa Ali | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 24 – | ||||||||||||||||||
 Lince Dorado | 05:55[20] | |||||||||||||||||
| Lince Dorado | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| August 3 – | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rich Swann | 08:14[26] | |||||||||||||||||
| Rich Swann | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Jason Lee | 03:47[21] | |||||||||||||||||
Brand designation
The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the NXT Cruiserweight Championship between WWE's brands.
| Date of transition | Brand | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| September 14, 2016 | Raw | The championship was established for Raw as the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. TJ Perkins became the inaugural champion during the Cruiserweight Classic. |
| November 29, 2016 | 205 Live | The WWE Cruiserweight Championship became part of 205 Live after the launch of that brand on November 29, 2016, though the championship continued to be defended on Raw until WrestleMania 34, after which, it became exclusive to 205 Live. |
| October 9, 2019 | Shared (205 Live and NXT) |
The WWE Cruiserweight Championship became shared between 205 Live and NXT in October 2019 and was renamed to NXT Cruiserweight Championship. |
| January 25, 2020 | Shared (, NXT, and NXT UK) |
In addition to NXT, the NXT Cruiserweight Championship became shared with NXT UK in January 2020. |
Belt design
When the championship was introduced, the irregular shaped center plate of the belt largely featured a globe with the WWE logo over top of it. Above the globe was a banner that read "Cruiserweight" and below the globe was one that read "Champion". Ornamentation filled out the rest of the plate. In what has become a prominent feature of WWE's championship belts, the side plates featured removable center sections, allowing the holder's personal logo to be added to the championship belt; the default side plates showed silver and purple world maps with the WWE logo over them. The plates were on a purple strap. During Neville's first reign, the color of the slash under the WWE logo on the center plate and default side plates was changed from purple to orange.[29]
On January 25, 2020, Triple H and NXT General Manager William Regal presented a new NXT branded Cruiserweight Championship belt to then-champion Angel Garza. The design is largely the same, except the WWE logo on the center plate was replaced with a vertical NXT logo and the purple strap was changed to a dark purple, almost black colored strap.[30]
Reigns
As of January 10, 2025, there have been sixteen reigns between fourteen champions and one vacancy. The inaugural champion was T.J. Perkins. The oldest champion is The Brian Kendrick, winning the title at 37 years old, while the youngest champion is Lio Rush when he won it at 24. Neville and Enzo Amore have the most reigns at two. Neville also has the longest reign at 197 days (196 days as recognized by WWE), while Akira Tozawa has the shortest reign at 6 days (5 days as recognized by WWE). Neville also has the longest combined reign at 232 days (231 days as recognized by WWE).
Jordan Devlin is the current champion in his first reign. He won the title by defeating champion Angel Garza, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, and Travis Banks in a fatal four-way match at Worlds Collide on January 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas.
See also
Notes
References
- ^ McMahon, Vince (November 30, 2016). "Vince McMahon on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
- ^ a b Casey, Connor (June 29, 2018). "Here's Why the 205 Live Roster Is No Longer on Monday Night Raw". ComicBook.com. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
- ^ "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: TJ Perkins becomes Raw's first WWE Cruiserweight Champion". WWE. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
- ^ a b c d Caldwell, James. "9/14 WWE Cruiserweight Tourney Finals – Caldwell's Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
- ^ HHH discusses 205 Live...and more - 411 Mania.com
- ^ 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.
- ^ WWE.com Staff. "Enzo Amore suspended". WWE. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ "Enzo Amore released". WWE. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
- ^ "Daniel Bryan addresses the state of WWE 205 Live". WWE. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ Powell, Jason. "Powell's WrestleMania 34 Kickoff Show live review: WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal, Cedric Alexander vs. Mustfa Ali for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 9, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ Martinez, Phillip (September 10, 2019). "TRIPLE H DISCUSSES NXT'S MOVE TO USA AND THE BRAND'S CONTINUED EVOLUTION". Newsweek. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
- ^ https://pwinsider.com/article/129829/the-future-of-205-live-revealed.html?p=1
- ^ Johnson, Mike (October 3, 2019). "CHANGE TO WWE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE & MORE NXT NEWS". PWInsider. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ Csonka's 205 Live Review 10-18-19 - 411 Mania.com
- ^ Vishwakoti, Anish (October 18, 2019). "10/18 WWE 205 Live results: Anish V's review of Tony Nese vs. Oney Lorcan vs. Ariya Daivari in a Triple Threat, Jack Gallagher vs. Brian Kendrick, The Singh Brothers vs. Justin Alexander and Justin Morris". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
- ^ Powell, Jason. "WWE Worlds Collide results: Powell's live review of Undisputed Era vs. Imperium, Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm for the NXT Championship, Angel Garza vs. Isaiah Scott vs. Travis Banks vs. Jordan Devlin for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dragunov, DIY vs. Moustache Mountain". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Hausman, Nick (December 21, 2016). "Rich Swann Gets Custom Plates On Cruiserweight Title (Video), Bubba Ray Hosting RAW Party In Freehold, NJ". Wrestle Zone. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
- ^ "NXT replaces one title, implements changes to two others". SBNation. Retrieved January 25, 2020.