professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, a cruiserweight is a wrestler who competes in a Cruiserweight division. The term was first coined in

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

in 1996 by

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Natio ...

. Prior to this, the terms "Light Heavyweight" and "Junior Heavyweight" were more commonly in use. The older term junior heavyweight is still favored in Japan, where many titles for lighter-weight competitors are called junior heavyweight titles. Prominent titles include

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority share ...

's IWGP, Pro Wrestling Noah's GHC, and

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Bab ...

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

championships. The weight limit used by

(WCW) and Japanese promotions is "up to 225 lbs" (100 kg), while WWE currently uses 205 lb (93 kg) as its weight limit. Due to the scripted nature of professional wrestling and that the billed weight of wrestlers can be changed, weight classes usually are not strictly enforced as they are in

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

. New Japan and Noah also have junior heavyweight

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

titles, for teams composed of junior heavyweights. WCW tested such a format with their own title shortly before the company was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation. In 2016, WWE relaunched its Cruiserweight Championship using a 205 lb weight limit, and also introduced a dedicated weekly program, '' 205 Live'', focusing exclusively on cruiserweights. Cruiserweight divisions and championships have risen to much greater prominence in wrestling promotions in Japan and Mexico than the United States. While there have been various wrestling companies over the years that have promoted cruiserweight/junior heavyweight titles and divisions in the U.S., they have had comparatively little prominence when compared to World Heavyweight champions.

Wrestlers

Cruiserweight wrestlers are generally shorter and possess less muscle bulk than heavyweights, a build which lends itself to a high-flying wrestling style. While there are many cruiserweights who specialize in alternate wrestling styles, cruiserweights are strongly associated with moves performed from the top rope and moves requiring a degree of speed, agility, balance and torque. Cruiserweight wrestling is often associated with

lucha libre Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

, where similar moves and match pacing are used, but Mexico uses a different weight class system and the actual term "cruiserweight" (''crucero'', in Spanish) is rarely used in favor of Light-Heavyweight (''peso semicompleto'' in Spanish). Cruiserweight wrestlers tend to be wrestlers of average human height and weight. The high spots often performed by cruiserweights are visually impressive but carry a varying degree of risk. Cruiserweight matches are not limited to such moves and due to the greater speed and agility of the wrestlers can involve more technical grappling than that seen in heavyweight divisions. A match with little to no transition between the spots is known as a

spotfest Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the lit ...

. While spotfests do occur featuring heavyweights, the term is typically more used for cruiserweights, arguably because many of the fast-paced exchanges do not lend themselves as well to ring psychology as the more deliberately paced power moves and holds common in a heavyweight match. Some fans and wrestlers alike use the term "spotmonkey" to describe wrestlers whose matches consist primarily of high spots. In the United States, the term is generally meant as an insult and derogatory criticism, suggesting that the wrestlers have to rely on risky spots to get a reaction from fans due to a lack of charisma, personality and understanding of psychology. Championships contested by cruiserweights cannot be held by wrestlers who are not cruiserweights, but cruiserweights are normally eligible to compete for heavyweight championships (e.g.

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pro ...

winning the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 22 despite being just under 200 lbs).

Promotions

World Championship Wrestling

The term was popularized in

, when WCW President

Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) an ...

in 1996 re-established the light-heavyweight division as the cruiserweight division and reactivated the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship as the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. Bischoff renamed the division because he felt that "light-heavyweight" was a

pejorative A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...

term. During Bischoff's stay in the company, the smaller wrestlers gradually became less important. As a result, in the declining years of WCW, the cruiserweights were seen more as

comic relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

to the heavyweight wrestlers. As one of the top wrestlers in the division,

would go on to voice his disdain in regards to Bischoff's business sentiment:

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE

In 1965, while operating under the name of the World Wide Wrestling Federation, the

WWWF Junior Heavyweight Championship The WWWF/WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship is a former championship recognized by the World (Wide) Wrestling Federation and New Japan Pro-Wrestling for wrestlers of smaller size. The title existed from 1967 through 1985. History In April 1994 ...

was created. Initially, the title was used from September 1965 until sometime in 1972. During this period, the title was held four times by Johnny De Fazio and was vacated after his retirement in 1972. The championship was reactivated in January 1978 with the first new champion being

Carlos Jose Estrada Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsew ...

. By this time, the company had renamed itself the World Wrestling Federation and engaged in a cross promotional agreement with

. Three days after Estrada won the vacant title, he was defeated by Tatsumi Fujinami. Going forward, the title was almost exclusively used by New Japan while the WWF retained ownership. The title was vacated and retired for the final time on October 31, 1985, as a result of New Japan and the WWF ending their working relationship. In early 1981, the company created the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship, though unlike the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship, the Light Heavyweight Championship was used primarily in

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

due to a working agreement with the Mexican promotion Universal Wrestling Association. New Japan Pro-Wrestling also recognized the championship and the title was used as part of several cross promotional cards between New Japan and the UWA. The WWF's working agreement with the UWA came to an end in 1995 and the title was returned to the WWF by 1997. The WWF did not sanction the reign of any of the previous champions, adopting a revisionist history tactic with the company claiming that the title was created in 1997. The title remained activated from December 7, 1997, until it was retired in late 2001. After the World Wrestling Federation acquired the intellectual property of WCW in 2001, the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship was abandoned in favor of the WCW Cruiserweight Championship, and the title was renamed the WWF Cruiserweight Championship; however, the title was eventually retired, with Hornswoggle serving as the last champion before being stripped of the title for his own safety. None of the preceding championships were particularly prominent in the company; however, over the years the notion of lighter wrestlers becoming main event stars has become more accepted in WWE due to many of the top talents over the past 15 years arguably falling into the cruiserweight category. As a result, a very substantial portion of WWE's roster are billed at, slightly less, or slightly more than 220 lbs. Many lighter wrestlers have achieved main event status within WWE and, over the years, have won several world heavyweight championships. For instance, the billed weight of former WWE World Heavyweight Champion

Daniel Bryan Daniel Bryan may refer to: * Bryan Danielson (born 1981), American professional wrestler who formerly used the ring name "Daniel Bryan" * Dan Bryan (1900–1985), Irish soldier * Daniel Bryan (Big Brother), contestant on the British reality televi ...

is 210 lbs. Other lighter wrestlers who have risen to prominence as main eventers and world heavyweight champions include

Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one ...

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeri ...

Dolph Ziggler Nicholas Theodore Nemeth (born July 27, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and stand-up comedian. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Dolph Ziggler, where he performs on the Raw brand. After a prolific career in amateu ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former collegiate wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and Total Nonstop Actio ...

Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Hardy is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is regard ...

, Eddie Guerrero,

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling ...

CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known ...

Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Seth Rollins (often referred to as Seth "Freakin" Rollins). Prior to signin ...

, Finn Balor, A.J. Styles, and Kofi Kingston. In 2016, WWE began to re-launch its cruiserweight division by producing the Cruiserweight Classic—a 32-man tournament with participants billed as being under , the lower limit of cruiserweight in MMA. The Cruiserweight Classic was won by T. J. Perkins, who became inaugural holder of the new

WWE Cruiserweight Championship Two professional wrestling championships have been named WWE Cruiserweight Championship by WWE: * WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1996–2007) – originally established as the WCW Cruiserweight Championship by World Championship Wrestling in 1996, ...

. The new championship was initially part of the

Raw brand Raw is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestle ...

, and does not share the same title history as the previous Cruiserweight Championship that was retired in 2007. In November 2016,

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television an ...

introduced a new weekly program known as '' 205 Live'', exclusively featuring cruiserweight performers. The championship was defended on both '' Raw'' and ''205 Live'' until 2018, when it became exclusive to the newly created 205 Live brand. In late-2019, WWE began to merge 205 Live into the NXT brand and creative, including renaming the championship the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, and allowing NXT cruiserweights to appear on ''205 Live'' and vice versa. At New Year's Evil in January 2022, following a relaunch of NXT that reverted it back to being a developmental brand, the NXT Cruiserweight Championship was unified with the NXT North American Championship and retired.

TNA/Impact Wrestling

In 2002,

TNA TNA may refer to: Organisations * Tamil National Alliance, a political coalition in Sri Lanka * The National Alliance, a political party in Kenya * The National Archives (United Kingdom), a UK public body * Tonga Nurses' Association, a trade union ...

established the " X Division"—an openweight class and

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

focused on crossover between traditional wrestling styles with faster-paced, high-flying moves associated with cruiserweights. Despite this, almost all of the X Division champions have been high-flyers, with

, Samoa Joe, Abyss and Lashley being notable exceptions. In August 2011, the division was given a weight limit before returning to being an openweight division by June 10, 2012, when the Samoa Joe was allowed to challenge for the belt at Sammiversary. In 2013, the weight limit returned, only for it to be repealed in August of that year after the new rules were rejected by fans. Due to their initial affiliation with the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

, many NWA territories have started sanctioning their own X Division championships, with some territories explicitly replacing existing cruiserweight competitions with the new division.

Major championships

The following is a list of all titles equivalent to a cruiserweight championship. Title names vary, but may include the terms cruiserweight, lightweight, midweight, middleweight, flyweight, welterweight, featherweight, junior heavyweight, or X Division. It is worth noting that each of these class listings are separate in boxing and amateur wrestling, but are almost interchangeable in professional wrestling.

Active

Africa

AWA African Cruiserweight Championship Africa Wrestling Alliance (AWA), formerly known as Africa Wrestling Federation, is a South African professional wrestling promotion founded in 1995. The regionally based company is owned by Shaun Koen and Koos Rossouw. It is a traditionally st ...

AWA Lightweight Championship The AWA Lightweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship in the South African professional wrestling promotion Africa Wrestling Alliance, contested exclusively among Lightweight () wrestlers. It was created on April 7, 2009 and wa ...

WWP World Cruiserweight Championship The WWP World Cruiserweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship in the South African Professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Professionals, contested exclusively among Cruiserweight (<) wrestlers. It was created on Nove ...

Asia

* GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship * GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship * International Junior Heavyweight Championship (Zero1) * International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship *

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world junior heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may ...

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on August 8, 1998, at an NJPW live event. The IWGP Jun ...

* World Junior Heavyweight Championship (Zero1) * PHX Championship (Philippine Wrestling Revolution) * PWF World Junior Heavyweight Championship * BJW World Strong Junior Heavyweight Championship *

Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship that is being defended in various independent promotions in Japan. The title was originally created in 1993 by Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. There have been a total of forty-four reigns spread over ...

* International Junior Heavyweight Championship * Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship

Europe

* European Mid-Heavyweight Championship *

European Junior Heavyweight Championship European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

*European Cruiserweight Championship *

European Light Heavyweight Championship European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

European Middleweight Championship European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine European cuisine co ...

* European Welterweight Championship *

European Lightweight Championship European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine European cuisine co ...

* British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship *

British Flyweight Championship The British Flyweight Championship is a British flyweight professional wrestling championship currently defended in XWA. It was created in the Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA), a promotion that was closed in 2007. In 2009, FWA announced ...

* British Heavy Middleweight Championship * British Light Heavyweight Championship * British Lightweight Championship * British Mid-Heavyweight Championship * British Welterweight Championship * ICW Zero-G Championship * RBW British Middleweight Championship *RQW Cruiserweight Championship

North America

AAA World Cruiserweight Championship The AAA World Cruiserweight Championship (Campeonato Mundial Crucero AAA in Spanish) is a professional wrestling championship contested for in the Mexican lucha libre promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). The championship cannot be compe ...

Australia

* Pacific Pro Wrestling Light Heavyweight Championship

South America

WAR Wrestling Alliance Revolution World Cruiserweight Championship War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

* XLAW Junior Heavyweight Championship

Defunct

North America

AWA Light Heavyweight Championship The AWA World Light Heavyweight Championship was a title in the American Wrestling Association from 1981 until it closed in 1991. In 1988 Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling claimed that Jim Backlund won the championship, something not officially ackn ...

GWF Light Heavyweight Championship The GWF Light Heavyweight Championship was the secondary title in the Global Wrestling Federation in Texas. The title existed from 1991 until 1994, when GWF closed. The title was defended on the promotion's show that aired nationally on ESPN. To ...

* Mexican National Cruiserweight Championship * Mexican National Middleweight Championship * NXT Cruiserweight Championship** *

OVW Light Heavyweight Championship The OVW Light Heavyweight Championship was a title contested in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). The title was created on February 9, 1999, and was retired on March 1, 2001, due to the company withdrawing its membership from the NWA in 2000 and becomi ...

* WCW Light Heavyweight Championship * WCW World Cruiserweight Championship *

WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship The WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship was a title created in 2001 just prior to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) being sold to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). History The WCW Cruiserweight Championship and the matches contested for ...

* WCW Women's Cruiserweight Championship *

WCWA Light Heavyweight Championship The WCWA Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship (professional wrestling), championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area-based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) promotion from September 13, ...

WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1991–2007) Two professional wrestling championships have been named WWE Cruiserweight Championship by WWE: * WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1996–2007) – originally established as the WCW Cruiserweight Championship by World Championship Wrestling Wor ...

* WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship * WWF Light Heavyweight Championship * NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship * NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (New Jersey version) *

XWF Cruiserweight Championship The X Wrestling Federation (XWF) (later referred to as the Xcitement Wrestling Federation) was an American professional wrestling promotion that operated from 2001 to 2002. The previous number two and three American promotions, World Champion ...

* CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship

Asia

WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship contested for in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Tenryu Project. The title was established in 1995 in Wrestle Association R (WAR). There have been a total of 24 reigns shared betwee ...

* WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship * NWA International Light Heavyweight Championship *

NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship started in 1979. It was formed by a split in lineage from the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship caused by the retirement of champion Nelson Royal the same year. The first champion, St ...

* FMW World Junior Heavyweight Championship * BJW World Junior Heavyweight Championship * Wrestle-1 Cruiser Division Championship

Australia

* Australian Light Heavyweight Championship *

Australian Middleweight Championship The Australian Middleweight Championship was a national Australian professional wrestling championship and was the first Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the midd ...

* NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (Australian version) * World Light Heavyweight Championship (Australian version) * WWA International Cruiserweight Championship

References

External links

"Reference Link for Title reigns not cited above"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruiserweight (Professional Wrestling) Professional wrestling slang Professional wrestling genres Professional wrestling weight classes

Wrestlers

Promotions

World Championship Wrestling

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE

TNA/Impact Wrestling

Major championships

Active

Africa

Asia

Europe

North America

Australia

South America

Defunct

North America

Asia

Australia

See also

References

External links