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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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 Nati ...

. 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 Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, 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 sha ...

's IWGP,

Pro Wrestling Noah (stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left th ...

'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 Baba ...

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 striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...

. 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 ''WWE 205 Live'' is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by WWE. It premiered on November 29, 2016, and ended on February 11, 2022. The show originally aired exclusively on the WWE Network until March ...

'', 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, 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. 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 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 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 to the heavyweight wrestlers. As one of the top wrestlers in the division, Rey Mysterio 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 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 ;Elsewhere ...

. 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 language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

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 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

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 The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown' ...

Daniel Bryan 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, Dolph Ziggler, Christian, Rey Mysterio, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy,

Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. He was a prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero. 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 Wrestlin ...

, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, 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. 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 introduced a new weekly program known as ''

'', 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 NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

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 The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is primarily defended as the secondary men's championship of the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmen ...

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 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 Kurt Angle, 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, 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

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 * IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship * 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, the cuisines of Europe ...

European Welterweight 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 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, the cuisines of Europe ...

* 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 plan ...

* 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 The British Middleweight Championship is the Middleweight professional wrestling championship competed for throughout the British wrestling circuit. The title was recognised as official by national TV network ITV for the purposes of their covera ...

*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 compete ...

* CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship *

CMLL World Super Lightweight Championship The CMLL World Lightweight Championship ( es, Campeonato Mundial de Peso Ligero del CMLL) is a professional wrestling world championship promoted by the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), a Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' wrestling promotion (franch ...

* CMLL World Middleweight Championship *

CMLL World Welterweight Championship The CMLL World Welterweight Championship (Spanish: ''Campeonato Mundial de Peso Welter del CMLL'') is a professional wrestling world championship in the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). The offic ...

* Impact Wrestling X Division Championship* * MLW World Middleweight Championship** * Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship * Mexican National Lightweight Championship * Mexican National Welterweight Championship * NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship * NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship * NWA World Middleweight Championship * NWA World Welterweight Championship *Contested under 225 lb weight limit from March to October 2012; no official weight limit before or since that period, though in practice most champions tend to be cruiserweights. **Contested under 205 lb weight limit

Australia

* Pacific Pro Wrestling Light Heavyweight Championship

South America

* WAR Wrestling Alliance Revolution World Cruiserweight Championship * XLAW Junior Heavyweight Championship

Defunct

North America

* AWA Light Heavyweight Championship * GWF Light Heavyweight Championship *

Mexican National Cruiserweight Championship The Mexican National Cruiserweight Championship (''Campeonato Nacional Crucero'' in Spanish) is a national Mexican singles professional wrestling championship controlled by ''Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F.'' (''Mexico City Boxing an ...

* 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 * WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1991–2007) * WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship * WWF Light Heavyweight Championship * NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship *

NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (New Jersey version) The New Jersey version of the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship was a short-lived National Wrestling Alliance title recognized in the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1997 and 1998. The title used the word "light heavyweight" as the NWA World Juni ...

* XWF Cruiserweight Championship * 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 between 17 ...

* WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship * NWA International Light Heavyweight Championship * NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship * FMW World Junior Heavyweight Championship * BJW World Junior Heavyweight Championship * Wrestle-1 Cruiser Division Championship

Australia

Australian Light Heavyweight Championship The Australian Light Heavyweight Wrestling Championship was one of the first light heavyweight professional wrestling championship in Australia. Title history See also *Professional wrestling in Australia Professional wrestling in Austr ...

* Australian Middleweight Championship * NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (Australian version) * World Light Heavyweight Championship (Australian version) *

WWA International Cruiserweight Championship The World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) International Cruiserweight Championship was the cruiserweight championship for the Australian based wrestling promotion World Wrestling All-Stars. History The WWA International Cruiserweight Championship was ...

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