The is a

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 o ...

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 ...

owned by the

Wrestle-1 was a Japanese ''puroresu'' or professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion, founded in July 2013 by Keiji Mutoh following his resignation from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The core of the promotion's roster was formed by ...

(W-1)

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

. The title is meant for cruiserweight wrestlers and holds a weight limit of . Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won as a result of a scripted match. There have been fifteen reigns shared among eight wrestlers.

History

When

was founded in 2013, one of its main focuses was to build an openweight division, where its wrestlers would not be typecast as heavyweights or junior heavyweights, like in most Japanese promotions, but would be able to interact with each other across weight limits. However, on February 13, 2015, after

Kaz Hayashi is a Japanese professional wrestler known simply as . He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where in addition to being a wrestler for the promotion, he also served as the head booker for the company's junior heavyweight ...

and

Shuji Kondo is a Japanese professional wrestler. Prior to becoming a pro wrestler, he played rugby. After starting his career in Toryumon, Kondo eventually joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he became one of the promotion's top junior heavyweigh ...

had successfully defended the

Wrestle-1 Tag Team Championship The was a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Wrestle-1 (W-1) promotion. The title was announced on September 22, 2014, in conjunction with the start of a tournament to crown the first Wrestle-1 Champion. In Japanese the t ...

against Minoru Tanaka and

Seiki Yoshioka , previously known as Seiki (stylized in all capital letters), is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a former GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, and a member of the ''Stinger'' stable, led by Yos ...

, Hayashi announced he was interested in building a division for Wrestle-1's lighter wrestlers, electing to call the proposed division a " cruiserweight" division instead of the "junior heavyweight" division, which is more common in Japanese ''

puroresu is the predominant style of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of , which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's act ...

'', and reminiscing of Mutoh and Hayashi's stints in

WCW 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 Nationa ...

in the 1990s. This led to a match on February 22, billed as an "assessment match" to a possible cruiserweight division, where Tanaka defeated Hayashi. Following the match, Tanaka,

Andy Wu is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by his ring name who worked for Wrestle-1 until its closure in 2020. He is currently a freelancer. Professional wrestling career All Japan Pro Wrestling (2012–2013) Andy Wu debuted for All Ja ...

El Hijo del Pantera El Hijo del PanteraEl Hijo del Pantera
CAGEMATCH 2014年7月12日閲覧 (born 18 December 1991) is a ...

Hiroshi Yamato , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works as a freelancer. Trained by the All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, he started his career in February 2007 working in Mexico for the International Wrestling ...

, Rionne Fujiwara, Seiki Yoshioka and

Yusuke Kodama is a Japanese professional wrestler and currently wrestlers for All Japan Pro Wrestling as a freelancer. Kodama is best known for his time with Wrestle-1 (W-1), where he is a former two time UWA World Trios Champion, two time Wrestle-1 Cruiser ...

voiced their support for a cruiserweight division in Wrestle-1. On February 25, Wrestle-1 officially announced the creation of a cruiserweight division and the promotion's third title, a cruiserweight championship. In May 2016,

Kotaro Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by the ring name . He is currently working as a freelancer, mainly for promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. Career Pro Wrestling Noah (2001-2013) Suzuki was the last person remaining of a grueling t ...

made the title's first international defenses by defeating

Mark Haskins Mark Haskins (born 25 June 1988), is an English professional wrestler currently signed with Ring of Honor. He is known internationally for his time in Impact Wrestling, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, as well as his appearances in Progress Wre ...

and

Ultimo Tiger Glen Ferguson (born 4 June 1990) better known by his ring name Ultimo Tiger is a Scottish professional wrestler currently active in the United Kingdom. Ferguson, originally from Glasgow, Scotland started his in-ring career in 2013 in Devon. Ferg ...

in England at events held by

4 Front Wrestling 4 Front Wrestling (Sometimes acronymed as 4FW) is a pro wrestling company based in the South West of England, established in 2004 by former professional wrestler Dave Sharp. Since 2005, the company has promoted a range of shows; utilising events t ...

and

Pro Wrestling Pride ''Pro Wrestling Pride'' (Sometimes referred to as ''Pride Promotions'', or simply PWP) was a pro wrestling company based in the South West of England, established in 2012 by professional wrestler Darren 'Saviour' Ferguson. Since its inception in 20 ...

Championship tournament

On March 9, 2015, Wrestle-1 officially presented the new title, naming it the "Wrestle-1 Cruiser Division Championship". It was announced that the title holds a weight limit of that wrestlers need to make the day before a title match. Also announced was an eight-man

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

that would culminate on May 5 with the crowning of the first champion. The championship belt was officially unveiled on March 31 at a press conference, where all participants in the tournament underwent and passed a weigh-in. On May 5, Minoru Tanaka defeated Kaz Hayashi in the finals of the tournament to become the inaugural Wrestle-1 Cruiser Division Champion.

Title history

Combined reigns

References

General

Specific

External links

Official title history at W-1.co.jp

{{Wrestle-1 Wrestle-1 championships Cruiserweight wrestling championships