The

NXT Cruiserweight Championship The NXT Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. Before its retirement, it was defended across the NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live brand divisions, which were ...

(originally known as the WWE Cruiserweight Championship from 2016 to 2019) is a former

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 ...

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 ...

that was created and promoted by the American

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 ...

WWE 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 vari ...

. Before its retirement, it was defended on 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- ...

NXT UK ''NXT UK'' is a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, th ...

, and

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 ...

brands A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

. It was contested exclusively for wrestlers with a maximum bill weight of , referred to as cruiserweights. During its tenure, it was the only WWE championship with a weight limit. Established as the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, the title was originally part of the

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

brand and defended on ''

Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...

'' until the premiere of ''

'', after which, it was defended on both shows until

WrestleMania 34 WrestleMania 34 was the 34th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on April 8, 2 ...

. 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. In January 2020, the title was extended to NXT's sister brand NXT UK. The championship was generally contested in

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

, in which participants executed

scripted ''Scripted'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Icon for Hire. It was released on Tooth & Nail Records on August 23, 2011, and went on to break the label's new artist record for albums sold during the first week of release. Back ...

finishes rather than contend in direct competition. The inaugural champion was

T. J. Perkins Theodore James Perkins (born September 3, 1984) is an American professional wrestler of Filipino descent, better known by the ring name T. J. Perkins (or simply TJP) currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling where he is a member of the Unite ...

, who was awarded the title for winning the

Cruiserweight Classic The Cruiserweight Classic, formerly the Global Cruiserweight Series, was a professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE. All participants were billed at a weight of 205 lbs or less to determine the inaugural WWE Cruis ...

on September 14, 2016.

Carmelo Hayes Christian Brigham (born August 1, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Carmelo Hayes. Hayes is a former one-time NXT Cruiserweight Champion and a forme ...

is recognized as the final champion. He defeated

Roderick Strong Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand, as the leader of Diamond Mine, but is currently inactive due t ...

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 Lionel Gerard Green (born November 11, 1994), better known by the ring name Lio Rush, is an American professional wrestler and musician currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the Chaos stable. He has also a ...

when he won it at 24. Neville and

Enzo Amore Eric Arndt (born December 8, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. In WWE, he came to prominence for his partnership with Big Cass, whom he teamed with from 2013 to 2017. Together, they won the NXT Year-End Award for Tag Team of the Year ...

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.

Reigns

Names

Reigns

Combined reigns

2018-01-20_21-11-56_ILCE-6500_DSC04423_(24958700327)

References

External links

Official NXT Cruiserweight Title History
{{WWE Cruiserweight Championship WWE champions WWE NXT championships WWE 205 Live WWE NXT WWE Raw