NXT Cruiserweight Championship

Former WWE professional wrestling championship

For the historical championship, see WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1996–2007).

NXT Cruiserweight Championship

The final NXT Cruiserweight Championship belt with default side plates
(2020–2022)

Details
Promotion| WWE
Date established| September 14, 2016
Date retired| January 4, 2022
(unified with the NXT North American Championship)
Other names

* WWE Cruiserweight Championship
(2016–2019)
* NXT Cruiserweight Championship
(2019–2022)

| Statistics

First champion| T. J. Perkins
Final champion| Carmelo Hayes
Most reigns| 2 reigns:

* Neville
* Enzo Amore

Longest reign| Jordan Devlin
(439 days[a])
Shortest reign| Carmelo Hayes
(<1 minute[b])
Oldest champion| Roderick Strong
(38 years, 57 days)
Youngest champion| Lio Rush
(24 years, 332 days)
Heaviest champion| Buddy Murphy[c]
(225 lb (102 kg))
Lightest champion| Akira Tozawa
(156 lb (71 kg))

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 developmental territories for WWE. During its short tenure, it was the promotion's only championship with a weight limit, wherein only wrestlers 205 lb (93 kg) and under—designated as cruiserweights—could compete for the title.

Originally established as the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, it was first unveiled on September 14, 2016, as the award for the Cruiserweight Classic, which was won by T. J. Perkins. 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.[2][3] In October 2019, 205 Live merged under NXT and the title was renamed NXT Cruiserweight Championship, and the title's contendership was extended to NXT UK in January 2020. On January 4, 2022, at NXT 2.0: New Year's Evil, the title was unified into the NXT North American Championship, officially retiring the title in the process, with Carmelo Hayes recognized as the final champion.

The title was distinct from the previous WWE Cruiserweight Championship that originated in World Championship Wrestling and was retired in 2007. The two titles had shared the same name, but did not share the same title history or weight limit.[4]

## History

[edit]

The inaugural Cruiserweight Champion T. J. Perkins

In mid-2016, WWE held the Cruiserweight Classic, a tournament for wrestlers 205 lb (93 kg) and under, billed as cruiserweights, that aired on the WWE Network.[5] 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 single-elimination tournament, which took place over four dates: June 23, July 13, August 26, and September 14.[6]

The final of the Cruiserweight Classic came down to T. J. Perkins and Gran Metalik. Before the final match, WWE executive Triple H revealed that the winner would not only receive a trophy but would also become the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Champion for the revived cruiserweight division for the promotion's Raw brand. Perkins defeated Metalik to become the inaugural champion.[7][8]

Originally, the championship was defended exclusively on Monday Night Raw. On November 29, 2016, a cruiserweight-exclusive show entitled 205 Live premiered on the WWE Network.[9] On the premiere episode, Rich Swann defeated The Brian Kendrick to win the championship.[10] 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 had 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 pay-per-views alongside Raw and SmackDown.[3]

After then-champion Enzo Amore was released from WWE on January 23, 2018, and the title was vacated,[11][12] it was announced that a general manager would be appointed for 205 Live and would address the championship.[13] 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 Kickoff pre-show. The tournament came down to Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali, where Alexander defeated Ali to win the vacant championship.[14]

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.[15] It was then reported that the NXT Creative Team would be in charge of 205 Live.[16] 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.[17]

On October 18, 2019, Drake Maverick—who himself was drafted to SmackDown but remained 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's cruiserweight wrestlers could also wrestle on 205 Live.[18][19] With Jordan Devlin's win at Worlds Collide on January 25, 2020, the title also became shared with the NXT UK brand.[20]

Due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Ireland, reigning champion Jordan Devlin was unable to travel outside of his home country and defend the title. On April 8, 2020, NXT General Manager William Regal announced a tournament to crown an interim champion in the United States which would begin on the April 15 episode of NXT. Devlin responded by stating that whoever won was a fraud, and that he would prove that he was the only true NXT Cruiserweight Champion upon his return.[21][22] The interim championship tournament was won by Santos Escobar, who used his prior persona El Hijo del Fantasma during the tournament.[23] After the travel ban was lifted, Devlin made his return to the U.S. on the March 17, 2021, episode of NXT and confronted Escobar over who the real champion was. Escobar then challenged Devlin to a match at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver to determine the undisputed NXT Cruiserweight Champion.[24] The match was subsequently scheduled as a ladder match on Night 2 of the event on April 8.[25] At the event, Escobar defeated Devlin to become the undisputed champion, ending Devlin's reign at 439 days while continuing Escobar's.[26]

Although the championship was established exclusively for cruiserweight wrestlers, this ruling was lifted once for a match at NXT WarGames on December 5, 2021. Joe Gacy, who weighed 245 lbs, felt that the championship weight shamed wrestlers who were above the weight limit. Reigning NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong allowed Gacy to challenge for the title at WarGames, with Gacy proclaiming that if he won the title, he would make it an all-inclusive championship.[27][28] At the event, however, Strong retained.[29]

In January 2022, the championship was unified into the NXT North American Championship. At the special New Year's Evil episode of NXT 2.0 on January 4, 2022, North American Champion Carmelo Hayes defeated reigning Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong to unify the titles with Hayes recognized as the final champion and going forward as North American Champion.[30][31][32]

### Inaugural tournament (2016)

[edit]

| 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[33] |

| Akira Tozawa| Pin

| August 3 –

| | Jack Gallagher| 11:38[37] |

| Jack Gallagher| Pin

| | August 31 -

| Fabian Aichner| 06:45[34] |

| Akira Tozawa| Pin

| July 20 –

| | Gran Metalik| 15:49[40] |

| Tajiri| Pin

| August 10 – |

| Damian Slater| 05:28[33] |

| Tajiri| Pin

| July 13 –

| | Gran Metalik| 10:53[38] |

| Alejandro Saez| Pin

| | September 14 –

| Gran Metalik| 04:04[35] |

| Gran Metalik| Pin

| July 27 –

| | Zack Sabre Jr.| 13:13[8] |

| Harv Sihra| Sub

| August 24 – |

| Drew Gulak| 05:18[36] |

| Drew Gulak| Pin

| July 27 –

| | Zack Sabre Jr.| 08:27[39] |

| Zack Sabre Jr.| Sub

| | September 7 -

| Tyson Dux| 08:28[36] |

| Zack Sabre Jr.| Sub

| August 3 –

| | Noam Dar| 15:46[41] |

| Noam Dar| Sub

| August 17 – |

| Gurv Sihra| 05:26[34] |

| Noam Dar| Sub

| July 13 –

| | Ho Ho Lun| 07:02[37] |

| Ariya Daivari| Pin

| | September 14 –

| Ho Ho Lun| 05:03[35] |

| Gran Metalik| Sub

| July 27 –

| | T. J. Perkins | 17:47[8]

| Raul Mendoza| Sub

| August 17 – |

| The Brian Kendrick| 07:35[36] |

| The Brian Kendrick| Sub

| July 27 –

| | Tony Nese| 13:42[37] |

| Anthony Bennett| Pin

| | August 31 -

| Tony Nese| 06:34[36] |

| The Brian Kendrick| Pin

| July 13 –

| | Kota Ibushi| 13:58[40] |

| Kota Ibushi| Pin

| August 10 – |

| Sean Maluta| 09:40[35] |

| Kota Ibushi| Pin

| July 13 –

| | Cedric Alexander| 15:00[38] |

| Cedric Alexander| Pin

| | September 14 –

| Clement Petiot| 05:58[35] |

| Kota Ibushi| Sub

| July 20 –

| | T. J. Perkins| 14:52[8] |

| T. J. Perkins| Sub

| August 24 – |

| Da Mack| 06:32[33] |

| T. J. Perkins| Sub

| August 3 –

| | Johnny Gargano| 12:18[39] |

| Johnny Gargano| Pin

| | September 7 -

| Tommaso Ciampa| 10:47[34] |

| T. J. Perkins| Sub

| July 20 –

| | Rich Swann| 17:03[41] |

| Mustafa Ali | Pin

| August 24 – |

| Lince Dorado| 05:55[33] |

| Lince Dorado| Pin

| August 3 –

| | Rich Swann| 08:14[39] |

| Rich Swann | Pin

| Jason Lee| 03:47[34] |

### Interim championship tournament (2020)

[edit]

El Hijo del Fantasma defeated Drake Maverick to become Interim Champion. During his reign he would unmask and change his name to Santos Escobar.

A round-robin tournament began on April 15, 2020, to determine the interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion after Jordan Devlin was deemed unable to defend the title due to COVID-19 pandemic-related travel restrictions. Eight wrestlers were split into two groups of four, where each wrestler competed against the other three members of their respective group. The wrestlers with the best record in each group then competed to determine the interim champion. Any ties were broken by head-to-head results.[42] Group A consisted of Kushida, Tony Nese, Jake Atlas, and former 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick, while Group B consisted of Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, El Hijo del Fantasma, Akira Tozawa, and Gentleman Jack Gallagher.[43] Although Maverick was released from WWE on April 15,[44] he confirmed via Twitter that he would still be competing in the tournament; at the time, he had stated they would be his last matches in the company.[45] As a result of a tie in Group A, Maverick, Kushida, and Atlas faced each other in a triple threat match on the May 27 episode of NXT to determine the winner of the group; Maverick won to advance to the final against Group B's winner, Fantasma.[46] The final occurred during the May 27 tapings of NXT (aired June 3) where Fantasma defeated Maverick to become the interim champion; following the match, Triple H offered Maverick a new NXT contract, which he accepted.[23] The following week, Fantasma turned heel on Maverick, unmasked himself, and changed his ring name to Santos Escobar.[47]

Group A | Group B

|

Drake Maverick | 3–1  | El Hijo del Fantasma | 2–1
Kushida | 2–2  | Akira Tozawa | 2–1
Jake Atlas | 2–2  | Isaiah "Swerve" Scott | 1–2
Tony Nese | 0–3  | Gentleman Jack Gallagher | 1–2
Group A | Kushida | Nese | Atlas | Maverick

|
|
|
|

Kushida | —  | Kushida
(NXT, April 22)[48] | Kushida
(NXT, May 6)  | Maverick
(NXT, May 20)
Nese | Kushida
(NXT, April 22)[48] | —  | Atlas
(NXT, May 13)  | Maverick
(NXT, April 29)[49]
Atlas | Kushida
(NXT, May 6)  | Atlas
(NXT, May 13)  | —  | Atlas
(NXT, April 22)[48]
Maverick | Maverick
(NXT, May 20)  | Maverick
(NXT, April 29)[49] | Atlas
(NXT, April 22)[48] | —
Group B | Swerve | Fantasma | Tozawa | Gallagher
Swerve | —  | Swerve
(NXT, April 29)[49] | Tozawa
(NXT, April 15)[50] | Gallagher
(NXT, May 13)
Fantasma | Swerve
(NXT, April 29)[49] | —  | Fantasma
(NXT, May 20)  | Fantasma
(NXT, April 22)[48]
Tozawa | Tozawa
(NXT, April 15)[50] | Fantasma
(NXT, May 20)  | —  | Tozawa
(NXT, May 6)
Gallagher | Gallagher
(NXT, May 13)  | Fantasma
(NXT, April 22)[48] | Tozawa
(NXT, May 6)  | —

| | | | | | | |
| Group A Decision
NXT, May 27| | | Final
NXT, June 3
| |
| A1| Kushida| Pin| A1| Drake Maverick| Pin
| A2| Jake Atlas| | | | B1| El Hijo Del Fantasma| 11:32
| |
| A3| Drake Maverick| 7:53| | |
| |

## Brand designation history

[edit]

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. T. J. Perkins became the inaugural champion by winning the Cruiserweight Classic.
April 9, 2018  | 205 Live | The WWE Cruiserweight Championship became exclusive to 205 Live after the establishment of that brand following WrestleMania 34 on April 8, 2018.
October 9, 2019  | 205 Live,

NXT,
NXT UK

| When 205 Live was integrated with NXT in October 2019, the WWE Cruiserweight Championship was renamed to NXT Cruiserweight Championship and became shared between both brands. Beginning January 25, 2020, the NXT Cruiserweight Championship also became shared with NXT UK.
January 4, 2022  | N/A  | The NXT Cruiserweight Championship was retired after it was unified with the NXT North American Championship.

## Belt design

[edit]

Adrian Neville with the first design of the title as the plates are silver only.

Cedric Alexander with the second design of the title with the orange line under the WWE Logo.

When the championship was introduced, the irregularly shaped center plate of the belt largely featured a globe with the WWE logo over the 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 became 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.[51] 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.[52]

After the title was renamed to NXT Cruiserweight Championship, Triple H and NXT General Manager William Regal presented an updated version of the Cruiserweight Championship belt to reigning champion Angel Garza on January 25, 2020. The design was 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. The color of the slash under the WWE logo on the side plates was also changed to silver.[53]

## Reigns

[edit]

Main article: List of NXT Cruiserweight Champions

Throughout the championship's 5 year, 3 month, and 22 day history, there were 20 reigns between 18 champions and one vacancy. The inaugural champion was T. J. Perkins. The oldest champion was Roderick Strong, winning the title at 38 years old, while the youngest champion was Lio Rush when he won it at 24. Neville and Enzo Amore 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.

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ WWE officially recognizes 438 days
2. ^ Unified with the NXT North American Championship
3. ^ In kayfabe, Buddy Murphy had to take a weight cut to 205lbs, in order to compete for the WWE Cruiserweight championship[1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ WWE (2018-02-20). Buddy Murphy has his final weigh-in before his Cruiserweight debut: Exclusive, Feb. 20, 2018. Retrieved 2025-05-06 – via YouTube.
2. ^ McMahon, Vince (November 30, 2016). "Vince McMahon on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
3. ^ 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.
4. ^ "WWE Cruiserweight Championship". WWE.com.
5. ^ "WWE Network adds Global Cruiserweight Series to robust 2016 programming slate". wwe.com. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
6. ^ "WWE Cruiserweight Classic tickets available starting Friday, May 20". WWE. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
7. ^ "WWE Cruiserweight Classic: TJ Perkins becomes Raw's first WWE Cruiserweight Champion". WWE. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
8. ^ a b c d Caldwell, James. "9/14 WWE Cruiserweight Tourney Finals – Caldwell's Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
9. ^ "411MANIA | Triple H Conference Call Report: Discusses 205 Live, NXT Takeover: Toronto, Says HBK Working at the Performance Center and More". Triple H Conference Call Report: Discusses 205 Live, NXT Takeover: Toronto, Says HBK Working at the Performance Center and More.
10. ^ Namako, Jason. "WWE 205 Live Results – 11/29/16 (Rich Swann wins the WWE Cruiserweight Championship on the premiere episode)". WrestleView. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
11. ^ WWE.com Staff. "Enzo Amore suspended". WWE. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
12. ^ "Enzo Amore released". WWE. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
13. ^ "Daniel Bryan addresses the state of WWE 205 Live". WWE. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
14. ^ Powell, Jason (8 April 2018). "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 Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 9, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
15. ^ Martinez, Phillip (September 10, 2019). "TRIPLE H DISCUSSES NXT'S MOVE TO USA AND THE BRAND'S CONTINUED EVOLUTION". Newsweek. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
16. ^ "THE FUTURE OF 205 LIVE REVEALED | PWInsider.com". pwinsider.com.
17. ^ Johnson, Mike (October 3, 2019). "CHANGE TO WWE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE & MORE NXT NEWS". PWInsider. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
18. ^ "411MANIA". Csonka's WWE 205 Live Review 10.18.19.
19. ^ 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.
20. ^ Powell, Jason (25 January 2020). "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.
21. ^ "Tournament to crown Interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion to begin next week". WWE. April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
22. ^ Powell, Jason (April 8, 2020). "WWE to crown an interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion, Jordan Devlin responds". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
23. ^ a b Moore, John (June 3, 2020). "6/3 NXT TV results: Moore's review of El Hijo Del Fantasma vs. Drake Maverick in the finals of the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Title tournament, Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae, final hype for Takeover: In Your House". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
24. ^ Powell, Jason (March 17, 2021). "3/17 NXT TV results: Powell's review of Dexter Lumis vs. Austin Theory, Leon Ruff vs. Isaiah Scott, LA Knight's in-ring debut, Jordan Devlin returns, Dakota Kai vs. Zoey Stark, Tyler Breeze and Fandango vs. Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
25. ^ Moore, John (March 24, 2021). "3/24 NXT TV results: Moore's review of NXT UK Champion Walter vs. Drake Maverick, NXT UK Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin vs. Kushida, Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart vs. Aliyah and Mercedes Martinez for the NXT Women's Tag Titles, Karrion Kross vs. Oney Lorcan, LA Knight vs. Bronson Reed". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
26. ^ Moore, John (April 8, 2021). "NXT Takeover Stand & Deliver results: Moore's live review of night two with Finn Balor vs. Karrion Kross for the NXT Championship, Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly in an unsanctioned match, Santos Escobar vs. Jordan Devlin in a ladder match to unify the NXT Cruiserweight Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
27. ^ Currier, Joseph (November 23, 2021). "GACY TO CHALLENGE FOR CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE AT WWE NXT WARGAMES". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
28. ^ Bryant, Nathan (November 24, 2021). "Roderick Strong opens Cruiserweight Championship opportunity to Joe Gacy". WWE. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
29. ^ Moore, John (December 5, 2021). "NXT WarGames results: Moore's live review of two WarGames matches, Roderick Strong vs. Joe Gacy for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel vs. Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner for the NXT Tag Titles, Cameron Grimes vs. Duke Hudson in a hair vs. hair match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
30. ^ Currier, Joseph (December 21, 2021). "TITLE UNIFICATION MATCH ADDED TO NXT NEW YEAR'S EVIL". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
31. ^ Holder, James (December 29, 2021). "NXT Cruiserweight Championship Set To Be Retired". Inside the Ropes. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
32. ^ Currier, Joseph (January 4, 2022). "WWE UNIFIES NXT NORTH AMERICAN AND CRUISERWEIGHT TITLES". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
33. ^ 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.
34. ^ 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.
35. ^ 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.
36. ^ 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.
37. ^ 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.
38. ^ 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.
39. ^ 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.
40. ^ 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.
41. ^ 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.
42. ^ WWE.com Staff (April 11, 2020). "Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament format revealed". WWE. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
43. ^ WWE.com Staff (April 12, 2020). "Complete field for Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament unveiled". WWE. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
44. ^ WWE.com Staff (April 15, 2020). "Kurt Angle, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and other Superstars released". WWE. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
45. ^ Drake Maverick [@WWEMaverick] (April 15, 2020). "My immediate thoughts" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
46. ^ Moore, John (May 27, 2020). "5/27 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Timothy Thatcher vs. Matt Riddle in a cage fight with Kurt Angle as special referee, Kushida vs. Drake Maverick vs. Jake Atlas to advance to the finals of the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Title tournament, Charlotte Flair and a partner vs. Rhea Ripley and Io Shirai". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
47. ^ Moore, John (June 10, 2020). "6/10 NXT TV results: Moore's review of NXT Champion Adam Cole vs. Dexter Lumis in a non-title match, Finn Balor vs. Cameron Grimes, the fallout from NXT Takeover: In Your House". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
48. ^ a b c d e f Moore, John (April 22, 2020). "4/22 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Velveteen Dream and Keith Lee vs. Adam Cole and Roderick Strong, Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez, Interim NXT Cruiserweight Title tournament matches with Kushida vs. Tony Nese, Drake Maverick vs. Jake Atlas, and El Hijo Del Fantasma vs. Jack Gallagher". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
49. ^ a b c d e "4/29 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Keith Lee vs. Damian Priest for the NXT North American Championship, NXT Women's Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Mia Yim in a non-title match, Drake Maverick vs. Tony Nese in an Interim NXT Cruiserweight Title tournament match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. 2020-04-29. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
50. ^ a b Moore, John (April 15, 2020). "4/15 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Matt Riddle and a mystery partner vs. Bobby Fish and Roderick Strong for the NXT Tag Titles, Finn Balor vs. Fabian Aichner, Charlotte Flair's appearance, the beginning of the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Title tournament". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
51. ^ 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.
52. ^ AyobWWE, Nuruddin. "Neville WWE Cruiserweight Champion". Www.Deviantart.com. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
53. ^ "NXT replaces one title, implements changes to two others". SBNation. 25 January 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2020.

## External links

[edit]

* Official NXT Cruiserweight Title History
* Media related to Wrestlers as the NXT Cruiserweight champion at Wikimedia Commons

* v
* t
* e

Championships and accomplishments in WWE

Championships|

| Current|

| Raw|

* World Heavyweight
* Women's World
* reigns
* Intercontinental
* reigns
* Women's Intercontinental
* World Tag Team
* reigns

|

SmackDown|

* Undisputed WWE
* reigns
* WWE Women's
* reigns
* United States
* reigns
* Women's United States
* WWE Tag Team
* reigns

NXT|

* NXT
* reigns
* Women's
* reigns
* North American
* reigns
* Women's North American
* Heritage Cup
* Tag Team
* reigns

Evolve|

* Evolve
* Women's

Speed|

* Speed
* Women's Speed

ID|

* ID
* Women's ID

Shared|

* WWE Women's Tag Team
* reigns

Former|

| World|

* WCW (reigns) (2001)
* ECW (reigns) (2006–2010)
* World Heavyweight (original version) (reigns) (2002–2013)
* Universal (2016–2024)

|

Women's|

* WWE Women's (original version) (reigns) (1956–1990, 1993–1995, 1998–2010)
* Divas (reigns) (2008–2016)
* NXT UK Women's (2018–2022)

Secondary|

* NWA United States Television (1957–1962)
* United States Heavyweight (1960–1976)
* North American Heavyweight (1979–1981)
* International Heavyweight (1959–1963, 1982–1985)
* Canadian (1985–1986)
* European (reigns) (1997–2002)
* NXT United Kingdom (2017–2022)

Tag team|

* NWA World Tag Team (Northeast version) (1957–1961)
* United States Tag Team (1958–1967)
* International Tag Team (1969–1971, 1985)
* WWF Women's Tag Team (1983–1989)
* Intercontinental Tag Team (1991)
* World Tag Team (original version) (reigns) (1971–2010)
* WCW Tag Team (reigns) (2001)
* NXT UK Tag Team (2019–2022)
* NXT Women's Tag Team (2021–2023)

Weight class-specific|

* Junior Heavyweight (1965–1972, 1978–1985)
* Light Heavyweight (reigns) (1981–2002)
* Cruiserweight (reigns) (2001–2007)
* NXT Cruiserweight (reigns) (2016–2022)

Other|

* Martial Arts (1978–1989)
* Hardcore (reigns) (1998–2002)
* Million Dollar (1989–1991, 1995–1996, 2010, 2021)
* 24/7 (reigns) (2019–2022)

Accomplishments|

* Money in the Bank
* Awards
* Slammys
* NXT Year-End
* WWE Year-End
* Battle royals
* André the Giant Memorial
* Royal Rumble
* WrestleMania Women's
* Tournaments
* Cruiserweight Classic
* Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
* King of the Ring
* Mae Young Classic
* Mixed Match Challenge
* NXT Breakout
* Queen of the Ring
* Crown Jewel
* Women's Crown Jewel
* Grand Slam champions
* Triple Crown champions

* v
* t
* e

NXT Cruiserweight Champions

2010s|

* TJ Perkins
* The Brian Kendrick
* Rich Swann
* Neville
* Akira Tozawa
* Enzo Amore
* Kalisto
* Cedric Alexander
* Buddy Murphy
* Tony Nese
* Drew Gulak
* Lio Rush
* Angel Garza

2020s|

* Jordan Devlin
* Santos Escobar
* Kushida
* Roderick Strong
* Carmelo Hayes

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