List of WWF Light Heavyweight Champions

File:Villano III.jpg

Villano III (pictured 2018) holds the record for longest combined WWF Light Heavyweight title reign.

The WWF Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling cruiserweight championship owned and promoted by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Only cruiserweight wrestlers that weighed less than Template:Convert, called "light heavyweights" by the WWF, were allowed to challenge for the title. From 1981 through the 1990s, the WWF had a business partnership with the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), a Mexican-based lucha libre promotion, which resulted in the creation of the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship for the UWA. When the UWA ceased operations in 1995, the title traveled to the Japanese promotions Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In 1997, as a result of the WWF owning the trademarks to the championship, NJPW was forced to return the title to the WWF. One month later, the WWF began utilizing the title in the United States.<ref name="History1">Template:Cite web</ref> After World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and its assets were acquired by the WWF in March 2001,<ref name="Purchase">Template:Cite web</ref> the conceptually similar WCW Cruiserweight Championship was also used by the promotion, before completely replacing the Light Heavyweight Championship in 2002.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Title reigns were determined by professional wrestling matches that involved wrestlers in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines or were awarded the title due to scripted circumstances. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or heroes as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a match or series of matches for the championship.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The title was won in Japan, Mexico, and 11 American states. The first champion to be recognized by the UWA and NJPW was Perro Aguayo, who won the title in a tournament final in March 1981. Shinjiro Otani was the final champion recognized by the NJPW before the title was returned to the WWF; he had won the title in August 1997. Although his reign is unrecognized by the WWF, Último Dragón is the only wrestler to hold a WWF championship and a WCW championship at the same time before WWF's purchase of WCW, having held the WWF Light Heavyweight and WCW Cruiserweight championships simultaneously in 1996. The first champion recognized by the WWF was Taka Michinoku, who won the title in a tournament final on December 7, 1997. After winning the championship in August 2001, X-Pac was the final wrestler to have held the title before it was replaced by the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. Aguayo and Villano III held the title the most times, with eight reigns each. At 826 days, Villano III's reign from 1984 to 1986 was the longest in the title's history. Perro Aguayo and Scotty 2 Hotty had the shortest reigns, each having reigns lasting eight days. Overall, there were 45 title reigns in the championship's history.

Combined reigns recognized by the UWA/MPW/NJPW

Rank	Wrestler	No. of reigns	Combined days
1	Villano III	7	2,040
2	Perro Aguayo	7	956
3	El Signo	1	563
4	The Pegasus Kid	1	560
5	Aero Flash	1	282
6	Rambo	1	281
7	Sangre Chicana	2	237
8	Jushin Thunder Liger	1	183
9	Gran Hamada	2	163
10	The Great Sasuke	2	158
11	Fishman	2	137
12	Shinjiro Otani	1	87
13	Último Dragón	1	85
14	El Samurai	2	78
15	Chris Adams	1	56

Combined reigns recognized by WWE

Rank	Wrestler	No. of reigns	Combined days
1	Duane Gill/Gillberg	1	448
2	Dean Malenko	2	357
3	Taka Michinoku	1	315
4	X-Pac	2	243
5	Crash Holly	1	47
6	Jerry Lynn		37
7	Essa Rios		34
8	Christian		30
9	Jeff Hardy		20
10	Tajiri		13
11	Scotty 2 Hotty		8

Combined reigns recognized by All Companies

Rank	Wrestler	No. of reigns	Combined days
1	Villano III	7	2,040
2	Perro Aguayo	7	956
3	El Signo	1	563
4	The Pegasus Kid	1	560
5	Duane Gill/Gillberg	1	448
6	Dean Malenko	2	357
7	Taka Michinoku	1	315
8	Aero Flash	1	282
9	Rambo	1	281
10	X-Pac	2	243
11	Sangre Chicana	2	237
12	Jushin Thunder Liger	1	183
13	Gran Hamada	2	163
14	The Great Sasuke	2	158
15	Fishman	2	137
16	Shinjiro Otani	1	87
17	Último Dragón	1	85
18	El Samurai	2	78
19	Chris Adams	1	56
20	Crash Holly	1	47
21	Jerry Lynn		37
22	Essa Rios		34
23	Christian		30
24	Jeff Hardy		20
25	Tajiri		13
26	Scotty 2 Hotty		8

See also

• WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1996–2007)
• List of WWE Cruiserweight Champions (1996–2007)

References

General

• Template:Cite web
• Template:Cite web

Specific

External links

• Official WWF Light Heavyweight Championship title history
• WWF Light Heavyweight Championship at Wrestling-Titles.com