NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship
The NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). For the majority of its existence the title was promoted by Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where it was known in Spanish as the Campeonato Mundial Semi Completo de NWA. It began as an official National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) title and was given to the NWA's Mexican affiliate, Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL, later CMLL), to control. The title was also promoted in NWA Hollywood Wrestling until Hollywood Wrestling's closure in 1982. The title remained under the control of EMLL even after EMLL pulled out of the NWA and changed its name to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. Due to its history, it was considered one of the most important titles in EMLL/CMLL. As it was a professional wrestling championship, it was not won legitimately; it was instead won via a scripted ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of a storyline. The official definition of the light heavyweight weight class in Mexico is between 92 kg (203 lb) and 97 kg (214 lb), but this was not always strictly enforced.
The first champion was "Gypsy Joe" Dorsetti, who won the title on November 6, 1952. In 1957 the NWA stripped Frank Stojack of the title for lack of NWA-mandated title defenses, but Stojack kept the physical belt and defended the title for over a year until the NWA regained possession of the actual Championship belt. (Edit: The NWA never regained possession of the actual belt. The actual original belt is in the possession of a private collector.) After Stojack was stripped of the title, the NWA executive board decided to give Salvador Lutteroth and Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre control of the championship in 1958. The first champion under Lutteroth's authority was Dory Dixon, who had worked for EMLL for many years. During the late 1970s and early 1980s the title was also defended in the Los Angeles area; after the 1980s, the title was only defended in Mexico.
In March 2010, Blue Demon, Jr., the president of NWA Mexico, sent letters to CMLL, telling them to stop promoting the NWA-branded championships since they were not part of the NWA. NWA Mexico had previously tried to reclaim the three NWA-branded championships promoted by CMLL, but was ignored by CMLL. The promotion did not directly respond to the latest claim either; the NWA Welterweight Champion, Mephisto, commented, simply stating that the titles belonged to CMLL. Finally, on August 12, 2010, CMLL debuted the new NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship and returned the old title to NWA. In 2013, NWA Mexico crowned its first recognized World Light Heavyweight Champion, with Súper Nova winning the vacant title. Súper Nova has not defended the title since 2014, with the championship being de facto retired.
There have been a total of 65 reigns shared between 40 wrestlers. Ray Mendoza has held the Championship the highest number of times with six title reigns; Gory Guerrero's two reigns combined come to 1,963 days, the highest total of any champion. Roddy Piper is the champion with the shortest reign, 2 days; while the longest title reign belongs to Frank Stojack with 1,573 days.
Title history
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| N/A | Unknown information |
| (NLT) | Championship change took place "no later than" the date listed |
| † | Championship change is unrecognized by the promotion |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||||
| National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) | ||||||||||
| 1 | Gypsy Joe | November 6, 1952 | Live event | Des Moines, Iowa | 1 | 277 | Gypsy Joe defeated Johnny Balbo in a decision match to become the inaugural champion. | |||
| 2 | Frank Stojack | August 10, 1953 | Live event | Spokane, Washington | 1 | 1,573 | ||||
| — | Vacated | November 30, 1957 | — | — | — | — | Stojack was stripped of the title due to inactivity. | |||
| National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | ||||||||||
| 3 | Dory Dixon | February 13, 1958 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 575 | Dixon defeated Al Kashley to win the vacant championship. | |||
| 4 | Ray Mendoza | September 11, 1959 | Live event | Guadalajara, Jalisco | 1 | 323 | ||||
| 5 | Gory Guerrero | July 30, 1960 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 1,102 | ||||
| 6 | Ali Bey | August 6, 1963 | Live event | El Paso, Texas | 1 | 49 | ||||
| 7 | Gory Guerrero | September 24, 1963 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 861 | ||||
| — | Vacated | February 1, 1966 | — | — | — | — | Guerrero was stripped of the title after leaving the promotion; Guerrero kept the physical belt for nine years after being stripped of the championship. | |||
| 8 | Ray Mendoza | August 4, 1967 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 289 | Mendoza defeated Dory Dixon in a tournament final to win the vacant title. | |||
| 9 | Ángel Blanco | May 19, 1968 | Live event | Torreón, Coahuila | 1 | 220 | ||||
| 10 | Ray Mendoza | December 25, 1968 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 3 | 359 | ||||
| 11 | Coloso Colosetti | December 19, 1969 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 91 | ||||
| 12 | Ray Mendoza | March 20, 1970 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 4 | 252 | ||||
| 13 | El Solitario | November 27, 1970 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 476 | ||||
| 14 | David Morgan | March 17, 1972 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 35 | ||||
| 15 | Ray Mendoza | April 21, 1972 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 5 | 53 | ||||
| 16 | Alfonso Dantés | June 13, 1972 | Live event | Tijuana, Baja California | 1 | 381 | ||||
| 17 | Kim Sung Ho | June 29, 1973 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 175 | ||||
| 18 | Ray Mendoza | December 21, 1973 | Live event | Los Angeles, California | 6 | |||||
| — | Vacated | February 1974 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated when Mendoza left EMLL to form the Universal Wrestling Association. | |||
| 19 | Dr. Wagner | September 22, 1974 | EMLL 41st Anniversary Show | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 523 | Dr. Wagner defeated El Halcon in a tournament final to win the vacant title. | |||
| 20 | Adorable Rubí | February 27, 1976 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 140 | ||||
| 21 | Carlos Plata | July 16, 1976 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 100 | ||||
| 22 | Alfonso Dantés | October 24, 1976 | Live event | Guadalajara, Jalisco | 2 | 110 | ||||
| 23 | Chavo Guerrero | February 11, 1977 | Live event | Los Angeles, California | 1 | 30 | ||||
| 24 | Roddy Piper | March 13, 1977 | Live event | California | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 25 | Chavo Guerrero | March 15, 1977 | Live event | Los Angeles, California | 2 | 6 | ||||
| 26 | Alfonso Dantés | April 21, 1977 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 3 | 407 | ||||
| 27 | El Faraón | June 2, 1978 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 193 | ||||
| 28 | Pak Choo | December 8, 1978 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 145 | ||||
| 29 | Alfonso Dantés | April 30, 1979 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 4 | 265 | ||||
| 30 | Raul Mata | January 20, 1980 | Live event | Guadalajara, Jalisco | 1 | 330 | ||||
| 31 | Alfonso Dantés | December 15, 1980 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 5 | 112 | ||||
| 32 | Tony Salazar | April 3, 1981 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 343 | ||||
| 33 | David Morgan | March 12, 1982 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 21 | ||||
| 34 | Máscara Año 2000 | April 2, 1982 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 228 | ||||
| 35 | El Faraón | November 16, 1982 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 60 | ||||
| 36 | Ringo Mendoza | January 15, 1983 | Live event | Guadalajara, Jalisco | 1 | 194 | ||||
| 37 | El Satánico | July 28, 1983 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 87 | ||||
| 38 | Ringo Mendoza | October 23, 1983 | Live event | Guadalajara, Jalisco | 2 | 479 | ||||
| 39 | MS-1 | February 13, 1985 | Live event | Acapulco, Guerrero | 1 | 39 | ||||
| 40 | Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. | June 21, 1985 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 637 | ||||
| Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | ||||||||||
| 41 | MS-1 | March 20, 1987 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 65 | ||||
| 42 | Cien Caras | June 24, 1987 | Live event | Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico State | 1 | 270 | ||||
| 43 | Lizmark | March 20, 1988 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 96 | ||||
| 44 | Fabuloso Blondy | June 24, 1988 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 168 | ||||
| 45 | Lizmark | December 9, 1988 | JUicio Final | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 224 | ||||
| 46 | El Satánico | July 21, 1989 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 92 | ||||
| 47 | Pirata Morgan | October 21, 1989 | Live event | Cuernavaca, Morelos | 1 | 116 | ||||
| 47 | Fabuloso Blondy | February 14, 1990 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 35 | ||||
| 49 | Lizmark | March 21, 1990 | Live event | Acapulco, Guerrero | 3 | 249 | ||||
| 50 | El Satánico | November 25, 1990 | Live event | León, Guanajuato | 3 | 157 | ||||
| 51 | Lizmark | May 1, 1991 | Live event | Acapulco, Guerrero | 4 | 340 | ||||
| Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | ||||||||||
| 52 | El Satánico | April 5, 1992 | CMLL Domingos Arena Mexico | Mexico City, Mexico | 4 | 111 | ||||
| 53 | Apolo Dantés | July 25, 1992 | Live event | Puebla, Puebla | 1 | 243 | ||||
| 54 | Jaque Mate | March 25, 1993 | Live event | Cuernavaca, Morelos | 1 | 619 | ||||
| 55 | El Dandy | December 4, 1994 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 681 | ||||
| 56 | Black Warrior | October 15, 1996 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 201 | ||||
| 57 | Shocker | May 4, 1997 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 310 | ||||
| 58 | Black Warrior | March 10, 1998 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 2 | 727 | ||||
| 59 | Tarzan Boy | March 6, 2000 | Live event | Puebla, Puebla | 1 | |||||
| — | Vacated | 2003 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated when Tarzan Boy was unable to defend the championship due to injury. | |||
| 60 | Vampiro Canadiense | February 9, 2003 | Live event | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 450 | Vampiro defeated Tarzan Boy in a decision match for the vacant title. | |||
| 61 | Shocker | May 3, 2004 | Live event | Puebla, Puebla | 2 | |||||
| — | Vacated | 2005 | — | — | — | — | CMLL stripped Shocker of the title when he did not appear for a scheduled title defense. | |||
| 62 | Dr. Wagner, Jr. | April 17, 2005 | CMLL Domingos De Coliseo | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 461 | Dr. Wagner, Jr. defeated Último Guerrero in a decision match for the vacant title. | |||
| 63 | Atlantis | July 22, 2006 | Super Viernes | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 988 | ||||
| 64 | El Texano, Jr. | April 5, 2009 | CMLL Guadalajara Domingos | Guadalajara, Jalisco | 1 | 494 | ||||
| — | Vacated | August 12, 2010 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated when CMLL returned it to NWA. CMLL replaces the championship with the NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship. | |||
| National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / NWA Mexico | ||||||||||
| 65 | Súper Nova | May 19, 2013 | Live event | Blackfoot, Idaho | 1 | 283 | Defeated El Hijo de Rey Misterio and Lizmark Jr. in a tournament final. Súper Nova is recognized by NWA Mexico and the International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) but is not recognized by the NWA in the United States. Súper Nova last defended the championship on February 26, 2014 during an IWRG event; no known defenses have occurred after this date. | |||
| Championship history is unrecorded from February 26, 2014 to present. | ||||||||||
Reigns by combined length
- Key
| Symbol | Meaning |
| † | Indicates the current champion |
| ¤ | The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used. |
| + | Indicates that the date changes daily for the current champion. |
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of Reigns | Combined Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gory Guerrero | 2 | 1,963 |
| 2 | Ray Mendoza | 6 | 1,318¤ |
| 3 | Alfonso Dantés | 5 | 1,275 |
| 4 | Apolo Dantés | 1 | 1,098 |
| 5 | Tarzan Boy | 1 | 1,031¤ |
| 6 | Atlantis | 1 | 988 |
| 7 | Black Warrior | 2 | 928 |
| 8 | Lizmark | 4 | 909 |
| 9 | El Dandy | 1 | 681 |
| 10 | Ringo Mendoza | 2 | 673 |
| 11 | Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. | 1 | 637 |
| 12 | Jaque Mate | 1 | 619 |
| 13 | Dory Dixon | 1 | 575 |
| 14 | Shocker | 3 | 553¤ |
| 15 | Dr. Wagner | 1 | 523 |
| 16 | Fabuloso Blondy | 2 | 511 |
| 17 | El Texano, Jr. | 1 | 494 |
| 18 | El Solitario | 1 | 476 |
| 19 | Dr. Wagner, Jr. | 1 | 461 |
| 20 | Vampiro Canadiense | 1 | 450 |
| 21 | El Satánico | 4 | 447 |
| 22 | Tony Salazar | 1 | 343 |
| 23 | Raul Mata | 1 | 330 |
| 24 | Súper Nova | 1 | 283¤ |
| 25 | Gypsy Joe | 1 | 277 |
| 26 | Cien Caras | 1 | 270 |
| 27 | El Faraón | 2 | 253 |
| 28 | Adorable Rubí | 1 | 231 |
| 29 | Máscara Año 2000 | 1 | 228 |
| 30 | Ángel Blanco | 1 | 220 |
| 31 | Kim Sung Ho | 1 | 175 |
| 32 | Pak Choo | 1 | 145 |
| 33 | Pirata Morgan | 1 | 116 |
| 34 | MS-1 | 1 | 104 |
| 35 | Carlos Plata | 1 | 100 |
| 36 | Coloso Colosetti | 1 | 91 |
| 37 | Ali Bey | 1 | 49 |
| 38 | David Morgan | 2 | 56 |
| 39 | Chavo Guerrero | 2 | 36 |
| 40 | Roddy Piper | 1 | 2 |
Footnotes
- ^ The most recent case of this was Mephisto's holding the NWA World Welterweight Championship, a belt with a 78 kg (172 lb) upper limit, despite weighing 90 kg (200 lb).
- ^ The exact date on which Ray Mendoza vacated the title is unknown, which means the title reign lasted between 42 and 69 days.
- ^ The exact date on which Tarzan Boy vacated the title is unknown, which means the title reign lasted between 1,031 and 1,069 days.
- ^ The exact date on which Shocker vacates the title is unknown, which means the title reign lasted between 243 and 348 days.
- The NWA endorsed another NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship in New Jersey in 1997 and 1998, referred to as the "New Jersey version"; this short-lived title was not connected to the CMLL version.