Cruiserweight

In professional wrestling, a cruiserweight is a wrestler weighing below 220 lb (100 kg), with no lower weight limit.The older term junior heavyweight, which was used to describe the division, is more favored in Japan, where many titles for lighter-weight competitors are called junior heavyweight titles. Prominent titles include New Japan Pro Wrestling's IWGP, Pro Wrestling NOAH's GHC, and All Japan Pro Wrestling's World/PWF titles. The weight limit utilized by WCW and Japanese promotions is "up to 220 lbs" (100 kg). New Japan and NOAH also have junior heavyweight tag team titles, for teams composed of junior heavyweights. WCW tested such a format with their own Cruiserweight Tag Team Titles shortly before the company was sold. Cruiserweight wrestlers are generally shorter and possess less muscle bulk than heavyweights, a build which lends itself to a high-flying wrestling style. While there are many cruiserweights who specialise in alternate wrestling styles, cruiserweights are strongly associated with moves performed from the top rope and moves requiring a degree of speed, agility, balance and torque. Cruiserweight wrestling is often associated with lucha libre, where similar moves and match pacing are used, but Mexico uses a different weight class system and the actual term "cruiserweight" (crucero, in Spanish) is rarely used in favor of Light-Heavyweight (peso semicompleto in Spanish). Cruiserweight wrestlers tend to be wrestlers of average human height and weight. The high spots performed by cruiserweights are normally visually impressive but carry a varying degree of risk. A cruiserweight match with no transition holds and little psychology is known as a spotfest (heavyweight spotfests do exist, however).

Championships contested by cruiserweights cannot be held by wrestlers who are not cruiserweights, but cruiserweights are normally eligible to compete for heavyweight championships.

WCW
The term was popularized in World Championship Wrestling, when WCW President Eric Bischoff in 1997 re-established the light-heavyweight division as the cruiserweight division and reactivated the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship as the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. Bischoff renamed the division because he felt that "light-heavyweight" was a pejorative term, and made the smaller wrestlers seem less important. After the World Wrestling Federation acquired the intellectual property of WCW in 2001, the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship was abandoned in favor of the WCW Cruiserweight Championship, and the title was renamed the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.

TNA Wrestling
In 2002, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling created the X Division Championship, a title with no upper or lower weight limits but which epitomized the stereotypical cruiserweight style. The division is considered a defining moment in cruiserweight wrestling and is also considered to be TNA Wrestling's top draw.

North America

 * WWE Cruiserweight Championship
 * TNA X-Division Championship
 * TNA X Cup
 * NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship
 * NWA World Middleweight Championship
 * NWA World Welterweight Championship
 * NWA Canadian Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * NWA Florida X Division Championship
 * NWA Midwest X Division Championship
 * NWA Shockwave Cruiser X Championship
 * NWA Wisconsin X Division Championship
 * NWA Florida Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship
 * UWA Light Heavyweight Championship
 * CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship
 * CMLL World Super Lightweight Championship
 * CMLL World Middleweight Championship
 * CMLL World Welterweight Championship
 * Mexico National Middleweight Championship (CMLL)
 * Mexico National Welterweight Championship (CMLL)
 * WWA World Light Heavyweight Title
 * WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Title
 * WWA World Middleweight Title
 * WWA World Welterweight Title
 * WWA World Lightweight Title
 * CBLL Cruiserweight Title
 * CBLL Light Heavyweight Title
 * CBLL Middleweight Title
 * CBLL Welterweight Title
 * CBLL Lightweight Title
 * CBLL Featherweight Title
 * NWA Virginia Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * NWA New England Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * NWA Canadian X Division Championship
 * NWA Cold Front X Division Championship
 * NWA Mid-America X Division Championship
 * NWA New England X Division Championship
 * NWA New South X Division Championship
 * NWA Rocky Top X Division Championship
 * NWA South Atlantic X Division Championship
 * NWA Tri-State X Division Championship
 * NWA Universal X Division Championship

Asia

 * NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * NWA International Light Heavyweight Championship
 * AWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (defended inZero1)
 * Dragon Gate I-J Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
 * Dragon Gate Open the Brave Gate Championship
 * ZERO1-MAX International Lightweight Tag Team Championship
 * IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
 * AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
 * Michinoku Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * UWA World Welterweight Championship
 * IWA World Mid-Heavyweight Title
 * IWA World Middleweight Title
 * IWA World Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title

Europe

 * wXw Lightweight Championship (Germany)
 * FWA Flyweight Championship (United Kingdom)
 * RQW Crusierweight Championship (United Kingdom)
 * NWA United Kingdom Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * British Commonwealth Junior Heawyweight Championship
 * British Empire Mid-Heavyweight Title
 * British Empire Light Heavyweight Title
 * British Empire Middleweight Title
 * British Empire Welterweight Title
 * British Empire Lightweight Title
 * British Mid-Heavyweight Title
 * British Light Heavyweight Title
 * British Heavy Middleweight Title
 * British Middleweight Title
 * British Welterweight Title
 * British Lightweight Title
 * Ireland Junior Heavyweight Title
 * European Mid-Heavyweight Title
 * European Light Heavyweight Title
 * European Middleweight Title
 * European Welterweight Title
 * Spanish Light Heavyweight Title
 * Spanish Middleweight Title
 * Spanish Welterweight Title
 * Spanish Lightweight Title
 * French Middleweight Title
 * CWA World Junior Heavyweight Title
 * CWA World Middleweight Title
 * EWA World Heavyweight Title
 * EWA World Middleweight Title

Africa

 * World Middleweight Title of South Africa
 * African Heavyweight Title
 * African Middleweight Title

Australia

 * Australian Junior Heavyweight Title
 * Australian Light Heavyweight Title
 * Australian Middleweight Title
 * Australian Welterweight Title

North America

 * WCW Light Heavyweight Championship
 * WCW World Cruiserweight Championship
 * WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship
 * WCW Women's Cruiserweight Championship
 * WCWA Light Heavyweight Championship
 * WWF Light Heavyweight Championship
 * XWF Cruiserweight Championship
 * OVW Light Heavyweight Championship
 * AWA Light Heavyweight Championship
 * GWF Light Heavyweight Championship
 * NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * NWA Wildside Light Heavyweight Championship
 * NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (New Jersey version)
 * NWA Mountain State Light Heavyweight Championship
 * NWA Pacific Northwest Junior Heavyweight Championship (ECCW)
 * NWA Southeast United States Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * NWA Southeast Alabama Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * Pro Wrestling America Light Heavyweight Champion
 * Smoky Mountain U.S. Junior Heavyweight Champion
 * Stampede World Mid-Heavyweight Championship

Asia

 * WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * WWA International Cruiserweight Championship
 * WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * IWA World Mid-Heavyweight Championship
 * FMW Junior Heavyweight Championship
 * UPW Super Middleweight Title
 * UPW Super Welterweight Title

Links

 * |"Reference Link for Title reigns not cited above"
 * |"Explanation of Wrestling Weight Classes"