The legendary ‘Japanese Buzzsaw’ was the only former original Cruiserweight Champion to compete in the tournament. NXT, previously a developmental territory for WWE, became the promotion's third major brand with the move to the USA Network. The Australian athlete is still competing regularly on the country’s indie scene. Ali came in as a replacement for the Cruiserweight Classic and shocked everyone with an incredible performance against Lince Dorado. Here, the PA news agency takes a look back at that fight. Jordan Devlin is the current champion in his first reign. When he lost to Kota Ibushi in the quarterfinals, the emotional hug between him and his friend Daniel Bryan got everyone tearing up. Gargano was a part of #DIY before the CWC and he remained one after it – at least for a while. There's a lot of sloppiness in that division as a whole to say the least. The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the NXT Cruiserweight Championship between WWE's brands. Today he is one of the biggest pro-wrestling stars outside WWE, mainly working for New Japan Pro Wrestling and RevPro. Customary Cruiserweight handshake aside, The Wizard of Odd didn’t show … Update: not the ring announcer i meant the commentators. Before there was WWE NXT, there was Florida Championship Wrestling. 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. Alexander was signed to WWE after one of the best WWE matches ever, when he lost to Kota Ibushi in a super emotional battle and the fans kept chanting ‘Please sign Cedric’. On May 29, 2016 Tony Bellew won the vacant WBC world cruiserweight title with a third-round knockout of Ilunga Makabu at Goodison Park. When Kendrick was down and out, it was Tozawa who appeared, over a year after their first encounter, to help him. Tonight, the former champion picked up a dominant win over Tyler Breeze, who up to this point was undefeated on 205 Live. [32] All the way from India, WWE made it clear they wanted to keep the two real-life brothers on as a tag team. [13], Just 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". After the tournament he was assigned to 205 Live. Current — and still — Cruiserweight Champion The Brian Kendrick should thank his lucky stars that Corbin did interfere in the match, because Kalisto was well on his way to both taking Kendrick’s title and the entire Cruiserweight division to SmackDown LIVE. This makes Gargano a triple crown champion in NXT, but also the most accomplished man coming out of the Cruiserweight Classic. The Brian Kendrick is the most consistently booked character on the show. This gained Dorado a shot at the Cruiserweight Title at Clash of Champions 2019. A new interim champion will be crowned and now WWE has revealed details about the upcoming Cruiserweight Championship Tournament. Tozawa refused to listen and won the feud. His most recent notable appearance was during 16 Carat Gold 2019, where he and Marcel Barthel reformed their beloved ‘Hot & Spicy’ tag team for one night only. [15] 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. This also helped him getting bookings in Japan. 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. The show will take place at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon and it … Metalik has teased interest of leaving WWE once his contract runs out on social media. The 23-year veteran and technical expert has not slowed down since battling Zack Sabre. Following WrestleMania 34, 205 Live became its own brand where the title became exclusively defended. Shortly afterwards the new cruiserweight division manifested in the formation of the new one-hour show 205 Live. Once the former WWE Champion suffered an injury, the now renamed ‘Singh Brothers’, both captured the 24/7 Championship and are back to competing on 205 Live rather succesfully. He is now a part of SmackDown’s midcard, receiving a push every once in a while. In 2019 Swann still competes for Impact Wrestling, being a former X-Division Champion. After beating Tyson Dux, Drew Gulak and Noam Dar in technical classics, he fell short at the hands of Gran Metalik. After the tournament Nese began counting his eight abs on 205 Live while making his entrance. Relevance. The Cruiserweight championship has been quietly retired in the WWE.Go to Wikipedia.org and type in WWE "Cruiserweight Championship" in the Search Box if you think I'm lying,sucka. Cedric Alexander will always be remembered as the soul of 205 Live. When ZSJ was announced for WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic it did send shockwaves through the business. WWE superstar and current cruiserweight champion Enzo Amore has been released by WWE after being accused of sexual assault. It is the promotion's only championship with a weight limit, wherein only wrestlers 205 lb (93 kg) and under—designated as cruiserweights—can compete for the title. no cruiserweight superstar is not even trying to win it. Jr during the Classic. The ;Blackheart’ is a former NXT Tag Team and NXT Champion. Any ties were broken by head-to-head results. If WWE is going to just throw the cruiserweight title back on television and treat it like the Divas title gets treated for the most part, then I say it's better off retired. Dar was unable to take down Zack Sabre. Today Dar competes on both 205 Live and NXT UK, the ‘Scottish Supernova’ has recently feuded with Trent Seven on the latter show. He then was turned back heel, counting his abs. After a brief stint on 205 Live, the duo became the sidekicks of Jinder Mahal. He regularly appears for SMASH Wrestling in Canada, is the current NSPW Tag Team Champion alongside TARIK and has also competed in the 11th edition of the wXw Ambition Tournament in 2019. Back at Worlds Collide in January, Jordan Devlin beat Angel Garza, Isaiah Scott, and Travis Banks to win the prestigious belt and the 30-year-old successfully defended the title against talents such as Kushida, Lio Rush, and Tony Nese before the Ireland native was forced out of action due to the coronavirus … The ‘Golden Star’ also won the G1 Climax in 2019. Eventually though, Kendrick is still The Brian Kendrick at heart and turned on his friend in September. He has had several chances at the Cruiserweight Championship and acted as the manager of Hideo Itami in the past. After a short stint with MLW, he returned to Impact Wrestling and also started to appear on NJPW shows in autumn 2019. Published 14th December 2019 at 3:10pm by Daniel Schachtmeier. It seemed like a done deal that he would reach the finals and sign with WWE, but that did not happen. He was eliminated in the second round by Gran Metalik, but ended up on 205 Live. The wrestlers with the best record in each group then competed to determine the interim champion. However he reduced his bookings in 2019. 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. Perkins, who competed in TNA as Manik and Suicide prior to this, was always believed to be an emergency solution, since both Zack Sabre. NXT General Manager William Regal was announced to take over … In the three years he spent on the brand, he was unable to win the Cruiserweight Championship. After the trio got drafted to SmackDown, the storyline was quietly dropped. Although the title became exclusive to 205 Live, it was still defended on WWE's main pay-per-views alongside Raw and SmackDown. The two titles had shared the same name, but do not share the same title history. REBOOKING EVERY CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION FROM 2016 TO 2020-The Brian Kendrick Cruiserweight Classic-Neville Royal Rumble 2017-Austin Aries Wrestlemania 33-Mustafa Ali Wrestlemania 34-Buddy Murphy Super Showdown 2018 ... similar to what actually happened … At Worlds Collide, he became NXT Cruiserweight Champion, ending the reign of Angel Garza before a single defense was made. He was a champion whose professional career endured from 1984 until his final fight against Sherman Williams in 2011, when Holyfield was 48 years old. Three years ago WWE started plans for a new cruiserweight division. 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. Maluta is a semi-regular part of NXT TV today, but usually serves as an enhancement talent. In early 2018, Triple H was given creative control over 205 Live, as he has with the NXT brand, and began restructuring the show. The duo later allowed Drew Gulak into their mix. Bennett is still a regular on smaller american indie shows, hoping for a breakthrough. The title’s retirement in September 2007 meant that Hornswoggle was the last Superstar ever to reign as Cruiserweight Champion. [36] 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. The NXT Cruiserweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on their NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live brand divisions. In 2019 Lee has wrestled more than ever, especially competing for Dragon Gate in Japan. Back in 2016, the former WWE star’s career was on an upswing as TJP bested the likes of Cedric Alexander, Zack Sabre Jr., and Kota Ibushi to win the Cruiserweight Classic and become the inaugural champion. Jr during the Cruiserweight Classic. After a feud with The Brian Kendrick he decided to leave WWE again. [4] 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. His most recent title match came at the November 27th 2019 episode of NXT against Lio Rush. He defeated Juventud Guerrera for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship on the September 14, 1998, edition of WCW Monday Nitro. Highly promoted as the ‘first cruiserweight wrestler from Chile’, he impressed in his first outing against eventual finalist Gran Metalik. After being attacked by the returning Neville, Swann entered a feud with him over the strap. [9] The title then became defended on both Raw and 205 Live. In 2019 his efforts were rewarded with the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, a title he later lost to Lio Rush in order to be called up to SmackDown. After a knee injury put him out of action for a long time, Dar returned to 205 Live as a babyface, but was turned back heel rather quick again. However these issues were addressed and Swann is now back on track. Former record WWE Tag Team Champion Brian Kendrick was brought in by WWE for the tournament as a redemption storyline. [22], 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. On April 12, 2020, with the announcement that Drake Maverick would be competing in the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament, Maverick confirmed via Twitter that he had stepped down as the 205 Live General Manager so that he could return to in-ring competition (though Maverick was released from WWE on April 15). A gimmick so naff, WWE booked a storyline to get rid of it – twice. On November 29, 2016, a cruiserweight-exclusive show entitled 205 Live premiered on the WWE Network. Evander Holyfield is one of the greats of the boxing world. 1 decade ago. The tournament came down to Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali, where Alexander defeated Ali to win the vacant championship. WWE has suspended Eric Arndt, also known as current cruiserweight champion Enzo Amore, in light of rape allegations. After defeating Fabian Aichner in the first round, Gallagher was stopped by Akira Tozawa in an 11-minute classic. Kendrick announced an indefinite leave of abscense on Twitter. [17][18] With Jordan Devlin's win at Worlds Collide on January 25, 2020, the title also became shared with the NXT UK brand. In August 2017 he asked for his release in order to take care of his mother back home in China – what a guy. 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. Ibushi will be challenging Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestling Kingdom in January. [35] 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. [19], Due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Ireland, current champion Jordan Devlin is unable to travel outside of his home country and defend the title. Favorite Answer. Jr and Kota Ibushi had chosen not to sign with WWE. It is the promotion's only championship with a weight limit, wherein only wrestlers 205 lb (93 kg) and under—designated as cruiserweights—can compete for the title. After the Enzo Amore experiment failed, WWE looked towards Cedric Alexander as the top guy of the purple brand. Whether it be a goofy PowerPoint presenter, a henchman for Enzo Amore, or a vicious master-manipulator who called himself ‘The Law’. In what has become 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. [1][2] In October 2019, the title became shared between 205 Live and NXT and was renamed the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, and was then extended to NXT UK in January 2020. [12] 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. During his time as a Cruiserweight he amassed a record of 36-1 with 31 knockouts and but for the demoralising loss to a buoyant Toney who knows how long his reign would have lasted. Although never winning the Cruiserweight Championship in his stint there, Ali and his rival Cedric Alexander became the standard bearers of great wrestling in WWE for a while. * Carmella won the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal. He is a regular in the relatively small french indie scene and also appeared for WrestlingKult in Germany, PROGRESS and POW from time to time. As of March 7, 2021, there have been seventeen reigns between fifteen champions and one vacancy. Not much has changed for Raul Mendoza in the three years since the Cruiserweight Classic has ended. RAW ended with Neville unleashing a vicious beatdown of the new Cruiserweight Champion. He impressed so much that WWE kept him on. Currently he is the RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion. i havent watch wwe in a long time. After 205 Live suffering the effects of two drafts in 2019 and the show also joining the NXT and NXT UK umbrella, with the WWE Cruiserweight Title becoming the NXT Cruiserweight Title, Kendrick announced an indefinite leave of abscense on Twitter. It’s unlikely anybody expected what happened when he did, though. Tony Nese finished off Bennett in six minutes. The current champion is Jordan Devlin from NXT UK, who is in his first reign; however, due to a travel ban as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an interim champion is serving as the titleholder in the United States until Devlin's return; Devlin still defends the title on NXT UK. his first reign would only last a few weeks but Kidman would go on to be an all-time great Cruiserweight Champion. Kendrick then tried the method on various different characters, before eventually finding Jack Gallagher, completely turning the man around. Eventually Gulak and Gallagher turned on Kendrick, explaining he was the weak link. Bringing in Kendrick for 205 Live seemingly was a no-brainer, however WWE used him as a heel right there and then. [8] On the premiere episode, Rich Swann defeated The Brian Kendrick to win the championship. His biggest moment to date came during WWE’s Greatest Royal Rumble, where the Iranian interrupted a segment of new Saudi Arabian signings alongside his brother Shawn Daivari to a chorus of boos. The former leader of Catch Point was unable to defeat Zack Sabre. When Ali & Alexander are the heart & soul of 205 Live, Tozawa is the backbone of the entire division. He impressed officials a lot and began forming a team with German wrestler Marcel Barthel. The ‘Bollywood Boyz’ both went out in the first round and were never meant to be a singles act. In February 2019 WWE ended the experiment of TJP and released him from his contract. Seems like it's either scrapped or they're stalling. He was then part of wXw’s RISE faction, before suffering a nasty back injury. "WWE Cruiserweight Championship" redirects here. And then he was never heard from again – at least not in WWE. The cruiserweight division stood out. He was eliminated in the second round by Gran Metalik, but ended up on 205 Live. Perkins defeated Metalik to become the inaugural champion. Metalik is said to be one of the best luchadors to ever work for WWE. He also has made the most appearances on 205 Live by a mile. However, due to a travel ban as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an interim champion was determined to serve as titleholder in the United States until Devlin's return; Devlin still defends the title on NXT UK. The inaugural champion was T.J. Perkins. Him and Ciampa won the NXT Tag Team Championships, but Gargano also managed to win the North American Title and NXT Title on his own. He also was unable to connect as heel, even when put into a story with Neville, who was very over at the time. He is reportedly under investigation for those claims in Arizona. Mustafa Ali later lost his first name, only to retain it back in late 2019. Much like Zack Sabre Jr. it was thought to be a huge deal and a safe bet for the finals. A summary: One of Kendrick’s first feuds in 205 Live was against Akira Tozawa, where he tried to teach Tozawa his knowledge about Cruiserweight wrestling. [citation needed], Neville's first feud as champion began following a non-title match against Brodus Clay, where Neville won by countout. The color of the slash under the WWE logo on the side plates was also changed to silver.[43]. 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. On September 28, 2007, the title was vacated after the final champion, Hornswoggle, was stripped of the championship by SmackDown! After his loss to Rich Swann, Lee’s career began picking up back home in China. However before the buzzards could dive in, the king of the jungle had to get a taste of the fresh kill. For the historical championship, see, Championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, The current NXT Cruiserweight Championship belt with default side plates, WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1991–2007), "Here's Why the 205 Live Roster Is No Longer on Monday Night Raw", "WWE Network adds Global Cruiserweight Series to robust 2016 programming slate", "WWE Cruiserweight Classic tickets available starting Friday, May 20", "WWE Cruiserweight Classic: TJ Perkins becomes Raw's first WWE Cruiserweight Champion", "9/14 WWE Cruiserweight Tourney Finals – Caldwell's Complete Live Report", "411MANIA | Triple H Conference Call Report: Discusses 205 Live, NXT Takeover: Toronto, Says HBK Working at the Performance Center and More", "WWE 205 Live Results – 11/29/16 (Rich Swann wins the WWE Cruiserweight Championship on the premiere episode)", "Daniel Bryan addresses the state of WWE 205 Live", "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", "TRIPLE H DISCUSSES NXT'S MOVE TO USA AND THE BRAND'S CONTINUED EVOLUTION", "THE FUTURE OF 205 LIVE REVEALED | PWInsider.com", "CHANGE TO WWE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE & MORE NXT NEWS", "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", "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", "Tournament to crown Interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion to begin next week", "WWE to crown an interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion, Jordan Devlin responds", "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", "7/20 WWE Cruiserweight Results – Caldwell's Week 2 Report on Akira Tozawa, Tajiri, TJP, excellent Dorado vs. Ali match", "8/3 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament Results – Caldwell's Report on Week 4 to conclude First Round, including Gargano vs. Ciampa", "7/13 WWE Cruiserweight Results – Caldwell's Week 1 Report on Ibushi, Cedric Alexander, more", "7/27 WWE Cruiserweight Results – Caldwell's Week 3 Report on Zack Sabre, Brian Kendrick, more in action", "8/17 WWE Cruiserweight Results – Caldwell's Report on stellar Kendrick vs. Nese and Gallagher vs. Tozawa Sweet 16 matches", "8/10 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament Results – Caldwell's Report on Ibushi vs. Alexander classic, Tajiri vs. Metalik in Sweet 16", "8/24 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament Week 7 – Caldwell's Report on Gargano vs. TJP, Sabre vs. Gulak, Swann vs. Dorado to finish Sweet 16", "8/31 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament Week 8 – Caldwell's Report on Ibushi vs. Kendrick, Tozawa vs. Metalik Elite 8 matches", "9/7 WWE Cruiserweight Tournament – Caldwell's Report on Sabre vs. Dar, Swann vs. Perkins to conclude Elite 8 Round", "Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament format revealed", "Complete field for Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament unveiled", "Kurt Angle, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and other Superstars released", "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", "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", "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", "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", "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", "Rich Swann Gets Custom Plates On Cruiserweight Title (Video), Bubba Ray Hosting RAW Party In Freehold, NJ", "NXT replaces one title, implements changes to two others", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NXT_Cruiserweight_Championship&oldid=1004965085, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The WWE Cruiserweight Championship became part of, The WWE Cruiserweight Championship became shared between, This page was last edited on 5 February 2021, at 08:14. The oldest champion is The Brian Kendrick, winning the title at 37 years old, while the youngest champion is Lio Rush when he won it at 24. Ibushi is one of the biggest stars in wrestling right now. That seems to be the general consensus from the smart marks after No Mercy, when Enzo kicked Neville below the belt to snag the title. Perkins was then renamed TJP and had various pointless matches on 205 Live, before the company decided to turn him heel. Nevertheless, he certainly did enough to be recognised as one of the greatest Cruiserweights of all-time. On SmackDown he has not been allowed to show off his unique skills yet. * NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar defends against Curt Stallion. what happened to the cruiserweight championship? Shortly after the disclosure of Hornswoggle’s name, the little man shocked the world when he defeated Jamie Noble for the Cruiserweight Championship. The current champion is Jordan Devlin from NXT UK, who is in his first reign; however, due to a travel ban as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic