NWA World Welterweight Championship

NWA World Welterweight Championship
The current belt design
Details
PromotionEmpresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre
(1946–1990)
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
(1991–1996, 2007–2010)
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(1996–1997)
Toryumon Japan / Mexico
(1999–2007)
NWA Mexico / Independent promotions (2010–2017)
Date establishedMarch 15, 1946[1]
Date retiredSeptember 30, 2017[2]
Other name(s)
World Welterweight Championship (1946–1952)[1]
Statistics
First champion(s)El Santo[1]
Final champion(s)Akantus[2]
Most reignsKarloff Lagarde, Américo Rocca (3 reigns)
Longest reignKarloff Lagarde (7 years, 186 days)[1]
Shortest reignShinjiro Otani, Último Dragón (1 day)[1]
Oldest championBlue Demon (53 years, 66 days)[3]
Youngest championLa Sombra (18 years, 24 days)[4]
Heaviest championShinjiro Otani (102 kilograms (225 lb))[a]
Lightest championKarloff Lagarde (68 kilograms (150 lb))[a][5]

The NWA World Welterweight Championship (Spanish: Campeonato Mundial Welter de NWA) is an inactive professional wrestling championship governed by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and most recently promoted by NWA Mexico. The championship was originally created in 1946 by the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). As with all professional wrestling championships, matches for the NWA World Welterweight Championship were not won or lost competitively but by a pre-planned ending to a match, with the outcome determined by the CMLL bookers and match makers.[6] CMLL controlled the championship from 1946 until 1996 and again from 2007 until 2010. From 1996 until 2007 the championship was promoted mainly in Japan, initially as one of eight championships that made up the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) J-Crown Championship. After the J-Crown was discontinued the title remained in Japan promoted by the Toryumon federation until 2007 when it returned to Mexico and CMLL. CMLL was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) until the late 1980s but chose to keep the championship and the NWA prefix after leaving the NWA.

The championship predates the creation of the National Wrestling Alliance in 1948 and was initially called the World Welterweight Championship, promoted by Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL). When EMLL joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1952, the NWA prefix was added.[7] In the late 1980s, EMLL withdrew from the NWA and changed its name to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL).[8] CMLL retained ownership of three NWA-branded championships which originated in the promotion,[1] the other two being the NWA World Middleweight Championship and the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship. All continued to be billed as "Campeonatos de NWA" (NWA Championships).[9][10] On occasion, a promotion declared the championship vacant, which meant there was no champion at that point in time. This was either due to a storyline[11] or real-life issues such as a champion suffering an injury and being unable to defend the championship,[12] or leaving the company.[13] All title matches held in Mexico took place under two out of three falls rules.[14][15] The official definition of the welterweight weight limit in Mexico is 70 kg (150 lb) to 78 kg (172 lb), but promotions have ignored the weight limit at times and crowned champions both heavier and lighter than the rules defined.[b][18]

El Santo became the first NWA World Welterweight Champion by winning an eight-man tournament when he defeated Pete Pancoff in the finals. In 1992, the then-champion Misterioso left CMLL to join the newly formed Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), vacating the championship as a result. CMLL had created the CMLL World Welterweight Championship in February 1992 as their top welterweight championship, and thus did not crown a new NWA championship for three years.[1] Negro Casas defeated El Hijo del Santo in a tournament final as CMLL brought the championship back in the winter of 1995. The following August Casas was one of eight champions to compete in an NJPW-promoted tournament to unify the championships into the J-Crown championship. Casas lost in the first round to Shinjiro Ohtani, marking the first time the championship had changed hands outside Mexico. The championship would switch hands in each round of the tournament as Último Dragón won it the next night and then Great Sasuke won it as he won the tournament. In 1996 and 1997 the championship was defended as part of the J-Crown until it was broken up into the original individual championships. After this it was once again inactive until early 1999 when Dragon Kid became the first Toryumon-promoted champion. From 1999 until 2007 the championship was promoted exclusively by Toryumon, mainly in Japan and occasionally by Torymon's Mexican branch. On November 27, 2007, CMLL wrestler La Sombra won the title from Hajime Ohara on a Toryumon Mexico show, bringing the championship back under the control of CMLL.[19]

In March 2010, Blue Demon Jr., the president of NWA Mexico, demanded that CMLL (a non-member of the NWA) cease promoting the NWA-branded championships, declaring that all three championships had been vacated as far as the NWA was concerned.[20] NWA Mexico had already tried to reclaim CMLL's three NWA-branded titles on a previous occasion. CMLL ignored both requests completely, with Mephisto, the NWA Welterweight Champion, responding that "the championships belong to CMLL", thus the NWA could not vacate them.[21] On August 12, 2010, CMLL unveiled the new NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship to replace the original championship, which it conceded to NWA Mexico. The CMLL made the last CMLL-promoted NWA World Welterweight champion, Averno, the first NWA World Historic Welterweight Champion.[22][23] On June 22, 2011, Cassandro became the first NWA Mexico-promoted Welterweight Champion when he defeated Dr. Cerebro on a show in London, England.[24]

Akantus was the most recent NWA World Welterweight champion, having defeated Impostor Jr. to win the title on April 24, 2016, marking the only known championship match in his reign. Akantus was the 63rd overall champion and the 47th person to hold the Championship. Karloff Lagarde and Américo Rocca are tied for the most title reigns, a total of three, while Lagarde holds the record for the longest individual title reign, 2,742 days from 1958 until 1965. Two men have held the title for just one day: Shinjiro Otani and Último Dragón.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Duncan & Will (2000) p. 390, Chapter: "Mexico: EMLL NWA Welterweight Heavyweight Title [Lutteroth]"
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Welter63 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre p. 11 "Blue Demon (1922–2000)"
  4. ^ "Tecnicos – La Sombra" [Faces - La Sombra]. Fuego en el ring (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  5. ^ Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre p. 33 "Karlof Lagarde (1928–2000)"
  6. ^ Hornbaker (2016) p. 550: "Professional wrestling is a sport in which match finishes are predetermined. Thus, win–loss records are not indicative of a wrestler's genuine success based on their legitimate abilities – but on now much, or how little they were pushed by promoters"
  7. ^ Hornbaker (2007) PP. 24–25 International Expansion"
  8. ^ Madigan (2007) PP. 15–28
  9. ^ Duncan & Will (2000) pp. 389–390 "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Middlweight Title
  10. ^ Duncan & Will (2000) p. 389 "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Light Heavyweight Title
  11. ^ Duncan & Will (2000) p. 271, Chapter: Texas: NWA American Tag Team Title [World Class, Adkisson] "Championship held up and rematch ordered because of the interference of manager Gary Hart"
  12. ^ Duncan & Will (2000) p. 20, Chapter: (United States: 19th Century & widely defended titles – NWA, WWF, AWA, IW, ECW, NWA) NWA/WCW TV Title "Rhodes stripped on 85/10/19 for not defending the belt after having his leg broken by Ric Flair and Ole & Arn Anderson"
  13. ^ Duncan & Will (2000) p. 201, Chapter: (Memphis, Nashville) Memphis: USWA Tag Team Title "Vacant on 93/01/18 when Spike leaves the USWA."
  14. ^ Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre p. 44 "Articulo 258.- Cada combate de lucha libre tendrá como limite tres caídas; cada caída será sin limite de tiempo, ganará quien obtenga dos caídas de las tres en disputa" ("Article 258.- Each wrestling match shall have as limit three falls; Each fall will be without time limit. The winner will be the one to first obtain two of the three falls in the match")
  15. ^ Arturo Montiel Rojas (August 30, 2001). "Reglamento de Box y Lucha Libre Professional del Estado de Mexico" [Box and Professional Wrestling Regulations of the State of Mexico] (PDF) (in Spanish). Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 30, 2006. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  16. ^ "Statistics for Professional wrestlers". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. 2007 Edition.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mephisto56 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Arturo Montiel Rojas (August 30, 2001). "Reglamento de Box y Lucha Libre Professional del Estado de Mexico" [Box and Professional Wrestling Regulations of the State of Mexico] (PDF) (in Spanish). Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 30, 2006. Retrieved April 3, 2009. Articulo 242: "Ligero 70 kilos / Welter 77 kilos"
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference SL244 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Ruiz, Alex (March 4, 2010). Ocampo, Ernesto (ed.). "Blue Demon Jr. no reconoce los títulos de NWA que están en el CMLL- Realizará eliminatorias para sacar a los nuevos campeones" [Blue Demon Jr. does not recognize the NWA titles in CMLL- They will hold a tournament for new champions]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Impresos Camsam. ISSN 1665-8876. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  21. ^ Ruiz Glez, Alex (March 12, 2010). Ocampo, Ernesto (ed.). "Mephisto responde a Blue Demon Jr.: "No tengo que entrar a ninguna eliminatoria porque yo soy el campeón..."" [Mephisto responds to Blue Demon Jr .: "I do not have to enter any decision match because I am the champion ..."]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Impresos Camsam. ISSN 1665-8876. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  22. ^ "Campeones" [Champions] (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  23. ^ Boutwell, Josh (September 17, 2010). "Viva La Raza! Lucha Weekly". WrestleView. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cassandro1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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