WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship
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The WWWF/WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship is a former championship recognized by the World (Wide) Wrestling Federation and New Japan Pro-Wrestling for wrestlers of smaller size. The title existed from 1965 through 1985.
History
In April 1994, the WWWF Junior Heavyweight Championship belt was used as a trophy for the first ever Super J-Cup, which was won by Wild Pegasus.
Reigns
Over the championship's 20-year history, there were 20 reigns between 11 champions. Johnny De Fazio has the most reigns at four times. Tatsumi Fujinami's second reign it the longest at 789 days, while Ryuma Go's reign was the shortest at two days. The Cobra and Les Thornton were the final champions, simultaneously billed as such by New Japan Pro-Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation, respectively, in 1985.
| No. | Overall reign number |
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
| World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) | ||||||||
| 1 | Paul DeGalles | September 1965 | House show | 1 | ||||
| 2 | Johnny De Fazio | October 15, 1965 | House show | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | |||
| 3 | Jackie Nicholas | House show | New England | 1 | ||||
| 4 | Johnny De Fazio | House show | 2 | |||||
| 5 | Jackie Nicholas | House show | 2 | |||||
| 6 | Johnny De Fazio | House show | 3 | |||||
| 7 | Jackie Nicholas | House show | 3 | |||||
| 8 | Johnny De Fazio | House show | 4 | |||||
| — | Vacated | 1972 | — | — | — | — | Johnny De Fazio vacated the championship in 1972 upon retirement. | |
| National Wrestling Alliance: World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) | ||||||||
| 9 | Carlos Jose Estrada | January 20, 1978 | House show | Uniondale, NY | 1 | 3 | Defeated Tony Garea to reestablish the title in the WWWF. | |
| 10 | Tatsumi Fujinami | January 23, 1978 | WWWF | New York, NY | 1 | 617 | Fujinami moved to New Japan Pro-Wrestling with the championship. | |
| National Wrestling Alliance: World Wrestling Federation (WWF) | ||||||||
| 11 | Ryuma Go | October 2, 1979 | Bloody Fight Series | Osaka, Japan | 1 | 2 | ||
| 12 | Tatsumi Fujinami | October 4, 1979 | Bloody Fight Series | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 789 | ||
| — | Vacated | December 1, 1981 | — | — | — | — | Tatsumi Fujinami entered the heavyweight division, thus the championship was vacated. | |
| 13 | Tiger Mask | January 10, 1982 | New Year Super Fight | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 110 | Defeated Dynamite Kid for the vacant championship. | |
| — | Vacated | April 30, 1982 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated after Tiger Mask suffered an injury. | |
| 14 | Black Tiger | May 6, 1982 | Big Fight Series 1982 | Fukuoka, Japan | 1 | 20 | Defeated Gran Hamada in a decision match to win the vacant championship. | |
| 15 | Tiger Mask | May 26, 1982 | Big Fight Series 1982 | Osaka, Japan | 2 | 312 | ||
| — | Vacated | April 3, 1983 | — | — | — | — | Tiger Mask was injured by the Dynamite Kid in a tag team match two nights before. On the same April 3, Dynamite Kid and Kuniaki Kobayashi fought for the title and no winner was declared. | |
| 16 | Tiger Mask | June 13, 1983 | Tercera Confrontacion Mexico – Japan | Mexico City, Mexico | 3 | 60 | Defeated Fishman in decision match to win the vacant championship. | |
| — | Vacated | August 12, 1983 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated due to Tiger Mask retirement.. | |
| World Wrestling Federation (WWF) | ||||||||
| 17 | Dynamite Kid | February 7, 1984 | New Year Golden Series 1984 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 273 | Won a tournament final match over The Cobra to win the vacant championship. | |
| — | Vacated | November 6, 1984 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated after Dynamite Kid left Japan to join the WWF full time, and became a tag team wrestler. | |
| 18 | The Cobra | December 28, 1984 | WWF on MSG Network | New York City, NY | 1 | 143 | Defeated Black Tiger to win the vacant championship. | |
| 19 | Hiro Saito | May 20, 1985 | IWGP & WWF Championship Series | Hiroshima, Japan | 1 | 69 | ||
| 20 | The Cobra | July 28, 1985 | Burning Spirit in Summer | Osaka, Japan | 2 | 95 | ||
| † | Les Thornton | 1985 | — | — | — | — | The World Wrestling Federation (WWF), after its takeover of NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling, begins billing Les Thornton, the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, as alternatively holding the "WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship", the "WWF Jr. Light Heavyweight Championship", or the "WWF Lt. Hvywt Championship". | |
| — | Deactivated | October 31, 1985 | — | — | — | — | Vacated and abandoned when NJPW and the WWF split. Eventually replaced by NJPW in February 1986 with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. |