The CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship (Campeonato Mundial Semi Completo de CMLL in Spanish) is a singles professional wrestling world championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) since 1991. As it is a professional wrestling championship, it is not won legitimately: it is 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 is not always strictly enforced. Because Lucha Libre emphasizes the lower weight classes, this division is considered more important than the normally more prestigious heavyweight division of a promotion. All title matches take place under two out of three falls rules.
The current champion is Averno, who won the championship by defeating Bárbaro Cavernario at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas on March 29, 2024.
The first champion to be recognized by CMLL was Jerry Estrada, who defeated Pierroth Jr. in the finals of a 16-man tournament that took place between September 15 and September 26, 1991. Overall, there have been sixteen reigns shared among fourteen wrestlers. Dr. Wagner Jr. and Atlantis are the only two wrestlers to have held the title twice; Dr. Wagner Jr. is listed as an unofficial three-time champion, but he is not recognized as such by CMLL. Jerry Estrada's 175 day reign is the shortest in history, while Niebla Roja holds the record for his first reign, at 2,527 days. Aquarius' unofficial title reign is the shortest on record, 8 days, but is not acknowledged by CMLL.
Title history
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Days recog. | Number of days held recognized by the promotion |
| N/A | Unknown information |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Days recog. | ||||
| 1 | Jerry Estrada | September 26, 1991 | Live event | Cuernavaca, Mexico | 1 | 175 | 175 | Defeated Pierroth Jr. in a tournament final | [G] |
| 2 | Pierroth Jr. | March 19, 1992 | Live event | Cuernavaca, Mexico | 1 | 379 | 379 | [G] | |
| 3 | Dr. Wagner Jr. | April 2, 1993 | Live event | Mexico City, Distrito Federal | 1 | 334 | 334 | [G] | |
| 4 | Atlantis | March 2, 1994 | Live event | Acapulco, Mexico | 1 | 655 | 655 | [G] | |
| 5 | Dr. Wagner Jr. | December 17, 1995 | Live event | Mexico City, Distrito Federal | 2 | 215 | 1,240 | [G] | |
| † | Aquarius | July 19, 1996 | Live event | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 8 | — | Title change is not officially recognized by CMLL | [G] |
| † | Dr. Wagner Jr. | July 27, 1996 | Live event | Sapporo, Japan | 3 | 1,017 | — | CMLL does not recognize Dr. Wagner Jr. as a three-time champion as they do not recognize Aquarius' title win. | [G] |
| 6 | Atlantis | May 10, 1999 | Live event | Puebla, Mexico | 2 | 196 | 196 | [G] | |
| 7 | Villano III | November 22, 1999 | Live event | Tampico, Mexico | 1 | 685 | 685 | [G] | |
| 8 | Shocker | October 7, 2001 | Live event | Guadalajara, Mexico | 1 | 432 | 432 | ||
| 9 | Último Guerrero | December 13, 2002 | Live event | Mexico City, Distrito Federal | 1 | 1,309 | 1,309 | ||
| 10 | Rey Bucanero | July 14, 2006 | Live event | Mexico City, Distrito Federal | 1 | 1,047 | 1,047 | ||
| 11 | Ephesto | May 26, 2009 | Live event | Mexico City, Distrito Federal | 1 | 637 | 637 | ||
| 12 | Rush | February 22, 2011 | Live event | Mexico City, Distrito Federal | 1 | 693 | 693 | ||
| — | Vacated | January 15, 2013 | Live event | Mexico City, Distrito Federal | — | — | — | Rush vacated the title to get a match for the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship. | |
| 13 | Rey Escorpión | January 29, 2013 | Live event | Mexico City, Distrito Federal | 1 | 637 | 637 | Defeated Volador Jr. in a tournament final. | |
| 14 | Ángel de Oro | October 28, 2014 | Live event | Mexico City, Distrito Federal | 1 | 528 | 528 | ||
| 15 | La Máscara | April 8, 2016 | Super Viernes | Mexico City, Distrito Federal | 1 | 409 | 409 | ||
| — | Vacated | May 22, 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | La Máscara was fired by CMLL | |
| 16 | Niebla Roja | June 10, 2017 | Live event | Mexico City, Distrito Federal | 1 | 2,527 | 2,527 | Won a 10-man Torneo Cibernetico match to win the vacant title. | |
| 17 | Bárbaro Cavernario | July 15, 2022 | Super Viernes | Mexico City, Distrito Federal | 1 | 666 | 666 | ||
| 18 | Averno | March 29, 2024 | Homenaje A Dos Leyendas | Mexico City, Distrito Federal | 1 | 43+ | 43+ |
| |
Combined reigns
As of May 11, 2024.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
|---|
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niebla Roja | 1 | 2,527 | |
| 2 | Dr. Wagner Jr. | 2 | 1,574 | [G] |
| 3 | Último Guerrero | 1 | 1,309 | |
| 4 | Rey Bucanero | 1 | 1,047 | |
| 5 | Atlantis | 2 | 851 | [G] |
| 6 | Rush | 1 | 693 | |
| 7 | Villano III | 1 | 685 | [G] |
| 8 | Ephesto | 1 | 637 | |
| 9 | Rey Escorpión | 1 | 637 | |
| 10 | Bárbaro Cavernario | 1 | 666 |
|
| 11 | Ángel de Oro | 1 | 528 | |
| 12 | Shocker | 1 | 432 | |
| 12 | La Máscara | 1 | 409 | |
| 13 | Pierroth Jr. | 1 | 379 | [G] |
| 14 | Jerry Estrada | 1 | 175 | [G] |
| 15 | Averno † | 1 | 43+ | |
| 16 | Aquarius | 1 | 8 | [G] |
Footnotes
References
- General source
[G] -Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "MEXICO: CMLL EMLL Light Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 395. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- Specific sources