The WWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (Campeonato Mundial Semi Completo de WWA in Spanish) is a singles professional wrestlingchampionship promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling based promotionWorld Wrestling Association (WWA) since 1989. In the 1990s, the title was taken to Japan when reigning champion Gran Hamada returned to his home country. In Japan, the title became one of 8 championships that made up the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) J-Crown Championship. When the J-Crown was broken up into individual titles the WWA World Light Heavyweight Championship returned to Mexico. 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.[a][1]
As it was a professional wrestling championship, the championship was not won not by actual competition, but by a scripted ending to a match determined by the bookers and match makers.[b] On occasion the promotion declares a championship vacant, which means there is no champion at that point in time. This can either be due to a storyline,[c] or real life issues such as a champion suffering an injury being unable to defend the championship,[d] or leaving the company.[e]
In 2005 Filoso, a wrestler from Pro Wrestling ZERO1, was billed as the WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Champion, using the same title belt that had been used as part of the J-Crown and it had not been returned to the WWA. Even though Filoso never actually won the belt, he did defend the title, losing it in his first defense. The title is used by Zero1 but only shares the name of the World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship, not its lineage.
^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"[2]
^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"[3]
^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"[4]
^Duncan & Will (2000) p. 201, Chapter: (Memphis, Nashville) Memphis: USWA Tag Team Title "Vacant on 93/01/18 when Spike leaves the USWA."[5]
^ abcdefghijklDuncan & Will (2000) p. 400, Chapter: "Mexico: World Wrestling Association (Benjamin Mora) WWA Junior Light Heavyweight Title" [6]
Hornbaker, Tim (2016). "Statistical notes". Legends of Pro Wrestling - 150 years of headlocks, body slams, and piledrivers (Revised ed.). New York, New York: Sports Publishing. ISBN978-1-61321-808-2.
Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. ISBN0-9698161-5-4.