ON March 20, 1996, WCW unveiled a new championship at a New Japan event called Hyper Battle '96. The rules of that championship were that only wrestlers weighing 230.Lbs or less could contend for it. Within its own division in WCW, the Cruiserweight Championship was fought over by some of the most exciting high flyers from the lucha and puroresu scenes of Mexico and Japan, combined with top cruiserweight talent from North America. When WCW folded, the belt was brought over to WWE and soon was merged with their Light Heavyweight championship, with the lineage and name of the Cruiserweight title being retained. WWE deactivated the title in 2007, and a similarly-named, but ultimately unrelated title was launched in 2017. Can you name all the holders of the original lineage from 1996 to 2007?
Alternate spellings may exist for some names that might be more difficult to spell. Wrestlers who appeared under alternate names and characters can be guessed with just one of those names.
For quizzes for the King of the Ring winners, Royal Rumble winners, every Royal Rumble match, all Rumble entrants, Tag Teams and more, click on my username. Thanks and enjoy!
"Date Won" means the calendar date on which the wrestler won the title, not the WWE "recognised" date. "R#" corresponds to the cumulative reign number for that respective champion. One reign is recognised by all sources as being a co-reign, and is represented as such here with both champions having to be guessed.
Vacant: On a number of occasions and for a variety of reasons, the Cruiserweight title has been vacated by its holder. The date relating to each vacancy is when the champion relinquished the belt.