WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship

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 1967 through 1985.

WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship
WWWF Junior Heavyweight Championship belt (top)
WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship belt (bottom)
Details
PromotionWorld Wrestling Federation
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Date established1965
Date retired1985
Other name(s)
WWWF Junior Heavyweight Championship

In April 1994, the WWWF championship belt was used as a trophy for the first ever Super J-Cup, which was won by Wild Pegasus.

Title history
Key
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
1 Paul DeGalles September 1965 House show [Note 1] 1 [Note 2]    
2 Johnny De Fazio October 15, 1965 House show Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1 [Note 3]    
3 Jackie Nicholas [Note 4] House show New England 1 [Note 3]    
4 Johnny De Fazio [Note 4] House show [Note 1] 2 [Note 3]    
5 Jackie Nicholas [Note 4] House show [Note 1] 2 [Note 3]    
6 Johnny De Fazio [Note 4] House show [Note 1] 3 [Note 3]    
7 Jackie Nicholas [Note 4] House show [Note 1] 3 [Note 3]    
8 Johnny De Fazio [Note 4] House show [Note 1] 4 [Note 3]    
— Vacated 1972 — — — — De Fazio vacated the title in 1972 upon retirement.  
9 Carlos Jose Estrada January 20, 1978 House show Uniondale, New York 1 3 Defeated Tony Garea to reestablish the title in the WWWF.  
10 Tatsumi Fujinami January 23, 1978 WWWF New York, New York 1 617 Moved to New Japan Pro Wrestling with the title.  
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 — — — — Fujinami entered the heavyweight division.  
13 Tiger Mask January 10, 1982 New Year Super Fight Tokyo, Japan 1 119 Defeated Dynamite Kid for the vacant title.  
— Vacated April 30, 1982 — — — — Tiger Mask was injured.  
14 Black Tiger May 6, 1982 Big Fight Series 1982 Fukuoka, Japan 1 20 Defeated Gran Hamada in a decision match. [1]
15 Tiger Mask May 26, 1982 Big Fight Series 1982 Osaka, Japan 2 312   [2]
— 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.  
— Vacated August 12, 1983 — — — — Tiger Mask retired.  
17 Dynamite Kid February 7, 1984 New Year Golden Series 1984 Tokyo, Japan 1 273 Won a tournament final match over The Cobra. [3]
— Vacated November 6, 1984 — — — — When the 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, New York 1 143 Defeated Black Tiger to win the title.  
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 [4]
— Deactivated October 31, 1985 — — — — Vacated and abandoned when New Japan and the WWF split.  

See also

Footnotes
  1. The location of the match was not captured in any known documentation.
  2. The exact date DeGalles won the championship is uncertain, which means that the reign lasted between 15 and 44 days.
  3. The length of the championship reign is too uncertain to calculate.
  4. The date of the match was not captured in any known documentation.

References
  1. F4W Staff (May 6, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 6): Verne Gagne Vs. Danny Hodge, 1st Annual Von Erich Parade of Champions show". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  2. F4W Staff (May 26, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 26): Dick the Bruiser & Crusher beat Larry Hennig & Harley Race in a nine fall death match, Tiger Mask wins WWF Jr. Heavyweight gold". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  3. Hoops, Brian (February 7, 2017). "On this day in pro wrestling history (Feb 7): Bobby Roode & Austin Aries wins tag gold". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  4. Hoops, Brian (July 28, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (July 28): Lou Thesz wrestles the husband of the world's greatest all-time female athlete". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
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