# NWA World Welterweight Championship

The NWA World Welterweight Championship (Spanish: Campeonato Mundial Welter de NWA) is an inactive professional wrestling championship governed by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and most recently promoted by NWA Mexico. The championship was originally created in 1946 by the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). As with all professional wrestling championships, matches for the NWA World Welterweight Championship were not won or lost competitively but by a pre-planned ending to a match, with the outcome determined by the CMLL bookers and match makers. CMLL controlled the championship from 1946 until 1996 and again from 2007 until 2010. From 1996 until 2007 the championship was promoted mainly in Japan, initially as one of eight championships that made up the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) J-Crown Championship. After the J-Crown was discontinued the title remained in Japan promoted by the Toryumon federation until 2007 when it returned to Mexico and CMLL. CMLL was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) until the late 1980s but chose to keep the championship and the NWA prefix after leaving the NWA.
The championship predates the creation of the National Wrestling Alliance in 1948 and was initially called the World Welterweight Championship, promoted by Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL). When EMLL joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1952, the NWA prefix was added. In the late 1980s, EMLL withdrew from the NWA and changed its name to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). CMLL retained ownership of three NWA-branded championships which originated in the promotion, the other two being the NWA World Middleweight Championship and the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship. All continued to be billed as "Campeonatos de NWA" (NWA Championships). On occasion, a promotion declared the championship vacant, which meant there was no champion at that point in time. This was either due to a storyline or real-life issues such as a champion suffering an injury and being unable to defend the championship, or leaving the company. All title matches held in Mexico took place under two out of three falls rules. The official definition of the welterweight weight limit in Mexico is 70 kg (150 lb) to 78 kg (172 lb), but promotions have ignored the weight limit at times and crowned champions both heavier and lighter than the rules defined.
El Santo became the first NWA World Welterweight Champion by winning an eight-man tournament when he defeated Pete Pancoff in the finals. In 1992, the then-champion Misterioso left CMLL to join the newly formed Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), vacating the championship as a result. CMLL had created the CMLL World Welterweight Championship in February 1992 as their top welterweight championship, and thus did not crown a new NWA championship for three years. Negro Casas defeated El Hijo del Santo in a tournament final as CMLL brought the championship back in the winter of 1995. The following August Casas was one of eight champions to compete in an NJPW-promoted tournament to unify the championships into the J-Crown championship. Casas lost in the first round to Shinjiro Ohtani, marking the first time the championship had changed hands outside Mexico. The championship would switch hands in each round of the tournament as Último Dragón won it the next night and then Great Sasuke won it as he won the tournament. In 1996 and 1997 the championship was defended as part of the J-Crown until it was broken up into the original individual championships. After this it was once again inactive until early 1999 when Dragon Kid became the first Toryumon-promoted champion. From 1999 until 2007 the championship was promoted exclusively by Toryumon, mainly in Japan and occasionally by Torymon's Mexican branch. On November 27, 2007, CMLL wrestler La Sombra won the title from Hajime Ohara on a Toryumon Mexico show, bringing the championship back under the control of CMLL.
In March 2010, Blue Demon Jr., the president of NWA Mexico, demanded that CMLL (a non-member of the NWA) cease promoting the NWA-branded championships, declaring that all three championships had been vacated as far as the NWA was concerned. NWA Mexico had already tried to reclaim CMLL's three NWA-branded titles on a previous occasion. CMLL ignored both requests completely, with Mephisto, the NWA Welterweight Champion, responding that "the championships belong to CMLL", thus the NWA could not vacate them. On August 12, 2010, CMLL unveiled the new NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship to replace the original championship, which it conceded to NWA Mexico. The CMLL made the last CMLL-promoted NWA World Welterweight champion, Averno, the first NWA World Historic Welterweight Champion. On June 22, 2011, Cassandro became the first NWA Mexico-promoted Welterweight Champion when he defeated Dr. Cerebro on a show in London, England.
Akantus was the most recent NWA World Welterweight champion, having defeated Impostor Jr. to win the title on April 24, 2016, marking the only known championship match in his reign. Akantus was the 63rd overall champion and the 47th person to hold the Championship. Karloff Lagarde and Américo Rocca are tied for the most title reigns, a total of three, while Lagarde holds the record for the longest individual title reign, 2,742 days from 1958 until 1965. Two men have held the title for just one day: Shinjiro Otani and Último Dragón.

## Title history

Key :
| No. | Overall reign number |
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| N/A | Unknown information |
| (NLT) | Championship change took place "no later than" the date listed |
| † | Championship change is unrecognized by the promotion |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Championship change | Championship change | Reign statistics | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. |
| No. | Champion | Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Notes | Ref. |
| | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) |
| 1 | El Santo | March 15, 1946 | Super Viernes | Mexico City | 1 | 337 | Defeated Pete Pancoff to become the first champion. | |
| 2 | Jack O'Brien | February 15, 1947 | Super Viernes | Mexico City | 1 | 804 | | |
| 3 | Gory Guerrero | April 29, 1949 | Super Viernes | Mexico City | 1 | 805 | | |
| 4 | Bobby Bonales | July 13, 1951 | Super Viernes | N/A | 1 | 441 | | |
| | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) |
| 5 | El Santo | September 26, 1952 | EMLL 19th Anniversary Show | Mexico City | 2 | 302 | | |
| 6 | Blue Demon | July 25, 1953 | EMLL 20th Anniversary Show | Mexico City | 1 | 1,912 | | |
| 7 | Karloff Lagarde | January 31, 1958 | EMLL show | Mexico City | 1 | 2,743 | | |
| 8 | Huracán Ramírez | August 5, 1965 | 12. Aniversario de la Arena Isabel | Cuernavaca, Morelos | 1 | 50 | | |
| 9 | Karloff Lagarde | September 24, 1965 | EMLL 32nd Anniversary Show | Mexico City | 2 | 590 | | |
| 10 | Vento Castella | May 7, 1967 | EMLL show | Mexico City | 1 | 57 | | |
| 11 | Karloff Lagarde | July 3, 1967 | EMLL show | Mexico City | 3 | 1,469 | | |
| 12 | Alberto Muñoz | July 11, 1971 | EMLL show | Mexico City | 1 | 715 | | |
| — | Vacated | June 25, 1973 | — | — | — | — | EMLL vacated the championship after Muñoz suffered a near-fatal injury. | |
| 13 | Mano Negra | December 14, 1973 | EMLL show | Mexico City | 1 | 562 | Mano Negra defeated Karloff Lagarde to win the vacant title. | |
| 14 | Blue Demon | June 29, 1975 | EMLL show | Mexico City | 2 | 285 | | |
| 15 | Mano Negra | January 19, 1976 | EMLL show | Mexico City | 2 | 1,197 | | |
| 16 | Fishman | April 9, 1976 | EMLL show | Mexico City | 1 | 224 | | |
| 17 | Américo Rocca | April 30, 1979 | EMLL show | Mexico City | 1 | 264 | | |
| 18 | Kato Kung Lee | January 19, 1980 | EMLL show | Mexico City | 1 | 106 | | |
| 19 | El Supremo | May 4, 1980 | EMLL show | Mexico City | 1 | 31 | | |
| 20 | Lizmark | June 4, 1980 | EMLL show | Acapulco, Guerrero | 1 | 506 | | |
| 21 | La Fiera | October 23, 1981 | Super Viernes | Mexico City | 1 | 268 | | |
| 22 | Américo Rocca | July 18, 1982 | EMLL show | Guadalajara, Jalisco | 2 | 558 | | |
| 23 | Mocho Cota | January 27, 1984 | Super Viernes | Mexico City | 1 | 181 | | |
| 24 | Chamaco Valaguez | July 26, 1984 | EMLL show | Cuernavaca, Morelos | 1 | 359 | | |
| — | Vacated | July 20, 1985 | — | — | — | — | EMLL vacated the championship after Valaguez won the NWA World Middleweight Championship. | |
| 25 | El Dandy | November 17, 1985 | EMLL show | Mexico City | 1 | 141 | | |
| 26 | Monarca Cruz | April 7, 1986 | EMLL show | Monterrey, Nuevo León | 1 | 78 | | |
| | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) | Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) |
| 27 | El Dandy | August 24, 1986 | EMLL show | N/A | 2 | 70 | | |
| 28 | Américo Rocca | November 2, 1986 | EMLL show | Mexico City | 3 | 636 | | |
| 29 | Solar II | July 30, 1988 | EMLL show | Cuernavaca, Morelos | 1 | 66 | | |
| 30 | Fuerza Guerrera | October 4, 1988 | EMLL show | Mexico City | 1 | 241 | | |
| 31 | Águila Solitaria | June 2, 1989 | Super Viernes | Mexico City | 1 | 111 | | |
| 32 | Fuerza Guerrera | September 21, 1989 | Jueves Arena Puebla | Puebla, Puebla | 2 | 806 | | |
| 33 | Misterioso | December 6, 1991 | Domingos Arena Mexico | Mexico City | 1 | 196 | | |
| | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) |
| — | Vacated | June 19, 1992 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated when Misterioso left CMLL. | |
| 34 | Negro Casas | December 1, 1995 | Juicio Final | Mexico City | 1 | 246 | Negro Casas defeated El Hijo del Santo in a tournament final to win the vacant title. | |
| 35 | Shinjiro Otani | August 3, 1996 | NJPW G1 Climax 1996 day 2 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 1 | | |
| 36 | Último Dragón | August 4, 1996 | NJPW G1 Climax 1996 day 3 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 1 | | |
| | Part of the J-Crown Championship | Part of the J-Crown Championship | Part of the J-Crown Championship | Part of the J-Crown Championship | Part of the J-Crown Championship | Part of the J-Crown Championship | Part of the J-Crown Championship | Part of the J-Crown Championship |
| 37 | The Great Sasuke | August 5, 1996 | NJPW G1 Climax 1996 day 4 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 67 | The championship became one of eight championships comprising New Japan Pro-Wrestling's J-Crown Championship. | |
| 38 | Último Dragón | October 11, 1996 | Osaka Crush Night | Osaka, Japan | 2 | 85 | | |
| 39 | Jushin Thunder Liger | January 4, 1997 | Wrestling World 1997 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 183 | | |
| 40 | El Samurai | July 6, 1997 | Summer Struggle 1997 | Sapporo, Japan | 1 | 35 | | |
| 41 | Shinjiro Otani | August 10, 1997 | The Four Heaven In Nagoya Dome | Nagoya, Japan | 2 | 87 | | |
| — | Vacated | November 5, 1997 | — | — | — | — | Otani vacated six of the seven remaining J-Crown titles after being forced by the World Wrestling Federation to return their Light Heavyweight Championship belt, ending the J-Crown Championship. | |
| | Toryumon | Toryumon | Toryumon | Toryumon | Toryumon | Toryumon | Toryumon | Toryumon |
| 42 | Dragon Kid | February 6, 1999 | King Of Dragon 1999 | Nagoya, Japan | 1 | 78 | Dragon Kid defeated Dr. Cerebro to win the vacant title. | |
| 43 | Judo Suwa | April 25, 1999 | Dragon Fever ~ Shun No Arashi | Kawasaki, Japan | 1 | 454 | | |
| 44 | Kenichiro Arai | July 22, 2000 | Dragon's Crash 2000 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 152 | | |
| — | Vacated | December 21, 2000 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated after outside interference during a match on December 15 in Kawasaki, Japan, in which Susumu Mochizuki defeated Arai. | |
| 45 | Kenichiro Arai | January 29, 2001 | Muy Bien 2001 | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 118 | Arai defeated Yasushi Kanda in a tournament final to win the vacant title. | |
| 46 | Susumu Mochizuki | May 27, 2001 | Premium Live Match Vol. 20 | Kobe, Japan | 1 | 126 | | |
| 47 | Ryo Saito | September 30, 2001 | Absolutamente | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 210 | | |
| 48 | Genki Horiguchi | April 28, 2002 | Premium Live Match Vol. 29 | Kobe, Japan | 1 | 56 | | |
| — | Vacated | June 23, 2002 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated following a no contest between Horiguchi and Dragon Kid. | |
| 49 | Ricky Marvin | July 7, 2002 | IIIer Aniversario | Kobe, Japan | 1 | 17 | Ricky Marvin defeated Super Nova to win the vacant championship. | |
| 50 | Genki Horiguchi | July 24, 2002 | Verano Peligroso 2002 - Day 5 | Kumamoto, Japan | 2 | 4 | | |
| 51 | Darkness Dragon | July 28, 2002 | Verano Peligroso 2002 - Day 8 | Shimonoseki, Japan | 1 | 236 | | |
| — | Vacated | March 21, 2003 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated due to an injury to Darkness Dragon. | |
| 52 | YOSSINO | March 22, 2003 | El Numero Uno 2003 | Sapporo, Japan | 1 | 456 | YOSSINO defeated Genki Horiguchi to win the vacant title. | |
| — | Vacated | June 20, 2004 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated by YOSSINO in order to focus on winning the Toryumon Último Dragón Gym Championship. | |
| 53 | Hajime Ohara | May 13, 2006 | UD:06 | Mexico City | 1 | 252 | Ohara defeated La Máscara to win the vacant title. | |
| 54 | Super Delfin | January 20, 2007 | OPW show | Osaka, Japan | 1 | 21 | | |
| 55 | Hajime Ohara | February 10, 2007 | OPW show | Osaka, Japan | 2 | 290 | | |
| | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) |
| 56 | La Sombra | November 27, 2007 | Martes Arena Mexico | Mexico City | 1 | 547 | This victory brought the championship back under CMLL's control. | |
| 57 | Mephisto | May 27, 2009 | CMLL show | Acapulco, Guerrero | 1 | 442 | CMLL replaced the championship with the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship on August 12, 2010. | |
| — | Vacated | August 12, 2010 | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated when CMLL returned it to NWA. | |
| | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / NWA Mexico | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / NWA Mexico | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / NWA Mexico | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / NWA Mexico | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / NWA Mexico | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / NWA Mexico | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / NWA Mexico | National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / NWA Mexico |
| 58 | Cassandro | June 25, 2011 | NWA Mexico UK Tour | London, United Kingdom | 1 | 1,331 | Defeated Dr. Cerebro to win the vacant Championship. | |
| 59 | Magno | February 15, 2015 | Independent show | El Paso, Texas | 1 | 70 | This was a three-way match that also included Boby Zavala. | |
| — | Vacated | April 26, 2015 | — | — | — | — | Magno was stripped of the championship after signing a full time contract with WWE. | |
| 60 | Impostor Jr. | May 31, 2015 | Independent show | El Paso, Texas | 1 | 189 | Defeated Boby Zavala to win the vacant championship. | |
| 61 | Ultimo Samuray | December 6, 2015 | Independent show | El Paso, Texas | 1 | 19 | | |
| 62 | Impostor Jr. | December 25, 2015 | Independent show | El Paso, Texas | 2 | 121 | | |
| 63 | Akantus | April 24, 2016 | Independent show | El Paso, Texas | 1 | 524 | Records of title matches/defenses are not presently available beyond August 2016. The title reign is considered to have ended on September 30, 2017, when Lightning One's ownership of the NWA went into effect and the NWA terminated its contracts with its licensees. Lightning One vacated or retired all of the NWA's titles except the World Heavyweight, Women's, and World Tag Team championships. | |
| — | Deactivated | September 30, 2017 | — | — | — | — | The championship was retired after the NWA was purchased by Lightning One, Inc. | |

## Reigns by combined length

| Rank | Wrestler | No. of Reigns | Combined days |
| 1 | Karloff Lagarde | 3 | 4,802 |
| 2 | Blue Demon | 2 | 2,197 |
| 3 | Mano Negra | 2 | 1,759 |
| 4 | Américo Rocca | 3 | 1,458 |
| 5 | Cassandro | 1 | 1,331 |
| 6 | Fuerza Guerrera | 2 | 1,047 |
| 7 | Jack O'Brien | 1 | 804 |
| 8 | Gory Guerrero | 1 | 805 |
| 9 | Alberto Muñoz | 1 | 715 |
| 10 | El Santo | 2 | 639 |
| 11 | La Sombra | 2 | 547 |
| 12 | Hajime Ohara | 2 | 542 |
| 13 | Lizmark | 1 | 506 |
| 14 | YOSSINO | 1 | 456 |
| 15 | Judo Suwa | 1 | 454 |
| 16 | Bobby Bonales | 1 | 441 |
| 17 | Mephisto | 1 | 442 |
| 18 | Chamaco Valaguez | 1 | 359 |
| 19 | Impostor Jr. | 1 | 310 |
| 20 | Kenichiro Arai | 2 | 270 |
| 21 | La Fiera | 1 | 268 |
| 22 | Negro Casas | 1 | 246 |
| 23 | Darkness Dragon | 1 | 236 |
| 24 | Fishman | 1 | 224 |
| 25 | El Dandy | 2 | 211 |
| 26 | Ryo Saito | 1 | 210 |
| 27 | Jushin Thunder Liger | 1 | 183 |
| 28 | Mocho Cota | 1 | 181 |
| 29 | Misterioso | 1 | 196 |
| 30 | Susumu Mochizuki | 1 | 126 |
| 31 | Akantus | 1 | 524 |
| 32 | Águila Solitaria | 1 | 111 |
| 33 | Kato Kung Lee | 1 | 106 |
| 34 | Shinjiro Otani | 2 | 88 |
| 35 | Último Dragón | 2 | 86 |
| 36 | Dragon Kid | 1 | 78 |
| 36 | Monarca Cruz | 1 | 78 |
| 38 | Magno | 1 | 70 |
| 39 | The Great Sasuke | 1 | 67 |
| 40 | Solar II | 1 | 66 |
| 41 | Genki Horiguchi | 2 | 60 |
| 42 | Vento Castella | 1 | 57 |
| 43 | Huracán Ramírez | 1 | 50 |
| 44 | El Samurai | 1 | 35 |
| 45 | El Supremo | 1 | 31 |
| 46 | Super Delfin | 1 | 21 |
| 47 | Ultimo Samuray | 1 | 19 |
| 48 | Ricky Marvin | 1 | 17 |