| Championshipname: | WWF Light Heavyweight Championship |
| Promotion: | Universal Wrestling Association (March 26, 1981June 16, 1995) Michinoku Pro Wrestling (June 16, 1995November 5, 1997) World Wrestling Federation (November 5, 1997March 8, 2002) |
| Firstchamp: | Perro Aguayo Taka Michinoku (as per WWE's official title history) |
| Finalchamp: | X-Pac |
| Created: | March 26, 1981 December 7, 1997 (as per WWE's official title history) |
| Mostreigns: | Perro Aguayo and Villano III (7 reigns) |
| Longestreign: | Villano III (826 days) |
| Shortestreign: | Perro Aguayo and Scotty 2 Hotty (8 days) |
| Oldest: | Perro Aguayo (43 years, 9 months) |
| Youngest: | Essa Rios (21 years, 63 days) |
| Heaviest: | Shinjiro Otani (236lb) |
| Lightest: | The Great Sasuke (180lb) |
| Titleretired: | March 8, 2002 |
The WWF Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) promotion. The title was challenged by light heavyweights at a maximum weight of 215 lbs (before deactivation, the weight limit was changed to 220 Ibs). It was created on March 26, 1981, for the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) in a partnership between the WWF and UWA. On June 16, 1995, the title moved to Michinoku Pro Wrestling, but due to WWF's ownership of the title, it was returned to the WWF in 1997, the year which WWE recognizes as the beginning of the championship's lineage. The inaugural champion in UWA was Perro Aguayo, however, the WWE considers the inaugural champion to be Taka Michinoku, with his reign beginning on December 7, 1997. It was retired on March 8, 2002, with X-Pac as the final champion.
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In March 2001, the World Wrestling Federation purchased World Championship Wrestling. Following the conclusion of the Invasion angle at the 2001 Survivor Series pay-per-view, the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship was abandoned in favor of the WCW Cruiserweight Championship (a unification match at Survivor Series was cancelled due to X-Pac's injury). The Light Heavyweight Championship was defended by X-Pac at house shows until March 8, 2002, when WWF finally deactivated the title. Simultaneously, the WCW Cruiserweight Championship was rebranded as the WWF Cruiserweight Championship. It would become the WWE Cruiserweight Championship in accordance with the company's name change in May 2002, and it would be defended until September 2007.[1] [2]
See main article: List of WWF Light Heavyweight Champions. The WWF Light Heavyweight Championship was first introduced in Japan in a tournament which ended with Perro Aguayo defeating Gran Hamada to become the first recognized champion. It then migrated to the US West Coast before transitioning to Mexico and then later being defended once again in Japan by way of the Michinoku Pro Wrestling promotion. The title would later become popularized and widely defended within the confines of the World Wrestling Federation in 1997, when a tournament was held in the United States to crown a champion. Before the tournament, the title was previously considered a part of the much venerated J-Crown.