IWRG Intercontinental Middleweight Championship

IWRG Intercontinental Middleweight Championship

Negro Casas, Middleweight Champion when IWRG worked with CMLL
Details
Current champion(s) Heddi Karaoui[1]
Date won October 25, 2015[1]
Date established July 27, 1997[2]
Promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group

The IWRG Intercontinental Middleweight Championship (Campeonato Intercontinental de Peso Medio IWRGL in Spanish) is a professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG). Being a professional wrestling championship, it is not won legitimately: it is instead won via a scripted ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of a storyline. The official definition of the Middleweight weight class in Mexico is between 82 kg (181 lb) and 87 kg (192 lb), but the weight limits are not always strictly adhered to.[Note 1][3] Because Lucha Libre puts more emphasis on the lower weightclasses, this division is considered more important than the normally more prestigious heavyweight division of the promotion.[4]

The current champion is Heddi Karaoui, having defeated Veneno on October 25, 2015 to win the championship.[1] Karaoui is the 35th overall champion, the 21st person to win the championship and he is on his first reign. The first champion was Pantera, who defeated Tony Rivera in Naucalpan, Mexico on July 27, 1997 in the finals of a tournament.[2] It has since been defended throughout Mexico, but primarily in Naucalpan which is the IWRG's "home ground". In November 2007 Negro Casas, who was under contract with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) but worked for IWRG under a talent sharing agreement between IWRG and CMLL, won the title. The talent sharing agreement ended in 2008 but the Middleweight championship was not declared vacant even though Negro Casas was not able to defend it. After four years of inactivity, the title was vacated and put up in a tournament in May 2012 and has been active in IWRG since.

Title history

Key
Symbol Meaning
# The overall championship reign
Reign The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed.
Event The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title changed hands
N/A The specific information has not been found
— Used for vacated reigns in order to not count it as an official reign
+ Indicates that the number of days held by this individual changes everyday.
  Indicates that there was a period where the lineage is undocumented due to the lack of documented results.
No. Champion Reign Date Days held Location Event Notes Ref.
1 Pantera II 1 July 27, 1997 [Note 2] Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event Won an 8-man tournament by defeating Tony Rivera to become first champion. [2]
2 El Hijo del Gladiador 1 Unknown [Note 3] Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [2]
3 Tokyo, MagnumMagnum Tokyo 1 July 5, 1998 91 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [2]
4 Mr. Niebla 1 October 4, 1998 98 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [2]
5 Bombero Infernal 1 January 10, 1999 147 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [2]
6 Mr. Niebla 2 June 6, 1999 140 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event During this reign Mr. Niebla is unmasked and begins to work under the ring name Mr. Mexico. [2]
7 Bombero Infernal 2 October 24, 1999 53 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [2]
8 Último Vampiro (III) 1 December 16, 1999 24 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [2]
9 Black Dragon 1 January 9, 2000 315 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [5][6]
10 Bombero Infernal 3 November 19, 2000 126 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [6][5]
11 Último Vampiro (III) 2 March 25, 2001 246 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [7]
12 Bombero Infernal 4 November 25, 2001 13 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [7]
13 Último Vampiro (III) 3 December 2, 2001 53 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [7]
14 Pantera 2 January 24, 2002 49 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event Defeated Último Vampiro in a "title vs. mask" triangle match that also included Pentagón Black. [8]
15 Bombero Infernal 5 March 14, 2002 136 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [8]
16 Rivera, TonyTony Rivera 1 July 28, 2002 28 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [8]
17 Último Vampiro (V) 1 August 25, 2002 [Note 4] Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event A different wrestler had taken over the Último Vampiro character [8]
— Vacated — 2003 — N/A N/A Championship vacated when Último Vampiro left the promotion  
18 Fantasy 1 March 18, 2004 66 Naucalpan, Mexico Rey del Ring Won the championship by winning the annual IWRG Rey del Ring tournament. [9]
19 Cerebro Negro 1 May 23, 2004 [Note 5] Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [9]
20 Matrix 6 2004 [Note 6] Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event Previously won the title under the name Bombero Infernal. [9]
21 Veneno 1 January 13, 2005 147 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [10]
22 Black Dragon 2 June 9, 2005 7 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [10]
23 Veneno 2 June 16, 2005 35 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [10]
24 Cyborg 1 July 21, 2005 143 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [10]
25 Veneno 3 December 11, 2005 231 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [10]
26 Pantera 3 July 30, 2006 71 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [11]
27 Nitro 1 October 9, 2006 6 Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [11]
28 Pentagón Black 1 October 15, 2006 [Note 7] Naucalpan, Mexico IWRG live event   [11]
— Vacated — October 2007 — N/A N/A Championship vacated when Pentagón Black left the promotion. [12]
29 Casas, NegroNegro Casas 1 November 1, 2007 [Note 8] Naucalpan, Mexico El Castillo del Terror Defeated Villano III in the finals of an eight-man tournament to win the vacant title. [12]
— Inactive — November 2007 — N/A N/A IWRG and CMLL stopped working together in late 2007, leaving the Middleweight Championship inactive.  
— Vacated — May 1, 2012 — N/A N/A Championship officially vacated after four years of inactivity.  
30 Oficial AK-47 1 May 6, 2012 154 Naucalpan, Mexico Caravan de Campeones Defeated Veneno in the finals of an eight-man tournament to win the vacant title. [13]
31 El Ángel 1 October 7, 2012 186 Naucalpan, Mexico Live event   This was a ten-man steel cage match, also involving Carta Brava, Jr (IWL), Carta Brava, Jr., El Hijo del Dr. Wagner, El Hijo de Pirata Morgan, El Hijo de Máscara Año 2000, Oficial Factor, Veneno and Violencia, Jr.. [14]
32 Eterno 1 April 11, 2013 49 Naucalpan, Mexico Live event   [15]
33 Hijo de Pirata Morgan, ElEl Hijo de Pirata Morgan 1 April 11, 2013 668 Naucalpan, Mexico Live event   [16]
34 Veneno 4 March 29, 2015 210 Naucalpan, Mexico Live event   [17]
35 Karaoui, HeddiHeddi Karaoui 1 October 25, 2015 188+ Naucalpan, Mexico Live event   [1]

Reigns by combined length

Magnum TOKYO, third overall champion
Key
Symbol Meaning
† Indicates the current champion
¤ The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used.
+ Indicates that the date changes daily for the current champion
Rank Wrestler # of reigns Combined days
1 Hijo de Pirata Morgan, ElEl Hijo de Pirata Morgan 1 717
2 Veneno † 4 623
3 Bombero Infernal / Matrix 6 488¤ [Note 6]
4 Pentagón Black 1 351¤ [Note 7]
5 Black Dragon 2 322
6 Último Vampiro (III) 3 280
7 Mr. Niebla 2 238
8 El Ángel 1 186
9 Karaoui, HeddiHeddi Karaoui † 1 188+
10 Oficial AK-47 1 154
11 Cyborg 1 143
12 Pantera / Pantera II 3 121¤ [Note 2]
13 Tokyo, MagnumMagnum Tokyo 1 91
14 Fantasy 1 66
15 Último Vampiro (V) 1 53¤ [Note 4]
16 Eterno 1 49
17 Casas, NegroNegro Casas 1 34¤ [Note 8]
18 Rivera, TonyTony Rivera 1 28
19 Nitro 1 6
20 El Hijo del Gladiador 1 3
21 Cerebro Negro 1 1¤ [Note 5]

Championship tournaments

Details of the initial tournament in July, 1997 has not been verified only that Pantera II defeated Tony Rivera in the finals of an eight-man tournament.[2]

November 2007 Championship tournament

IWRG stripped Pentagón Black of the championship and started an eight-man, single elimination tournament on October 15, 2007. The final match took place on November 1, 2007 at IWRG's annual El Castillo del Terror tournament.[12]

Quarter-finals semi-finals Finals
         
1 Ultraman, Jr. W
8 Oficial Fierro [12]
Ultraman, Jr. [12]
Negro Casas W
5 Nitro [12]
4 Negro Casas W
Negro Casas W
Villano III [12]
3 Villano III W
6 El Felino [12]
Villano III W
Damian 666 [12]
7 Bogeman [12]
2 Damian 666 W

May 2012 Championship tournament

The Middleweight Championship had been inactive since late 2007 until May 1, 2012 when IWRG officially announced that the championship was vacated and would be decided in an eight-man tournament that was the focal point of their May 6, 2013 Caravan de Campeones show.[13]

Quarter-finals semi-finals Finals
         
1 The Mummy W
8 Tony Rivera [13]
The Mummy [13]
Oficial AK-47 W
5 Oficial Spartan [13]
4 Oficial AK-47 W
Oficial AK-47 W
Veneno [13]
3 Veneno W
6 El Hijo del Diablo [13]
Veneno W
Super Nova [13]
7 Dr. Cerebro [13]
2 Super Nova W

Footnotes

  1. ↑ One example the weightlimits not being strictly enforced is Mephisto winning the CMLL World Welterweight Championship, a championship with a 78 kg (172 lb) upper limit despite weighing 90 kg (200 lb).
  2. 1 2 The exact date Pantera lost the Championship is not known placing the title reign between 1 and 342 days.
  3. ↑ The exact date Hijo del Gladiador won the Championship is not known placing the title reign between 1 and 342 days.
  4. 1 2 The exact date Último Vampiro won the Championship is not known placing the title reign between 53 and 492 days.
  5. 1 2 The exact date on which Cerebro Negro lost the title is not documented, which means the title reign lasted between 1 and 222 days.
  6. 1 2 The exact date on which Matrix won the title is not documented, which means the title reign lasted between 13 and 234 days.
  7. 1 2 The exact date Pentagon Black vacated the Championship is not known placing the title reign between 351 and 381 days.
  8. 1 2 The exact date IWRG and CMLL stopped working together is not known placing the title reign between 35 and 60 days.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Eguiluz, Diego Mejía (October 26, 2015). "Con ayuda de un capo, el francés Karaoui es el nuevo campeón de peso medio" (in Spanish). The Gladiatores. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "MEXICO: IWRG Intercontinental World Middleweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 402. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  3. ↑ Arturo Montiel Rojas (2001-08-30). "Reglamento de Box y Lucha Libre Professional del Estado de Mexico" (PDF). Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 30, 2006. Retrieved August 18, 2009. Articulo 242: "Super welter 82 kilos / Medio 87 kilos"
  4. ↑ Madigan, Dan (2007). ""Okay... what is Lucha Libre?"". Mondo Lucha a Go Go: the bizare& honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperColins Publisher. pp. 29–40. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  5. 1 2 "SLAM! Wrestling International -- 2000: The Year-In-Review Mexico". Slam Wrestling!. Canoe.ca. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  6. 1 2 "2000 Especial!". Box y Lucha Magazine (in Spanish). January 9, 2001. pp. 2–20. issue 2488.
  7. 1 2 3 "2001: Los Campeones". Box y Lucha Magazine (in Spanish). January 13, 2002. pp. 15–17. issue 2540.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "2002: considerar detrás". Box y Lucha Magazine (in Spanish). January 19, 2003. 2593.
  9. 1 2 3 "Número Especial - Lo mejr de la lucha ilbre mexicana durante el 2004". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). January 24, 2005. 91.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "2005 Lo Mejor de la Lucha Mexicana". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). January 3, 2006. issue 140.
  11. 1 2 3 "Lo Mejor de la Lucha Libre Mexicana duranted el 2006". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). December 23, 2006. issue 192. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "2007 Lo Mejor de la Lucha Mexicana". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). December 26, 2007. issue 244. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Los campeones, firmes en sus tronos en IWRG; AK-47, nuevo campeón de peso medio". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). May 7, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  14. ↑ "El Ángel, nuevo campeón de peso medio". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). October 8, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Sigue la guerra entre Toscano y Máscara Año Dos Mil jr.". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). April 11, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  16. ↑ Eguiluz, Diego Mejía (April 12, 2013). "Sigue la guerra entre Toscano y Máscara Año Dos Mil jr." (in Spanish). The Gladiatores. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  17. ↑ Eguiluz, Diego Mejía (March 30, 2015). "Pese a ser una pareja disfuncional, Negro Navarro y Pirata Morgan salieron con el brazo en alto" (in Spanish). The Gladiatores. Retrieved December 20, 2015.

External links

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