The CMLL World Lightweight Championship () is a professional wrestling world championship promoted by the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), a Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling promotion (franchise). Originally, CMLL promoted the "Super Lightweight" division as part of their expansion into Japan in 1999 and 2000 and later reintroduced the division in 2003, at the same time they were running a CMLL World Super Lightweight Championship in Mexico. During Máscara Dorada's reign between 2009 and 2011, the name was changed to the CMLL Lightweight Championship, adjusting the weight limit.
There is currently no CMLL World Lightweight Champion as CMLL vacated the championship after previous champion Kawato-San suffered a knee injury and could not compete for four months. The first CMLL Japan Super Lightweight Champion was Masato Yakushiji, who won it on February 27, 1999. The belt that represents the championship is the original one used in Japan in 1999 and 2000 and has not been updated to reflect the change in weight divisions. As it is a professional wrestling championship, it is won not by actual competition, but by a scripted ending to a match.
Background
Lucha libre, or professional wrestling, is a form of entertainment where matches are presented as being competitive, but the outcome of the matches are pre-determined by their promoters. As part of presenting lucha libre as a genuine combat sport, promoters create championships that are used in the storylines presented on their shows, they are not won as result of genuinely competitive matches. The championship is represented by a belt for the champion to wear before or after a match.
The Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL; "World Wrestling Council") introduced the CMLL Japan Super Lightweight Championship in 1999 and later renamed it the CMLL World Super Lightweight Championship in 2003. Mexican regulations define several weight classes, owing to its amateur wrestling roots. The official definition of the "Super Lightweight" in Mexico is a person who weights between and . In 2011 CMLL decided to adjust the weight class, changing the name to the "CMLL World Lightweight Championship. In lucha libre the Lightweight division is for competitors who weighs between and . CMLL has at times ignored official the weight limit, giving the championship to heavier wrestlers, for example, Dragon Lee was billed as weighing when he won the championship. All championship matches promoted in Mexico take place under best two-out-of-three falls rules. On occasion, single-fall title matches have taken place, especially when promoting CMLL title matches in Japan, conforming to the traditions of the local promotion.
History
In 1999, CMLL began to tour Japan, promoting a series of wrestling shows under the name "CMLL Japan". The shows featured a mixture of CMLL and Japanese wrestlers. On February 27, 1999, CMLL held a one-night tournament to determine who would be the inaugural CMLL Japan Super Lightweight Champion, marking the first time in the history of CMLL that they used a championship specifically for that weight class. The tournament finale saw the Japanese Masato Yakushiji defeat CMLL wrestler Rencor Latino to become the first champion. The following year, CMLL promoted additional shows in Japan, during which CMLL wrestler Virus won the championship from Yakushiji. Virus and Ricky Marvin, a Mexican who was working for Japanese promotions at the time, exchanged the title in the fall of 2000. The last title match between the two took place in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, after CMLL's last tour of Japan. The championship was discontinued by the end of 2000, as CMLL stopped promoting shows in Japan.
In 2003, CMLL reinstated the super lightweight championship after a series of well-received matches between the Southern California team the Havana Brothers (Havana Brothers I, Havana Brother II and Havana Brother III) and the CMLL team of Ricky Marvin, Virus, and Volador Jr. CMLL announced they were establishing the CMLL World Super Lightweight Championship, elevating the championship from a regional to a "World" level championship. CMLL held a torneo cibernetico elimination match, which included the Havana Brothers, Sangre Azteca, Ricky Marvin, Virus, Volador Jr., Super Comando, Loco Max, Tigre Blanco, Neutro and Sombra de Plata. Havana Brother I won the tournament—and thus the championship—by eliminating Volador Jr. A few months later, Virus defeated Havana Brother I for the championship, after which the Havana Brothers stopped working for CMLL.