NWA World Middleweight Championship

Current Champion

El Averno, 81st & 85th Champion

El Averno is the 85th champion, having won it on November 30, 2007 in Arena Mexico.

History of Championship

The NWA World Middleweight Championship dates back to the early 1920s. The NWA name only existed to establish it as a world championship; since the 30s, it has been property of EMLL (much later CMLL.) It's one of the oldest active wrestling championships in the world.

For most of it's existance, the NWA World Middleweight Championship been held by Mexican wrestlers and defended in Mexico. In 1994, the title was sold to Ultimo Dragon, who brought it to Japan to be defended first by himself, and later as a chaampionship belt for his promotions. When Ultimo Dragon left Japan to join WWE in 2003, he sold the belt back to CMLL. CMLL held onto for a year, before doing a decision match with no particular build up.

On 01/01/05, Mistico beat Averno for the NWA World Middleweight Championship, using it as a launch point for his rise to the top of the promotion. Mistico winning was not an upset, but it signaled his transition from a momentarily favored young wrestler to a new permanent star. The match was well recieved, and the two met many times the rest of the year in rematches of the initial title match (which has never been shown on television.)

Black Warrior won the belt from Mistico, as part of the lead up to their mask match, and to provide big rematches after Mistico won the mask. Mistico was finally able to get the belt back on Kid's Day, 2007.

Champions Listing

#	Champion(s)	Defeated	Date	Location
reigning National Wrestling Association champion declared first champion
1	Gus Kallio	(awarded)	1939	n/a
national champion versus local champion; EMLL's entry into the NWA
2	Octavio Gaona	Gus Kallio	1939.02.19	Mexico City
	1	Bobby Arreola	1939.??.??	Mexico City
3	Tarzan Lopez	Octavio Gaona	1940.02.04	Mexico City
4	Black Guzman	Tarzan Lopez	1941.12.16	Mexico City
5	Tarzan Lopez [2]	Black Guzman	1942.02.11	Mexico City
	1	El Santo	1943.04.03	Arena Coliseo DF
6	Gory Guerrero	Tarzan Lopez	1946.02.23	Mexico City
	1	Rito Romero	1947.09.26	Arena Coliseo DF
7	Mike Kelly	Gory Guerrero	1948.04.12	Mexico City
8	Tarzan Lopez [3]	Mike Kelly	1949.05.28	Arena Mexico
9	Sugi Sito	Tarzan Lopez	1950.09.21	?
10	Enrique Llanes	Sugi Sito	1951.09.24	Mexico City
championship vacated on 1952.02.06 for unknown reasons
tournament for vacant championship
11	Tarzan Lopez	?	1952.07.13	?
12	Sugi Sito [2]	Tarzan Lopez	1953.06.20	Mexico City
13	El Santo	Sugi Sito	1954.01.01	Arena Coliseo DF
	1	Black Shadow	1954.09.23	Arena Coliseo DF
14	Rolando Vera	El Santo	1956.10.19	Monterrey
15	Rene Guajardo	Rolando Vera	1960.10.13	Monterrey
16	Antonio Posa	Rene Guajardo	1961.12.02	Mexico City
17	Rene Guajardo [2]	Antonio Posa	1962.04.18	Mexico City
18	Rayo de Jalisco	Rene Guajardo	1963.10.25	Arena Mexico
19	Benny Galant	Rayo de Jalisco	1964.05.30	Mexico City
20	Rayo de Jalisco [2]	Benny Galant	1964.09.25	?
21	Rene Guajardo [3]	Rayo de Jalisco	1965.04.09	Mexico City
22	Jerry London	Rene Guajardo	1966.05.14	Mexico City
23	Rene Guajardo [4]	Jerry London	1966.07.01	Monterrey
24	Ray Mendoza	Rene Guajardo	1967.03.11	Mexico City
Ray Mendoza resigns championship on 1967.05.11 due to leaving weight class
16 man tournament for vacant championship
25	Rene Guajardo [5]	Apolo Curiel	1967.07.29	?
26	Rayo de Jalisco [3]	Rene Guajardo	1969.04.18	Arena Mexico
	1	El Santo	1969.04.25	Arena Mexico
27	El Solitario	Rayo de Jalisco	1969.08.15	Mexico City
28	Masio Koma	El Solitario	1970.08.28	Mexico City
29	Anibal	Masio Koma	1970.12.06	Mexico City
30	Rene Guajardo [6]	Anibal	1973.03.30	Arena Mexico
championship vacated 1974 for unknown reasons
decision match for the vacant championship
31	Anibal [2]	El Cobarde	1974.09.21	Arena Mexico
	1	Rene Guajardo	1975.01.29	Palacio De Los Deportes
championship vacant when Anibal jumps to UWA September 1975
tournament for vacant championship
32	Perro Aguayo	Ringo Mendoza	1975.07.04	Mexico City
	1	El Santo	1975.09.26	Arena Mexico
	2	Ringo Mendoza	1976.04.23	Arena Mexico
33	El Faraon	Perro Aguayo	1976.10.22	Mexico City
34	Perro Aguayo [2]	El Faraon	1977.03.11	Mexico City
35	Ringo Mendoza	Perro Aguayo	1977.07.03	Guadalajara
36	Joe Palardy	Ringo Mendoza	1977.10.12	Acapulco
37	El Faraon [2]	Joe Palardy	1977.11.25	Mexico City
38	Ringo Mendoza [2]	El Faraon	1978.02.17	Los Angeles
39	Perro Aguayo [3]	Ringo Mendoza	1978.04.09	Guadalajara
40	Ringo Mendoza [3]	Perro Aguayo	1978.06.23	Mexico City
41	Tony Salazar	Ringo Mendoza	1978.08.13	Mexico City
42	Ringo Mendoza [4]	Tony Salazar	1979.02.07	Acapulco
43	Satoru Sayama	Ringo Mendoza	1979.09.09	Guadalajara
44	Satanico	Satoru Sayama	1980.03.28	Mexico City
45	Cachorro Mendoza	Satanico	1980.04.17	Monterrey
46	Sangre Chicana	Cachorro Mendoza	1980.06.15	Monterrey
	1	Ringo Mendoza	1980.08.29	Arena Mexico
	2	Fantasma	1980.09.26	Arena Mexico
47	Tony Salazar [2]	Sangre Chicana	1981.01.18	Monterrey
48	Sangre Chicana [2]	Tony Salazar	1981.03.13	Arena Mexico
49	Ringo Mendoza [5]	Sangre Chicana	1981.04.03	Mexico City
50	El Faraon [3]	Ringo Mendoza	1981.11.29	Guadalajara
51	Cesar Curiel	El Faraon	1982.04.02	Mexico City
52	Satanico [2]	Cesar Curiel	1982.10.25	Mexico City
53	El Jalisco	Satanico	1983.02.20	Guadalajara
54	Satanico [3]	El Jalisco	1983.04.13	?
55	Lizmark	Satanico	1983.06.03	Mexico City
56	Satanico [4]	Lizmark	1983.12.02	Arena Coliseo DF
57	Gran Cochisse	Satanico	1984.08.18	Mexico City
58	Satanico [5]	Gran Cochisse	1984.09.14	Mexico City
59	Gran Cochisse [2]	Satanico	1984.09.30	Guadalajara
60	Gran Hamada	Gran Cochisse	1984.11.18	Mexico City
61	La Fiera	Gran Hamada	1985.04.05	Mexico City
62	Chamaco Valaguez	La Fiera	1985.07.20	Arena Puebla
63	Gran Cochisse [3]	Chamaco Valaguez	1986.05.18	?
64	Kung Fu	Gran Cochisse	1986.10.17	Mexico City
65	El Dandy	Kung Fu	1987.07.17	Arena Mexico
66	Kung Fu [2]	El Dandy	1987.10.06	Mexico City
	1	Javier Cruz	1988.02.18	Arena Coliseo DF
67	Atlantis	Kung Fu	1988.06.10	Arena Mexico
68	Emilio Charles Jr.	Atlantis	1988.07.17	Pista Arena Revolucion
	1	Atlantis	1988.07.28	Arena Isabel De Cuernavaca
69	Atlantis [2]	Emilio Charles Jr.	1988.07.29	Arena Mexico
70	Emilio Charles Jr. [2]	Atlantis	1988.08.12	Mexico City
	1	Atlantis	1988.09.24	Arena Puebla
	2	Ringo Mendoza	1988.10.02	Pista Arena Revolucion
71	Angel Azteca	Emilio Charles Jr.	1989.04.28	?
	1	Emilio Charles Jr.	1990.01.12	Arena Coliseo DF
	2	Emilio Charles Jr.	1990.01.27	Pista Arena Revolucion
	3	El Hijo del Gladiador	1990.05.13	Pista Arena Revolucion
72	El Dandy [2]	Angel Azteca	1990.06.01	Arena Coliseo DF
73	Atlantis [3]	El Dandy	1990.08.01	Arena Coliseo De Acapulco
	1	El Dandy	1990.08.30	Arena Isabel De Cuernavaca
	2	El Dandy	1990.09.05	Arena Coliseo De Acapulco
	3	Emilio Charles Jr.	1990.09.21	Arena Mexico
	4	Satanico	1990.11.20	Pista Arena Revolucion
	5	Satanico	1990.11.28	Arena Coliseo De Acapulco
	6	Jerry Estrada	1991.01.28	Arena Isabel De Leon
	7	Jerry Estrada	1991.02.13	Arena Coliseo De Acapulco
	8	Emilio Charles Jr.	1991.03.22	Arena Mexico
	9	Espectro De Ultratumba	1991.04.12	Arena Altavilla
	10	Huracan Sevilla	1991.05.01	Pista Arena Revolucion
	11	Kung Fu	1991.06.13	Arena San Juan Pantitlan
	12	Emilio Charles Jr.	1991.06.18	Plaza De Toros, El Cortijo
	13	Satanico	1991.07.05	Arena Altavilla
	14	Blue Panther	1991.08.09	Arena Mexico
	15	Blue Panther	1991.10.19	Arena Coliseo De Acapulco
	16	Javier Cruz	1992.03.17	Arena Coliseo DF
	17	La Fiera	1992.04.03	Arena Mexico
	18	La Fiera	1992.05.30	Arena Puebla
	19	Bestia Salvaje	1992.06.16	Arena Coliseo DF
	20 (38th Defense)	El Dandy	1992.06.23	Arena Isabel De Cuernavaca
	21	Emilio Charles Jr.	1992.08.14	Arena Coliseo DF
	22	America	1992.08.15	Pista Arena Revolucion
	23	Emilio Charles Jr.	1993.01.31	Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
74	Mano Negra	Atlantis(42nd Defense)	1993.03.03	Arena Coliseo De Acapulco
	1	Atlantis	1993.03.24	Arena Naucalpan
	2	Oro	1993.04.02	Arena Mexico
75	Oro	Mano Negra	1993.05.23	Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
76	Mano Negra [2]	Oro	1993.07.03	Arena Puebla
	1	El Dandy	1993.08.01	Pista Arena Revolucion
77	Corazon de Leon	Mano Negra	1993.12.07	Arena Coliseo DF
	1	Black Magic	1993.12.15	Arena Coliseo De Acapulco
	2	Ultimo Dragon	1994.11.07	Chiiba, Japan
78	Ultimo Dragon	Corazon de Leon	1994.11.08	Korakuen Hall - Tokyo
	1	Corazon de Leon	1995.01.06	Shizuoka, Japan
	2	Corazon de Leon	1995.03.17	Arena Mexico
	3	Bestia Salvaje	1995.05.23	Arena Coliseo DF
	4	Scorpio Jr.	1997.03.14	Arena Mexico
	5	Dr. Wagner Jr.	1997.12.06	Arena Naucalpan
Ultimo Dragon vacates title 1998 due to arm injury
6 man tournament for vacant championship
79	The Great Sasuke	Tokyo Magnum	1999.02.07	Yokohama, Japan
	1	Sumo FUJI	1999.05.15	Arena Naucalpan
	2	Ultimo Guerrero	1999.05.21	Arena Mexico
80	Ultimo Dragon [2]	the Great Sasuke	2003.05.05	Sendai, Japan
Ultimo Dragon vacates title May 2003 due to WWE jump
decision match for vacant championship
81	El Averno	Zumbido	2004.09.03	Arena Mexico
	1	Volador Jr.	2004.10.04	Arena Puebla
	2	Satanico	2004.11.17	Arena Coliseo De Guadalajara
82	Mistico	El Averno	2005.01.01	Arena Coliseo DF
	1	El Averno	2005.01.30	Arena Coliseo De Guadalajara
	2	El Averno	2005.02.11	Arena Mexico
	3	El Averno	2005.02.21	Arena Puebla
	4	El Averno	2005.10.16	Arena Coliseo De Guadalajara
	5	El Averno	2005.12.29	Arena Isabel De Cuernavaca
	6	El Averno	2006.01.16	Arena Puebla
	7	El Averno	2006.05.09	Arena Coliseo De Guadalajara
83	Black Warrior	Mistico	2006.05.12	Arena Mexico
	1	Mistico	2006.05.14	Balneario Olimpico de Pantitlan - Mexico City
	2	Mistico	2006.06.10	Cd. Madero
	3	Heavy Metal	2006.08.16	Arena Lopez Mateos
	4	Mistico	2006.08.26	Plaza de Toros - Cancun
	5	Mistico	2006.09.04	Arena Puebla
	6	Mistico	2006.10.01	Arena Neza
84	Mistico [2]	Black Warrior	2007.04.29	Arena Mexico
	1	El Averno	2007.06.24	Poliforum Zamna - Merida, Yucatan
	2	El Averno	2007.06.30	Arena Solidaridad
	3	El Averno	2007.09.30	Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
	4	El Averno	2007.11.22	Palenque Expomex de Nuevo Laredo
85	El Averno [2]	Mistico	2007.11.30	Arena Mexico
	1	Mistico & Vangelis	2007.12.04	Queretaro
	2	Heavy Metal	2008.01.01	Arena Puebla
	3	Mistico	2008.01.28	Arena Puebla
	4	Negro Casas	2008.03.18	Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
title change
successful title defense
championship matches which were announced, but results were not found

Sources:

Gallery of Champions

Rene Guajardo, 15th, 17th, 21st, 23th, 25th & 30th champion

Rayo de Jalisco, 18th, 20th & 26th Champion

Jerry London, 22nd Champion

Ray Mendoza, 24th Champion

El Solitario, 27th Champion

Masio Koma, 28th Champion

Anibal, 29th & 31st Champion

Perro Aguayo, 32nd, 34th & 39th Champion

Ringo Mendoza, 35th, 38th, 40th, 42nd & 49th Champion

Joe Palardy‎, 36th Champion

Satoru Sayama, 43rd Champion

Sangre Chicana, 46th & 48th Champion

Cesar Curiel, 51st Champion

El Jalisco, 53rd Champion

Lizmark, 55th Champion

Gran Cochisse, 57th, 59th & 63rd Champion

Gran Hamada, 60th Champion

Chamaco Valaguez, 62nd Champion

Kung Fu, 64th & 66th Champion

El Dandy, 65th & 72nd Champion

Atlantis, 67th, 69th & 73rd Champion

Emilio Charles Jr., 68th & 70th Champion

Angel Azteca, 71st Champion

Mano Negra, 74th & 76th Champion

Oro, 75th Champion

Corazon De Leon, 77th Champion

Ultimo Dragon, 78th & 80th Champion

The Great Sasuke, 79th Champion

El Averno, 81st & 85th Champion

Mistico, 82nd & 84th Champion

Black Warrior, 83rd Champion

Mistico, as 84th Champion

Sources

• Wrestling-Titles.com

V	National Wrestling Alliance Championships (with lucha libre history)	E
World Welter (Akantus), NWA-Mexico: Mexico Light (Skayde), Mexico Welter (Vaquero Fantasma)
Dragon Gym: International Junior Heavy (Último Dragón)
Defunct: Middle, Light Heavy, Americas Tag
Reference: Jr. Heavy, Heavy
CMLL established titles: Historic Welter (Volador Jr.), Historic Middle (Carístico), Historic LH (Stuka Jr.)