IWA Caribbean Heavyweight Championship

The IWA Caribbean Heavyweight Championship (Campeonato Peso Pesado del Caribe/Caribeño de la IWA in Spanish), is a regional championship originally defended in the International Wrestling Association of Puerto Rico (IWA-PR), where it was a mid-tier title. For some time it was unified with another secondary accolade, the IWA Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship. It was later reintroduced as a stand-alone title and deactivated when the promotion entered seven years of inactivity, but was not among the lineup when IWA-PR resumed its shows.

IWA Caribbean Heavyweight Championship
Details
PromotionInternational Wrestling Association of Puerto Rico
Major League Wrestling
Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide
Date establishedOctober 13, 2008

In 2019, the belt was revived and introduced to Major League Wrestling (MLW), as Savio Vega was announced as the “Caribbean Heavyweight Champion” upon making his debut. In 2020, Richard Holliday began a streak of unofficial defenses after taking possession of the belt following a non-title match. Story wise, the Caribbean Heavyweight Championship was not initially sanctioned by MLW, only acquiring affiliation as it became the centerpiece of the promotion’s island event market expansion.[1]

Title history

Introduction (2008–2011)

Championship was announced on October 13, 2008 via IWA's website[2] but it was not until February 14, 2009 at "Noche de Campeones" in Bayamón, Puerto Rico that it was determined a champion.[3] The Inaugural champion was GQ The Ravishing (Richard Rondón), he won a 15 Man Tornado Rumble Match by last eliminating Cruzz.

Unified Puerto Rico Championship, separation (2011–2012)

The championship would be unified with the IWA Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship on February 26, 2011. On that match Xix Xavant defeated Romeo to unify the titles.[4]

The Caribbean Heavyweight Championship was brought back by itself in 2012 for the IWA/EWO Clash of the Titans show, a co-promoted one with another Puerto Rican Wrestling promotion called EWO. On this show, the winner of the match was Cyrus who won a 8 Man "Lucha X" Match where he defeated 8 participants who were.

Major League Wrestling (2019–present)

Reintroduced as a regional third-party title (simply known as the “Caribbean Heavyweight Championship”) at Major League Wrestling in 2019, with Savio Vega billed as the current champion, the accolade was used to promote his arrival as part of Salina de la Renta’s Promociones Dorado (which he later left by ripping his contract).[5] The incumbent was immediately given an opportunity for the MLW National Openweight Championship against Alexander Hammerstone of The Dynasty in what was branded an opportunity to become a double titlist, but ultimately saw the latter retain by cheating.[6] Vega was given epithets such as “legendary” and “ the king of the Caribbean”, being matched against young performers including the members of latter group and Promociones Dorado.[7][8][9] On January 11, 2020, Richard Holliday took possession of the belt after winning a non-title match, self-proclaiming himself champion.[10]

As the disputed Caribbean Heavyweight Champion, Holliday was portrayed as a cowardly villain, who refused to participate in a titular match at Puerto Rico but was willing to make “defenses” in places such as “St. Barth’s or Bermuda”. One such instance had him purportedly retain by defeating one Edwin González at Necker Island, a private island that is part of the British Virgin Islands.[11] An unofficial defense took place at the MLW vs. AAA Super Series at Tijuana (Mexico being part of the larger Caribbean Basin), where Holliday defeated Chessman to give his team an early advantage.[12] The belt played a role in selling the high-end lifestyle of The Dynasty, being taken to places with nudist beaches, “gorgeous women [or] luxurious beachside cabanas“ and having stable members debate whether it was “the more relevant title” in MLW opposite the National Openweight Championship.[13] The group would also visit the Caribbean for less scrupulous reasons, such as purchasing Vega’s childhood house at Puerto Rico to turn it into a bed and breakfast.[14]

The storyline evolved to feature Holliday demanding that the Caribbean Heavyweight Championship was incorporated, or “naturalized”, as an official title within MLW and have him recognized as incumbent.[15] In response, “MLW’s CEO [Court Bauer] met with Puerto Rican government officials about hosting a Caribbean Heavyweight Championship title fight“ to be held in 2021.[1]

The storyline introduced several fictional aspects to the background of the title. Despite using the belt and the acronym “IWA” being visible on camera, MLW confabulated it with the more longevous WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship by claiming that it had “been won by the likes of Pedro Morales, Gilberto “Gypsy Joe” Meléndez, Abdullah the Butcher [and] Gorilla Monsoon” (though of these, only the third actually held that title, with the others holding different accolades within the World Wrestling Council). The promotion claimed that “the San Juan Star, El Vocero and Claridad island newspapers have all chastised Holliday’s actions”, this despite the first being defunct, the second no longer covering professional wrestling and the third never having done so. The claim that it was sanctioned by the “Sports Ministry of Puerto Rico” is equally fictional, since no such executive department exists and the Puerto Rico Department of Sports and Recreation only oversees promotions as a form of entertainment business.

Reigns
# Wrestlers Reign Date Days

held

 Location Event Notes Ref
1 GQ The Ravishing 1 February 14, 2009 91 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Noche de Campeones (2009) Won a 15 Man Tornado Rumble Match by last Eliminating Cruzz. [3]
2 Golden Boy 1 May 16, 2009 29 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Juicio Final (2009) [16]
3 Noel Rodríguez 1 June 14, 2009 216 Gurabo, Puerto Rico [17]
4 El Diabólico 1 January 16, 2010 89 Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico [18]
5 Ash Rubinsky 1 May 15, 2010 7 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Impacto Total GM Joe Bravo awarded the title to Ash after Diabolico was unable to defend the title in 30 days. [19]
6 Rico Casanova 1 May 22, 2010 137 Toa Alta, Puerto Rico [20]
— Vacated — October 6, 2010 — — — Stripped by IWA president Miguel Pérez, Jr. for failure to defend in several months. [21]
7 Xix Xavant 1 October 16, 2010 133 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Hardcore Weekend (2010) Defeated Romeo for the vacant title in a Caribbean Strap Match. [22]
— Unified — February 26, 2011 — Yabucoa, Puerto Rico — Xavant defeated Damian to Unify the title with Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship. [4]
8 Cyrus 1 March 7, 2012 101 Santurce, Puerto Rico IWA/EWO Clash of the Titans Won a 8 Man "Lucha X Match" to win the Vacant Title [23]
— Deactivated — June 16, 2012 — — — Title deactivated when IWA-PR entered a seven-year hiatus.
9 Savio Vega 1 June 15, 2019 428 New York City, New York MLW Fusion Reactivated at Major League Wrestling. [24]

Combined Reigns
† Indicates the current champion
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns		 Combined days
1 Savio Vega †1428+
2 Noel Rodríguez1216
3 Rico Casanova1137
4 Xix Xavant1133
5 Cyrus1101
6 Ravishing Richard191
7 El Diabólico189
8 Golden Boy129
9 Ash Rubinsky17

References
  1. "MLW exploring island event". MLW.com. 2020-07-11. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  2. Santiago, Luis (2008-10-13). "IWA - Ultima Hora: Nuevo Campeonato en la IWA". IWAPR.tv (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2009-02-01. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  3. Santiago, Luis (2009-02-15). "IWA - Resultados: Noche de Campeones – Bayamón 02/15/09". IWAPR.TV (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2009-02-18. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  4. "PRWRESTLING.COM - RESULTADOS COMPLETOS IWA YABUCOA 2/26: Banderas envía mensaje a Rey Fenix; Otros resultados". PRWrestling.com (in Spanish). 2011-02-27. Archived from the original on 2011-03-02. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  5. "Outrage in Puerto Rico over the theft of Caribbean Heavyweight Championship". MLW.com. 2020-02-18. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  6. "National Champion Alex Hammerstone battles Caribbean Champion Savio Vega July 25 in NYC". MLW.com. 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  7. "FUSION RECAP: Hammerstone Squares Up Against Savio Vega". MLW.com. 2019-08-11. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  8. "Fusion Preview: Bestia 666 vs. Horus, Hammerstone vs. Savio Vega". MLW.com. 2019-08-09. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  9. "Savio Vega making moves behind the scenes". MLW.com. 2019-10-11. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  10. "Caribbean Championship to be recognized by MLW?". MLW.com. 2020-07-07. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  11. "Richard Holliday defends Caribbean Championship on private island". MLW.com. 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  12. Ian Oliver (2020-04-26). "MLW FUSION VIDEO & RESULTS: HART FOUNDATION VS. LOS MERCENARIOS". F4WOnline. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  13. "Powell's MLW Fusion TV Review: Episode 100 with Jacob Fatu vs. Cima for the MLW Heavyweight Championship, Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Jimmy Havoc, and Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Erick Stevens". 2020-03-08. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  14. Jeffrey Harris (2020-05-06). "Various News: Dynasty Visits Savio Vega's Home in the Caribbean, Jay White Reveals His Favorite Entrance". 411Mania.com. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  15. "Holliday demands Caribbean Championship recognized by MLW". MLW.com. 2020-04-13. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  16. El, Jey (2009-06-16). "IWA - Resultados Juicio Final Bayamon". IWAPR.TV (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  17. El, Jey (2009-06-18). "IWA - Resultados Gurabo 6/14/09". IWAPR.TV (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2009-06-18. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  18. Santiago, Luis (2010-01-20). "PRWRESTLING.COM - RESULTADOS IWA 1/16 AGUAS BUENAS: Tres Campeonato en Juago; Uno de ellos cambia de mano". PRWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-20. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  19. Cuadrila, Manolo (2010-05-15). "PRWRESTLING.COM - REPORTE IMPACTO TOTAL: La acción que lleva a la cartelera de esta noche en Bayamón". PRWrestling.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2010-05-18. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  20. "PRWRESTLING.COM - NOTAS DE LA IWA: Cambio de campeonato; Impacto Total en línea; Más". PRWrestling.com (in Spanish). 2010-05-24. Archived from the original on 2010-05-30. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  21. "Ultima Hora: Mensaje del Presidente y 2do. Encuentro Confirmado para Hardcore Weekend". IWAPR.tv (in Spanish). 2010-10-06. Archived from the original on 2010-10-12. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  22. "Resultados: Hardcore Weekend 16 oct. Bayamon". IWAPR.tv (in Spanish). 2010-10-17. Archived from the original on 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  23. "PRWRESTLING.COM - IWA/EWO CLASH OF THE TITANS 3/17: Nuevo doble campeon Mundial y nuevos campeones en pareja". PRWrestling.com (in Spanish). 2012-03-18. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  24. "Savio Vega is coming to MLW". MLW.com. 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
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