| MLW National Openweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Official belt design (2019–present) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | Major League Wrestling (MLW) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | April 18, 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Jacob Fatu | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | April 6, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
The MLW National Openweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion Major League Wrestling (MLW). The title was unveiled on April 18, 2019.[1][2] The title's openweight nature, a division more common in Japanese professional wrestling, means that both heavyweight and middleweight wrestlers are eligible to challenge for it.
On April 18, 2019, Major League Wrestling (MLW) announced the creation of the MLW National Openweight Championship, a division more common in Japanese professional wrestling, since MLW already had a middleweight division.[3][4] Also announced was a four-man single-elimination tournament that would culminate on June 1 with the crowning of the first champion.[5] The tournament to crown the inaugural champion was later advertised on MLW Fusion, while being announced four wrestler to participate in the tournament, which was announced on May 4 by MLW Fusion's Executive Producer Salina de la Renta.[6][7] The title was unveiled on May 17.[8] On June 1 at Fury Road, Alexander Hammerstone defeated Brian Pillman Jr. in the finals of the tournament to become the inaugural MLW National Openweight Champion.[9][10]
| Fusion (May 4, 2019) | Fury Road (June 1, 2019) | ||||||||
| Alexander Hammerstone | Pin | ||||||||
| Gringo Loco | 4:55 | ||||||||
| Alexander Hammerstone | Pin | ||||||||
| Brian Pillman Jr. | |||||||||
| Rich Swann | Pin | ||||||||
| Brian Pillman Jr. | 6:44 | ||||||||
As of May 28, 2023, there have been four reigns between four champions and one vacancy. Alexander Hammerstone was the inaugural champion. Hammerstone's reign is the longest at 865 days, while Davey Richards reign is the shortest at 198 days. John Hennigan was the oldest champion when he won it at 43 years old, while Alex Kane was the youngest champion at 28 years old.
Jacob Fatu is the current champion in his first reign. He defeated John Hennigan at War Chamber on April 6, 2023, in Queens, NY.
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
| 1 | Alexander Hammerstone | June 1, 2019 | Fury Road | Waukesha, WI | 1 | 865 | Hammerstone defeated Brian Pillman Jr. in the finals of a four-man tournament to become the inaugural champion. | [11] |
| — | Vacated | October 13, 2021 | — | — | — | — | Hammerstone relinquished the title after winning the MLW World Heavyweight Championship. | [12] |
| 2 | Alex Kane | November 6, 2021 | War Chamber | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 229 | Kane defeated Myron Reed, Alex Shelley, A. C. H. and Zenshi in a five-way ladder match to win the vacant title. | [13] |
| 3 | Davey Richards | June 23, 2022 | Battle Riot IV | New York City, NY | 1 | 198 | [14] | |
| 4 | John Hennigan | January 7, 2023 | Blood and Thunder | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 89 | Hennigan won the title as Johnny Fusion, but began using his real name thereafter. | [15] |
| 5 | Jacob Fatu | April 6, 2023 | War Chamber | Queens, NY | 1 | 52+ | [16] | |
