MLW National Openweight Championship
Professional wrestling championship
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The MLW National Openweight Championship is an openweight 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 means that wrestlers from both MLW's heavyweight and middleweight divisions are eligible to challenge for it. Austin Aries is the current champion in his first reign. He won the title by defeating Blue Panther on MLW Fusion in Cicero, Illinois on February 7, 2026.
| MLW National Openweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Official belt design (2019–present) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | Major League Wrestling (MLW) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | April 18, 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current champion | Austin Aries | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | February 7, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||
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History
On April 18, 2019, Major League Wrestling (MLW) announced the creation of the MLW National Openweight Championship, a secondary championship for the company to be defended in their newly created openweight division, a division more common in Japanese professional wrestling.[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]
Inaugural championship tournament
| 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 | ||||||||
Reigns
As of March 21, 2026, there have been nine reigns between nine champions and one vacancy. Alexander Hammerstone was the inaugural champion. Hammerstone's reign is the longest at 865 days, while John Hennigan's reign is the shortest at 89 days. Hennigan was also the oldest champion when he won it at 43 years old, while Alex Kane was the youngest champion at 28 years old.
Austin Aries is the current champion in his first reign. He won the title by defeating Blue Panther on MLW Fusion in Cicero, Illinois on February 7, 2026.
| 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 | ||||||
| Major League Wrestling (MLW) | ||||||||||
| 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 | 150 | [16] | |||
| 6 | Rickey Shane Page | September 3, 2023 | Fury Road | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 251 | [17] | |||
| 7 | Bad Dude Tito | May 11, 2024 | Azteca Lucha | Cicero, IL | 1 | 182 | [18] | |||
| 8 | Matthew Justice | November 9, 2024 | Lucha Apocalypto | Cicero, IL | 1 | 174 | This match aired November 10, 2024. | [19] | ||
| 9 | Último Guerrero | May 2, 2025 | CMLL vs. MLW | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 142 | [20] | |||
| 10 | Blue Panther | September 21, 2025 | Día Nacional de la Lucha Libre | Mexico City, Mexico | 1 | 139 | This was a Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre event. | [21] | ||
| 11 | Austin Aries | February 7, 2026 | Fusion | Chicago, Illinois | 1 | 42+ | Aired on tape delay. | [22] | ||