The IWA Caribbean Heavyweight Championship, is a regional championship originally defended in the International Wrestling Association in Puerto Rico, where it was a mid-tier title. For some time it was unified with another regional title, the IWA Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship. It was later reintroduced as a stand-alone and deactivated when the promotion entered seven years of inactivity, but was not among the lineup when IWA-PR resumed its shows. In 2019, the belt was revived and introduced to Major League Wrestling, 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.
Title history
Introduction (2008–2011)
Championship was announced on October 13, 2008 via IWA's website but it was not until February 14, 2009 at "Noche de Campeones" in Bayamón, Puerto Rico that it was determined a champion. The Inaugural champion was GQ The Ravishing, 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. 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 RicanWrestling 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.
Reintroduced as a regional third-party title 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. 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. 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. On January 11, 2020, Richard Holliday took possession of the belt after winning a non-title match, self-proclaiming himself champion. 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. An unofficial defense took place at the MLW vs. AAA Super Series at Tijuana, where Holliday defeated Chessman to give his team an early advantage. The belt played a role in selling the high-end lifestyle of The Dynasty, being taken to places with nudist beaches, “gorgeous women luxurious beachside cabanas“ and having stable members debate whether it was “the more relevant title” in MLW opposite the National Openweight Championship. 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. 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. In response, “MLW’s CEO met with Puerto Rican government officials about hosting a Caribbean Heavyweight Championship title fight“ to be held in 2021. 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 Gorilla Monsoon”. 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.
