The British Lightweight Championship is a top British wrestling championship found throughout the country's circuit. The title's broken history dates back to the 1930s and it has most recently been claimed actively since 2021 under the auspices of Rumble Promotions who have named their version in honour of late referee Mal Mason. The official upper weight limit for the belt is 11 stone (154 pounds).Peter Bills, Wrestling, David & Charles, 1983, p. 62
The championship was recognised and defended on matches screened by UK national television network ITV as part of the professional wrestling slot on World of Sport as well as standalone broadcasts. Pre-publicity for these championship match broadcasts was given in ITV's nationally published listings magazine TVTimes.
This is a history of the title from its earliest recorded origins in 1933. As indicated in the table a few claimed reigns are of dubious provenance and, whilst these have been noted, they are not included as official reigns.
Title history Key SymbolMeaningNo.The overall championship reignReignThe reign number for the specific wrestler listed.EventThe event in which the championship changed handsN/AThe specific information is not known—Used for vacated reigns in order to not count it as an official reign[Note]Indicates that the exact length of the title reign is unknown, with a note providing more details. No.ChampionReignDateDays heldLocationEventNotesRef.111933The length of the championship is too uncertain to calculate.The location of the match was not captured as part of the documentation.Live event -Championship vacated after Relwyskow is injured during the Second World War.211948Live event 311948MiddlesbroughLive event 411948Live event 511949Live event 611950Live event 7130 April 1953MiddlesbroughLive event 829 March 1954LondonLive event 91before December 1958Live eventLegacy from Stead uncertain10116 October 1963LondonLive event 11115 February 1967LondonLive event 12217 December 1968LeedsLive event 13118 June 1969SheffieldLive event1429 June 1970AberdeenLive event 1524 August 1970AberdeenLive event16112 May 1971SheffieldLive event 17321 August 1971ManchesterLive event 18118 May 1974Hanley, StaffordshireLive event 19415 June 1974Hanley, StaffordshireLive event 20Dynamite Kid123 March 1977ManchesterLive event Championship vacated after Dynamite Kid won the British Welterweight Championship2115 April 1978BlackburnLive eventDefeated Bobby Ryan in a tournament final.2286 April 1982WolverhamptonLive event 23325 May 1982CroydonLive event 24921 April 1983ColneLive event 2544 May 1983BradfordLive event 26Kid McCoy17 May 1987Adwick le StreetLive event After Championship vacated Kid McCoy leaves All Star Wrestling.27625 October 1990SouthamptonLive eventDefeated Boz Berry in the final of a tournament for the vacant championship2813 September 1991CroydonLive event 29218 September 1991unknownLive event 30117 July 1993unknownLive event 317October 1993Live eventStill defending championship as of 1 July 2002 Only relinquishes claim on retirement (see below)Championship vacated after Steve Grey retired. Rumble Promotions with Grey's approval, held a 2021 tournament for a new champion in memory of referee Mal Mason.32129 October 2021+Sittingbourne, KentLive eventDefeated Lewis Mayhew in final of tournament for vacant title renamed Mal Mason British Lightweight Title. (Grey was originally due to be special referee for this match)
Footnotes
See also Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom
References