An interim championship is an alternate title that is awarded by the sanctioning bodies of professional boxing and in other combat sports, such as kickboxing, professional wrestling, and mixed martial arts. Occasionally, the champion of a particular weight class is temporarily unable to defend their championship because of medical, legal, or other reasons beyond the competitor's control. When this case occurs, two highly ranked contenders may fight for an interim championship of the same weight division, leading to two champions existing in the same weight division simultaneously. Once the original champion can return, at the discretion of the sanctioning body or promotion concerned, they must defend their title against the interim champion, who will relinquish their interim title to fight for the full world title. If the original champion cannot return, refuses to defend their title, or transfers to a different weight division, the interim champion is promoted to full championship status.
In professional wrestling, due to the sport's entertainment and scripted nature, an interim championship is rarely used. If the champion is injured or if other reasons occur beyond the wrestler's control, they will usually be stripped of the title, and a new champion will be determined. One example of an interim champion in WWE was on the company's NXT brand, where Jordan Devlin (the NXT Cruiserweight Champion) could not travel to the United States to defend the title due to COVID-19 pandemic-related travel restrictions, rendering him only able to defend the title on NXT's UK brand at the time. In the United States, an interim Cruiserweight Championship was created and won in a tournament by Santos Escobar. Once travel restrictions eased up, Devlin and Escobar fought in a championship unification match at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver to determine the sole champion, which Escobar won.12 All Elite Wrestling (AEW) utilized the concept of interim championships for a time by crowning the winners of Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the interim AEW World Championship,3 Toni Storm vs. Britt Baker vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida for the interim AEW Women's World Championship,4 and Sammy Guevara vs. Dustin Rhodes for the interim AEW TNT Championship.5 The concept returned for their sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) in 2025, when Mina Shirakawa was crowned the interim ROH Women's World Television Champion at Supercard of Honor due to lineal champion Red Velvet being injured.6
Interim champions
As of June 5, 2026
| Sanctioning body | Weight Class | Champion |
|---|---|---|
| WBA | Bridgerweight | Georgiy Yunovidov |
| Light Heavyweight | Albert Ramírez | |
| Super Welterweight | Jaron Ennis | |
| Featherweight | Mirco Cuello | |
| Super Bantamweight | Victor Santillan | |
| Super Flyweight | David Jiménez | |
| Flyweight | Jonathan González | |
| WBC | Heavyweight | Agit Kabayel |
| Bridgerweight | Krzysztof Włodarczyk | |
| Cruiserweight | Michał Cieślak | |
| Super Middleweight | Lester Martínez | |
| Middleweight | Jesus Ramos | |
| Super Welterweight | Vergil Ortiz Jr. | |
| Super Lightweight | Isaac Cruz | |
| Lightweight | Jadier Herrera | |
| Flyweight | Galal Yafai | |
| WBO | Light Heavyweight | Callum Smith |
| Middleweight | Denzel Bentley |
| Promotion | Weight Class | Champion |
|---|---|---|
| Eagle Fighting Championship | Featherweight | Rasul Magomedov |
| Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki | Middleweight | Piotr Kuberski |
| Promotion | Championship | Champion |
|---|---|---|
| Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling | MLP Canadian Championship | Stu Grayson |
See also
See also
References
References
- Powell, Jason (January 25, 2020). "WWE Worlds Collide results: Powell's live review of Undisputed Era vs. Imperium, Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm for the NXT Championship, Angel Garza vs. Isaiah Scott vs. Travis Banks vs. Jordan Devlin for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dragunov, DIY vs. Moustache Mountain". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- Moore, John (April 8, 2021). "NXT Takeover Stand & Deliver results: Moore's live review of night two with Finn Balor vs. Karrion Kross for the NXT Championship, Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly in an unsanctioned match, Santos Escobar vs. Jordan Devlin in a ladder match to unify the NXT Cruiserweight Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
- "AEW Forbidden Door 2022: Results, Live Updates and Match Ratings".
- "AEW All Out 2022 Results: CM Punk Beats Jon Moxley on September 4". Forbes.
- McGuire, Colin (January 8, 2022). "1/8 AEW Battle of the Belts results: McGuire's review of Britt Baker vs. Riho for the AEW Women's Championship, Dustin Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara for the Interim TNT Championship, Ricky Starks vs. Matt Sydal for the FTW Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- "Mina Shirakawa Wins Interim ROH Women's TV Title at Supercard of Honor". SEScoops. July 12, 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
- Jackson, Ron (July 1, 2006). "Flyweight champ wins 15th defence". SuperBoxing. Retrieved August 3, 2006.
- WBA officials (October 27, 2013). "World Boxing Association World Championships Regulations". World Boxing Association. Retrieved December 22, 2014.