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.
[4] The Caribbean Heavyweight Championship was brought back in 2012 for the IWA/EWO Clash of the Titans show, a co-promoted one with another Puerto Rican Wrestling promotion called EWO.
Reintroduced as a regional third-party title (simply known as the “Caribbean Heavyweight Championship”) 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 (which he later left by ripping his contract).
[10] 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.
[11] An unofficial defense took place at the MLW vs. AAA Super Series at Tijuana (Mexico being part of the larger Caribbean Basin), where Holliday defeated Chessman to give his team an early advantage.
[12] The belt played a role in selling the high-end lifestyle of The Dynasty, being taken to places with nudist beaches, “gorgeous women [or] luxurious beachside cabanas“ and having stable members debate whether it was “the more relevant title” in MLW opposite the National Openweight Championship.
[15] In response, “MLW's CEO [Court Bauer] met with Puerto Rican government officials about hosting a Caribbean Heavyweight Championship title fight“ to be held in 2021 (tentatively at the Roberto Clemente Stadium in Carolina).
[17] In the lead up to the announcement, Holliday complained twice about not being officially listed in the champions gallery, calling it “misrepresentation” and expressing his desire to “win over” and become “the face” of the region, ultimately threatening to melt the belt.
[18] Vega responded by issuing a challenge to a Caribbean Strap Match (a type of contest that he made famous by defeating Stone Cold Steve Austin at In Your House 8: Beware of Dog) for the belt in Puerto Rico.
The Caribbean Heavyweight Championship became a storyline element again in IWA-PR in November 2022, when Khriz Díaz won an opportunity and criticized that a title that represented Puerto Rico was being contested between foreigners.
Despite using the belt and the acronym “IWA” being visible on camera, MLW confabulated it with the 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, [and] Gorilla Monsoon” (though of these, only the third actually held that title, with the others holding different accolades within the World Wrestling Council).
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.