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 division is temporarily unable to defend their championship because of medical, legal, or other reasons beyond the competitor's control.
In the case of professional wrestling, due to the entertainment and scripted nature of the sport, an interim championship is rarely used, as most reasons – while similar to the ones in combat sports that are sometimes beyond the wrestler's control – usually lead to the champion being stripped of the title and a new champion is determined.
Therefore, in the United States, an interim Cruiserweight Championship was created and won in a tournament by Santos Escobar.
[1][2] 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.