[7] In the late 1980s, EMLL withdrew from the NWA and changed its name to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL).

This was either due to a storyline[11] or real-life issues such as a champion suffering an injury and being unable to defend the championship,[12] or leaving the company.

[b][18] El Santo became the first NWA World Welterweight Champion by winning an eight-man tournament when he defeated Pete Pancoff in the finals.

In 1992, the then-champion Misterioso left CMLL to join the newly formed Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), vacating the championship as a result.

[1] Negro Casas defeated El Hijo del Santo in a tournament final as CMLL brought the championship back in the winter of 1995.

[22][23] On June 22, 2011, Cassandro became the first NWA Mexico-promoted Welterweight Champion when he defeated Dr. Cerebro on a show in London, England.

[24] Akantus was the most recent NWA World Welterweight champion, having defeated Impostor Jr. to win the title on April 24, 2016, marking the only known championship match in his reign.