WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship: Difference between revisions

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The WWWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship contested in the World Wrestling Federation and in New Japan Pro Wrestling. The belt was created on December 18 1978, and awarded to NJPW mainstay Antonio Inoki by the then owner of the WWWF, Vincent J. McMahon, upon Inoki's arrival in the promotion. The original intention was that the title would be defended in legitimate shoot fights. The title was contested only in NJPW after the promotion severed its ties with the WWF in 1985, and Inoki abandoned the title during his second reign in 1989.

During the thirtieth anniversary of Inoki's career, NJPW created the Greatest 18 Club, a hall of fame. NJPW then created a new title, the Greatest 18 Championship, which was intended to be as prestigious as the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The Greatest 18 Championship was represented by the former Martial Arts Championship, which was by now abandoned (it can therefore be argued that the lineage of the title is not continuous, although the physical belt was the same). The Greatest 18 Championship was never contested in anything other than worked matches. The Greatest 18 Championship was awarded to Riki Chōshū in 1990, and Chōshū lost the title to The Great Muta in 1992. A month after winning the title, Muta abandoned it on September 23, in order to focus on his IWGP Heavyweight Championship title defenses. The belt was subsequently retired by NJPW.

Title history

Wrestler:	Reigns:	Date:	Place:	Notes:
WWWF/WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship
Antonio Inoki	1	December 18 1978	New York City, New York	Awarded by Vincent J. McMahon
Shota Chochoshivili	1	April 24 1989	Tokyo, Japan	Fifth round knockout
Antonio Inoki	2	May 25 1989	Osaka, Japan
Greatest 18 Championship
Riki Chōshū	1	1990		Awarded
The Great Muta	1	August 16 1992	Fukuoka
Title retired				Title retired by NJPW.

References

External links

WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Title History

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-The '''WWWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship''' waa [[professional wrestling]] championship contested in the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|World Wrestling Federation]] and in [[New Japan Pro Wrestling]]. The belt was created on [[December 18]] [[1978]], and awarded to NJPW mainstay [[Antonio Inoki]] by the then owner of the WWWF, [[Vincent J. McMahon]], upon Inoki's arrival in the [[professional wrestling promotion|promotion]]. The original intention was that the title would be defended in [[Legit (professional wrestling)|legitimate]] [[Shoot (professional wrestling)|shoot fights]]. The title was contested only in NJPW after the promotion severed its ties with the WWF in 1985, and Inoki abandoned the title during his second reign in 1989.
+The '''WWWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship''' was a [[professional wrestling]] championship contested in the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|World Wrestling Federation]] and in [[New Japan Pro Wrestling]]. The belt was created on [[December 18]] [[1978]], and awarded to NJPW mainstay [[Antonio Inoki]] by the then owner of the WWWF, [[Vincent J. McMahon]], upon Inoki's arrival in the [[professional wrestling promotion|promotion]]. The original intention was that the title would be defended in [[Legit (professional wrestling)|legitimate]] [[Shoot (professional wrestling)|shoot fights]]. The title was contested only in NJPW after the promotion severed its ties with the WWF in 1985, and Inoki abandoned the title during his second reign in 1989.
 During the thirtieth anniversary of Inoki's career, NJPW created the [[Greatest 18 Club]], a [[hall of fame]]. NJPW then created a new title, the '''Greatest 18 Championship''', which was intended to be as prestigious as the [[IWGP Heavyweight Championship]]. The Greatest 18 Championship was represented by the former Martial Arts Championship, which was by now abandoned (it can therefore be argued that the lineage of the title is not continuous, although the physical belt was the same). The Greatest 18 Championship was never contested in anything other than [[work (professional wrestling)|worked]] matches. The Greatest 18 Championship was awarded to [[Riki Chōshū]] in 1990, and Chōshū lost the title to [[Keiji Mutoh|The Great Muta]] in 1992. A month after winning the title, Muta abandoned it on [[September 23]], in order to focus on his IWGP Heavyweight Championship title defenses. The belt was subsequently retired by NJPW.