IWGP Heavyweight Championship

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IWGP Heavyweight Championship
The five-time title holder Kazuchika Okada with the current title design.
The five-time title holder Kazuchika Okada with the current title design.
Data
Title holder Tetsuya Naito
since 5th January 2020
owner NJPW
Introduced June 12, 1987

The IWGP Heavyweight Championship is the highest wrestling title for individual wrestlers in the Japanese wrestling promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling . The abbreviation "IWGP" stands for International Wrestling Grand Prix . Introduced on June 12, 1987, the title is only awarded to male individual wrestlers of the NJPW roster and is also defended outside of Japan. As is common in wrestling, the award is based on a previously determined storyline.

history

The title was introduced under the same name on a television broadcast on June 12, 1987. To award the title for the first time, a Number One Contender tournament was held, the winner of which, Masa Saito, had to face the President of New Japan, Antonio Inoki . This match was won by Inoki, who also became the first title holder. Since then, the title has been the highest individual title in the league. Scott Norton's title defense at WCW Monday Nitro in 1998 gave the title its world status.

The title was not without controversy: On October 8, 2005 Brock Lesnar won the title at the Toukon Souzou New Chapter show in Tokyo and was able to hold it longer. On June 17, 2006, his title was officially revoked because of problems with his work permit. In truth, however, the former WWE Superstar refused to hand over the title to Hiroshi Tanahashi . Lesnar then kept this belt while New Japan created a new version. Since Lesnar had kept the third version of the IWGP Heavyweight Title Belt, this was renamed the IWGP Third Belt to avoid confusion . a. defended in Antonio Inoki's new league, the Inoki Geonome Federation. On February 17, 2008, at the New Japan ISM - Day 8 show, there was a Title Unification Match between the winner of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Shinsuke Nakamura, and the winner of the IWGP Third Belt, Kurt Angle , which Nakamura won and both of them Title could thus unite.

The current title holder is Tetsuya Naito in his second reign. He defeated previous title holder Kazuchika Okada on the second day of Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo on January 5, 2020 .

Records

record Record holder unit
Most title wins Hiroshi Tanahashi 8 times
Longest reign Kazuchika Okada 720 days
Shortest reign Kensuki Sasaki 16 days
Oldest title holder Genichiro Tenryu 49 years and 311 days
Youngest title holder Shinsuke Nakamura 23 years and 298 days
Heaviest title holder Big van Vader 207 kilograms
Easiest title holder Nobuhiko Takada 95 kilograms

List of title holders

# Title holder No. Days date place event annotation
01 Antonio Inoki 1 325 June 12, 1987 Tokyo , Japan Tv show The title was introduced as the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Masa Saito won a Number One Contender tournament and competed against Inoki for the title, which was also able to win.
- Title vacant - - May 2, 1988 - - The title was declared vacant due to a foot injury to Antonio Inoki.
02 Tatsumi Fujinami 1 019th May 8, 1988 Tokyo , Japan Houseshow Fujinami defeated Big van Vader for the vacant title.
- Title vacant - - May 27, 1988 - - Tatsumi Fujinami and Riki Choshu fought until a no contest, after which the title was released and a rematch was scheduled.
03 Tatsumi Fujinami 2 285 June 24, 1988 Osaka , Japan Houseshow Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Riki Choshu for the vacant title.
- Title vacant - - April 5, 1989 - - Tatsumi Fujinami gave up the title voluntarily so that it could be given more legitimacy in a tournament.
04th Big Van Vader 1 031 April 24, 1989 Tokyo , Japan Super Powers Clash Big Van Vader won a tournament for the title, defeating Shinya Hashimoto in the final. Special referee was Lou Thesz .
05 Salman Hashimikov 1 048 May 25, 1989 Osaka , Japan Tv show
06th Riki Choshu 1 029 July 12, 1989 Osaka , Japan Tv show
07th Big Van Vader 2 374 August 18, 1989 Tokyo , Japan Tv show
08th Riki Choshu 2 129 19th August 1990 Tokyo , Japan Tv show
09 Tatsumi Fujinami 3 022nd December 26, 1990 Hamamatsu , Japan King of Kings
10 Big Van Vader 3 046 January 17, 1991 Yokohama , Japan New Year Dash 1991 - Day 2
11 Tatsumi Fujinami 4th 306 March 4th 1991 Hiroshima , Japan Houseshow
12 Riki Choshu 3 225 4th January 1992 Tokyo , Japan WCW / NJPW Starrcade 1992
13 The Great Muta 1 400 August 16, 1992 Fukuoka , Japan Tv show
14th Shinya Hashimoto 1 196 20th September 1993 Nagoya , Japan Houseshow
15th Tatsumi Fujinami 5 027 April 4, 1994 Hiroshima , Japan Tv show
16 Shinya Hashimoto 2 367 May 1, 1994 Fukuoka , Japan WCW / NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 1994
17th Keiji Muto 2 246 May 3, 1995 Fukuoka , Japan Wrestling Dontaku 1995
18th Nobuhiko Takada 1 116 4th January 1996 Tokyo , Japan Wrestling World 1996
19th Shinya Hashimoto 3 489 April 29, 1996 Tokyo , Japan Battle Formation 1996
20th Kensuke Sasaki 1 216 August 31, 1997 Yokohama , Japan Final Power Hall in Yokohama
21st Tatsumi Fujinami 6th 126 April 4, 1998 Tokyo , Japan Antonio Inoki Retirement Show
22nd Masahiro Chono 1 042 August 8, 1998 Osaka , Japan Rising the next generations in Osaka Dome
- Title vacant - - September 19, 1998 - - The title was declared vacant due to a neck injury from Masahiro Chono.
23 Scott Norton 1 103 September 23, 1998 Yokohama , Japan G1 Climax Special - Day 13 - Big Wednesday Scott Norton defeated Yuji Nagata for the vacant title. During his reign he also defended the World Championship Wrestling title on American television. This gave the title World status.
24 Keiji Muto 3 340 January 4, 1999 Tokyo , Japan Wrestling World 1999
25th Genichiro Tenryu 1 025th December 10, 1999 Osaka , Japan Battle Final 1999
26th Kensuke Sasaki 2 279 January 4, 2000 Tokyo , Japan Wrestling World 2000
- Title vacant - - October 9, 2000 - - Kensuke Sasaki voluntarily gave up the title after losing a non-title match to Toshiaki Kawada.
27 Kensuke Sasaki 3 072 January 4, 2001 Tokyo , Japan Wrestling World 2001 Kensuke Sasaki won a Six Men tournament to win the vacant title. He defeated Toshiaki Kawada in the final.
28 Scott Norton 2 023 March 17, 2001 Nagoya , Japan Hyper Battle 2001
29 Kazuyuki Fujita 1 270 April 9, 2001 Tokyo , Japan Strong Style 2001
- Title vacant - - January 4, 2002 - - The title has been declared vacant due to an injury to Kazuyuki Fujita.
30th Tadao Yasuda 1 048 February 16, 2002 Tokyo , Japan Fighting Spirit - Day 10 Tadao Yasua won a tournament to win the vacant title. He defeated Yuji Nagata in the final.
31 Yuji Nagata 1 392 April 5, 2002 Tokyo , Japan Toukon special
32 Yoshihiro Takayama 1 195 May 2, 2003 Tokyo , Japan Ultimate crush
33 Hiroyoshi Tenzan 1 026th November 13, 2003 Yokohama , Japan Yokohama Dead out
34 Shinsuke Nakamura 1 058 December 9, 2003 Osaka , Japan Battle Final - Day 12
- Title vacant - - February 5, 2004 - - The title was declared vacant due to a facial injury by Shinsuke Nakamura.
35 Hiroyoshi Tenzan 2 025th February 15, 2004 Tokyo , Japan Fighting Spirit - Day 14 Hiroyoshi Tenzan won an eight men tournament for the vacant title. He defeated Genichiro Tenryu in the final.
36 Kensuke Sasaki 4th 016 March 12, 2004 Tokyo , Japan Hyper Battle - Day 9
37 Bob Sapp 1 066 March 28, 2004 Tokyo , Japan King of Sports
- Title vacant - - June 2, 2004 - - Bob Sapp voluntarily gave up the title after losing to Kazuyuki Fujita at K-1 .
38 Kazuyuki Fujita 2 126 June 5, 2004 Osaka , Japan Best of the Super Juniors XI - Day 11 - The Crush II Kazuyuki Fujita defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi for the vacant title.
39 Kensuke Sasaki 5 064 October 9, 2004 Tokyo , Japan Pro wrestlers be strongest
40 Hiroyoshi Tenzan 3 070 December 12, 2004 Nagoya , Japan Battle Final 2004 - Day 13
41 Satoshi Kojima 1 084 February 20, 2005 Tokyo , Japan New Year Gold Series 2005 - Day 12 Satoshi Kojima was the reigning AJPW Triple Crown Champion at the time .
42 Hiroyoshi Tenzan 4th 065 May 14, 2005 Tokyo , Japan Nexess VI In this match only the IWGP Heavyweight Title changed.
43 Kazuyuki Fujita 3 082 July 18, 2005 Sapporo , Japan Summer Fight Series 2005 - Day 10
44 Brock Lesnar 1 280 October 8, 2005 Tokyo , Japan Toukon Souzou New Chapter This was a three way match in which Masahiro Chono was also involved.
- Title vacant - - July 15, 2006 - - The title was officially declared vacant by Lesnar due to formal problems. In truth, New Japan and Lesnar fell out, which is why Lesnar left the doctorate and took the title belt with him. To avoid confusion, a new title belt was created and the old one was renamed IWGP Third Belt.
45 Hiroshi Tanahashi 1 270 July 17, 2006 Sapporo , Japan Circuit 2006 Turbolence - Day 12 Hiroshi Tanahashi won a Six Men tournament for the vacant title. He defeated Giant Bernard in the final.
46 Yuji Nagata 2 178 April 13, 2007 Osaka , Japan 35th Anniversary Tour - Circuit 2007 New Japan Brave - Day 5
47 Hiroshi Tanahashi 2 088 October 8, 2007 Tokyo , Japan Explosion 2007
48 Shinsuke Nakamura 2 113 January 4, 2008 Tokyo , Japan Wrestle Kingdom II During his reign, Shinsuke Nakamura united the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Third Belt with a victory over its title holder Kurt Angle .
49 Keiji Muto 4th 252 April 27, 2008 Osaka , Japan Circuit 2008 New Japan Brave - Day 11
50 Hiroshi Tanahashi 3 123 January 4, 2009 Tokyo , Japan Wrestle Kingdom III
51 Manabu Nakanishi 1 045 May 6, 2009 Tokyo , Japan Dissidence
52 Hiroshi Tanahashi 4th 058 June 20, 2009 Osaka , Japan Dominion 6.20
- Title vacant - - 17th August 2009 - - The title has been declared vacant due to a facial injury to Hiroshi Tanahashi.
53 Shinsuke Nakamura 3 218 September 27, 2009 Kobe , Japan Circuit 2009 New Japan Generation Day 10 Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Togi Makabe for the vacant title
54 Togi Makabe 1 161 May 3, 2010 Fukuoka , Japan Wrestling Dontaku 2010
55 Satoshi Kojima 1 085 October 11, 2010 Fukuoka , Japan Destruction 2010
56 Hiroshi Tanahashi 5 404 January 4, 2011 Tokyo , Japan Wrestle Kingdom V.
57 Kazuchika Okada 1 125 February 12, 2012 Osaka , Japan The new beginning 2012
58 Hiroshi Tanahashi 6th 295 June 16, 2012 Osaka , Japan Dominion 6.16
59 Kazuchika Okada 2 391 April 7, 2013 Tokyo , Japan Invasion Attack
60 AJ styles 1 163 May 3, 2014 Fukuoka , Japan Wrestling Dontaku
61 Hiroshi Tanahashi 7th 121 October 13, 2014 Tokyo , Japan King of Pro-Wrestling 2014
62 AJ styles 2 143 February 11, 2015 Osaka , Japan The New Beginning 2015
63 Kazuchika Okada 3 280 5th July 2015 Osaka , Japan NJPW Dominion 7.5
64 Tetsuya Naito 1 070 April 10, 2016 Tokyo , Japan NJPW Invasion Attack 2016
65 Kazuchika Okada 4th 720 19th June 2016 Osaka , Japan Dominion 6:19 in Osaka-jo Hall
66 Kenny Omega 1 209 June 9, 2018 Osaka , Japan Dominion 6.9 at Osaka-jo Hall This was a two out of three falls match without a time limit that Kenny Omega won 2-1.
67 Hiroshi Tanahashi 8th 038 4th January 2019 Tokyo , Japan Wrestle Kingdom 13
68 Jay White 1 054 11th February 2019 Osaka , Japan The New Beginning in Osaka
69 Kazuchika Okada 5 274 April 6, 2019 New York City , New York , USA ROH / NJPW G1 Supercard
70 Tetsuya Naito 2 0235+ 5th January 2020 Tokyo , Japan Wrestle Kingdom 14 - Day 2 This match was also about the IWGP Intercontinental Championship .

statistics

Hiroshi Tanahashi held the title eight times for a total of 1396 days.
Tetsuya Naito, the current title holder
space Surname number Vert. all in all Days in total
01 Kazuchika Okada 5 29 1790
02 Hiroshi Tanahashi 8th 28 1396
03 The Great Muta 4th 19th 1238
04th Shinya Hashimoto 3 20th 1052
05 Tatsumi Fujinami 6th 13 0785
06th Kensuke Sasaki 5 11 0647
07th Yuji Nagata 2 12 0570
08th Kazuyuki Fujita 3 03 0478
09 Big Van Vader 3 04th 0451
10 Shinsuke Nakamura 3 09 0390
11 Riki Choshu 3 05 0383
12 Antonio Inoki 1 04th 0325
13 AJ styles 2 03 0307
14th Brock Lesnar 1 03 0280
15th Kenny Omega 1 03 0209
16 Hiroyoshi Tenzan 4th 02 0197
17th Yoshihiro Takayama 1 03 0185
18th Satoshi Kojima 2 02 0168
19th Togi Makabe 1 03 0161
20th Tetsuya Naito 2 01 0305+
21st Scott Norton 2 04th 0126
22nd Nobuhiko Takada 1 01 0116
23 Bob Sapp 1 01 0066
24 Jay White 1 00 0054
25th Tadao Yasuda 1 01 0048
Salman Hashimikov 1 00 0048
27 Manabu Nakanishi 1 00 0045
28 Masahiro Chono 1 00 0044
29 Genichiro Tenryu 1 00 0025th

Web links

Commons : IWGP Heavyweight Champions  - collection of images, videos and audio files