| IWGP Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Five time former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kensuke Sasaki |
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| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Shinsuke Nakamura | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | September 27, 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | June 12, 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||
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The International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) Heavyweight Championship is the top professional wrestling title in Japanese promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). It was created in 1987 with NJPW founder Antonio Inoki defeating Masa Saito in the finals of the annual IWGP Tournament.[1][2][3]
Throughout the history of the championship, several wrestlers have been forced to relinquish the title due to an inability to participate in title defenses. When a wrestler has been injured or unable to compete for other reasons, tournaments have been held to determine the new champion.[4][5]
In 2006, then-champion Brock Lesnar was stripped of the title for being unable to defend it; however, Lesnar claims he was owed money by NJPW and kept the physical belt. He signed with Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) in 2007, losing the championship to Kurt Angle on the inaugural broadcast.[6][7] Angle later lost the belt in a unification match to the NJPW-recognized champion Shinsuke Nakamura in 2008.
Title reigns are determined either by professional wrestling matches involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines or were awarded the title due to scripted circumstances. Wrestlers are portrayed as either villains or fan favorites as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches for the championship. The inaugural champion was Antonio Inoki, who beat Masa Saito on June 12, 1987. Tastumi Fujinami holds the most reigns at six. Shinya Hashimoto's 489 days is the longest reign in the title's history. Shinsuke Nakamura is the youngest champion at age 23, while Genichiro Tenryu is the oldest champion at age 49. Overall, there have been a total of 23 recognized champions, who have had a combined 53 official reigns.
|
Title history
- Key
| Reign | The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed. |
| Event | The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the titles were won |
| N/A | The specific information is not known |
| — | Used for vacated reigns in order to not count it as an official reign |
Statistics correct as of October 29, 2009
| # | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Days held |
Location | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antonio Inoki | 1 | June 12, 1987 | 325 | Tokyo, Japan | Live event | Defeated Masa Saito in a tournament final. |
| — | Vacated | 1 | May 2, 1988 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Vacated due to Inoki fracturing his left foot.[1] |
| 2 | Tatsumi Fujinami | 1 | May 8, 1988 | 19 | Tokyo, Japan | Live event | Defeated Big Van Vader.[1] |
| — | Vacated | 1 | May 27, 1988 | N/A | Sendai, Japan | N/A | Held up after a title defense against Riki Chōshū ended in a no contest.[1] |
| 3 | Tatsumi Fujinami | 2 | June 24, 1988 | 285 | Osaka, Japan | Live event | Defeated Riki Chōshū in a rematch.[1] |
| — | Vacated | 1 | April 5, 1989 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Vacated so the title could be decided in a tournament.[1] |
| 4 | Big Van Vader | 1 | April 24, 1989 | 31 | Tokyo, Japan | Live event | Defeated Shinya Hashimoto in a tournament final with Lou Thesz as the special referee.[3] |
| 5 | Salman Hashimikov | 1 | May 25, 1989 | 48 | Osaka, Japan | Live event | [1] |
| 6 | Riki Chōshū | 1 | July 12, 1989 | 29 | Osaka, Japan | Live event | [8] |
| 7 | Big Van Vader | 2 | August 10, 1989 | 374 | Tokyo, Japan | Live event | [8] |
| 8 | Riki Chōshū | 2 | August 19, 1990 | 129 | Tokyo, Japan | Live event | [8] |
| 9 | Tatsumi Fujinami | 3 | December 26, 1990 | 22 | Hamamatsu, Japan | Live event | [8] |
| 10 | Big Van Vader | 3 | January 17, 1991 | 46 | Yokohama, Japan | Live event | [8] |
| 11 | Tatsumi Fujinami | 4 | March 4, 1991 | 306 | Hiroshima, Japan | Live event | |
| 12 | Riki Chōshū | 3 | January 4, 1992 | 225 | Tokyo, Japan | Starrcade 1992 in Tokyo Dome | This match was also for Chōshū's Greatest 18 Championship.[9] |
| 13 | The Great Muta | 1 | August 16, 1992 | 400 | Fukuoka, Japan | Live event | This was also for Chōshū's Greatest 18 Championship.[9] |
| 14 | Shinya Hashimoto | 1 | September 20, 1993 | 196 | Nagoya, Japan | Live event | [9] |
| 15 | Tatsumi Fujinami | 5 | April 4, 1994 | 27 | Hiroshima, Japan | Battle Line Kyushu tour | |
| 16 | Shinya Hashimoto | 2 | May 1, 1994 | 367 | Fukuoka, Japan | Wrestling Dontaku | |
| 17 | Keiji Mutoh (formerly The Great Muta) |
2 | May 3, 1995 | 246 | Fukuoka, Japan | Wrestling Dontaku | |
| 18 | Nobuhiko Takada | 1 | January 4, 1996 | 116 | Tokyo, Japan | Wrestling World | |
| 19 | Shinya Hashimoto | 3 | April 29, 1996 | 489 | Tokyo, Japan | Battle Formation | |
| 20 | Kensuke Sasaki | 1 | August 31, 1997 | 216 | Yokohama, Japan | Final Power Hall in Yokohama | |
| 21 | Tatsumi Fujinami | 6 | April 4, 1998 | 126 | Tokyo, Japan | Antonio Inoki Retirement Show | |
| 22 | Masahiro Chono | 1 | August 8, 1998 | 44 | Osaka, Japan | Rising the Next Generation in Osaka Dome | |
| — | Vacated | 1 | September 21, 1998 | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| 23 | Scott Norton | 1 | September 23, 1998 | 103 | Yokohama, Japan | Big Wednesday. | Defeated Yuji Nagata to win the vacant title |
| 24 | Keiji Mutoh | 3 | January 4, 1999 | 340 | Tokyo, Japan | Wrestling World | |
| 25 | Genichiro Tenryu | 1 | December 10, 1999 | 25 | Osaka, Japan | Battle Final tour | [10] |
| 26 | Kensuke Sasaki | 2 | January 4, 2000 | 279 | Tokyo, Japan | Wrestling World | |
| — | Vacated | 1 | October 9, 2000 | N/A | Tokyo, Japan | N/A | Vacated after Sasaki lost a non-title match to Toshiaki Kawada at Do Judge!!.[11] |
| 27 | Kensuke Sasaki | 3 | January 4, 2001 | 72 | Tokyo, Japan | Wrestling World | Defeated Toshiaki Kawada in a tournament final |
| 28 | Scott Norton | 2 | March 17, 2001 | 23 | Nagoya, Japan | Hyper Battle tour | |
| 29 | Kazuyuki Fujita | 1 | April 9, 2001 | 270 | Osaka, Japan | Strong Style | |
| — | Vacated | 1 | January 4, 2002 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Vacated due to an injured achilles tendon |
| 30 | Tadao Yasuda | 1 | February 16, 2002 | 48 | Tokyo, Japan | Fighting Spirit tour | Defeated Yuji Nagata in a tournament final |
| 31 | Yuji Nagata | 1 | April 5, 2002 | 392 | Tokyo, Japan | Toukon Special | |
| 32 | Yoshihiro Takayama | 1 | May 2, 2003 | 185 | Tokyo, Japan | Ultimate Crush | Was also for Takayama's NWF Heavyweight Championship. |
| 33 | Hiroyoshi Tenzan | 1 | November 3, 2003 | 36 | Yokohama, Japan | Yokohama Dead out | |
| 34 | Shinsuke Nakamura | 1 | December 9, 2003 | 58 | Osaka, Japan | Battle Final tour | Defeated Yoshihiro Takayama to unify the IWGP Heavyweight Championship with the NWF Heavyweight Championship at Wrestling World 2004. |
| — | Vacated | 1 | February 5, 2004 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Vacated due to various injuries. |
| 35 | Hiroyoshi Tenzan | 2 | February 15, 2004 | 26 | Tokyo, Japan | Fighting Spirit tour | Defeated Genichiro Tenryu in a tournament final |
| 36 | Kensuke Sasaki | 4 | March 12, 2004 | 16 | Tokyo, Japan | Hyper Battle tour | |
| 37 | Bob Sapp | 1 | March 28, 2004 | 66 | Tokyo, Japan | King of Sports | |
| — | Vacated | 1 | June 2, 2004 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Vacated after Sapp lost a K-1 fight to Kazuyuki Fujita.[3] |
| 38 | Kazuyuki Fujita | 2 | June 5, 2004 | 126 | Osaka, Japan | The Crush II | Defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the vacant title |
| 39 | Kensuke Sasaki | 5 | October 9, 2004 | 64 | Tokyo, Japan | Pro-Wrestlers Be Strongest | |
| 40 | Hiroyoshi Tenzan | 3 | December 12, 2004 | 70 | Nagoya, Japan | Battle Final tour | |
| 41 | Satoshi Kojima | 1 | February 20, 2005 | 83 | Tokyo, Japan | New Year Gold Series | This match was also for Kojima's AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. |
| 42 | Hiroyoshi Tenzan | 4 | May 14, 2005 | 65 | Tokyo, Japan | Nexess VI | |
| 43 | Kazuyuki Fujita | 3 | July 18, 2005 | 82 | Sapporo, Japan | Summer Fight Series tour | |
| 44 | Brock Lesnar | 1 | October 8, 2005 | 280 | Tokyo, Japan | Toukon Souzou New Chapter | This was a triple threat match that also included Masahiro Chono. |
| — | Vacated | 1 | July 15, 2006 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Vacated due to Lesnar being unable to defend the title because of "problems with a working visa". Lesnar refuses to turn over the championship belt, and later is recognized by the Inoki Genome Federation as their first champion, using the same belt. |
| 45 | Hiroshi Tanahashi | 1 | July 17, 2006 | 270 | Sapporo, Japan | Circuit 2006 Turbulance | Defeated Giant Bernard in a tournament final |
| 46 | Yuji Nagata | 2 | April 13, 2007 | 178 | Osaka, Japan | Circuit 2007 New Japan Brave tour | |
| 47 | Hiroshi Tanahashi | 2 | October 8, 2007 | 88 | Tokyo, Japan | Explosion '07 | [12] |
| 48 | Shinsuke Nakamura | 2 | January 4, 2008 | 114 | Tokyo, Japan | Wrestle Kingdom II in Tokyo Dome | Defeated Kurt Angle on February 17, 2008 on the Circuit 2008 New Japan ISM tour to unify the IWGP Third Belt title. |
| 49 | Keiji Mutoh | 4 | April 27, 2008 | 252 | Osaka, Japan | Circuit 2008 New Japan Brave tour | |
| 50 | Hiroshi Tanahashi | 3 | January 4, 2009 | 122 | Tokyo, Japan | Wrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome | |
| 51 | Manabu Nakanishi | 1 | May 6, 2009 | 45 | Tokyo, Japan | Dissidence | |
| 52 | Hiroshi Tanahashi | 4 | June 20, 2009 | 57 | Osaka, Japan | Dominion 6.20 | |
| — | Vacated | 1 | August 16, 2009 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Vacated due to Tanahashi fracturing his eye socket. |
| 53 | Shinsuke Nakamura | 3 | September 27, 2009 | 32 | Kobe, Japan | Circuit 2009 New Japan Generation tour | Defeated Togi Makabe to win the vacant title. |
List of combined reigns
Statistics correct as of October 29, 2009
- Key
| © | Indicates the current champion |
| Rank | Wrestler | # Of Reigns | Combined Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keiji Mutoh | 4 | 1,238 |
| 2 | Shinya Hashimoto | 3 | 1,052 |
| 3 | Tatsumi Fujinami | 6 | 785 |
| 4 | Kensuke Sasaki | 5 | 647 |
| 5 | Yuji Nagata | 2 | 570 |
| 6 | Hiroshi Tanahashi | 4 | 537 |
| 7 | Kazuyuki Fujita | 3 | 478 |
| 8 | Big Van Vader | 3 | 451 |
| 9 | Riki Chōshū | 3 | 383 |
| 10 | Antonio Inoki | 1 | 325 |
| 11 | Brock Lesnar | 1 | 280 |
| 12 | Shinsuke Nakamura © | 3 | 204+ |
| 13 | Hiroyoshi Tenzan | 4 | 197 |
| 14 | Yoshihiro Takayama | 1 | 185 |
| 15 | Scott Norton | 2 | 126 |
| 16 | Nobuhiko Takada | 1 | 116 |
| 17 | Satoshi Kojima | 1 | 83 |
| 18 | Bob Sapp | 1 | 65 |
| 19 | Salman Hashimikov | 1 | 48 |
| 19 | Tadao Yasuda | 1 | 48 |
| 21 | Manabu Nakanishi | 1 | 45 |
| 22 | Masahiro Chono | 1 | 44 |
| 23 | Genichiro Tenryu | 1 | 25 |
References
- General
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated: 2008 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts. 29. Sports & Entertainment Publications, LLC. pp. 107–108. ISSN 1043-7576.
- "IWGP Heavyweight Class: Page One" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/heavy_main01.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- "IWGP Heavyweight Class: Page Two" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/heavy_main02.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- "IWGP Heavyweight Class: Page Three" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/heavy_main03.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- "IWGP Heavyweight Class: Page Four" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/heavy_main04.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- "IWGP Heavyweight Class: Page Five" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/heavy_main05.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- "IWGP Heavyweight Class: Page Six" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/heavy_main06.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- "IWGP Heavyweight Class: Page Seven" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/heavy_main07.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- "IWGP Heavyweight Class: Page Eight" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/heavy_main08.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- Specific
- ^ a b c d e f g "IWGP World Heavyweight Championship official title history (page 1)" (in Japanese). NJPW.co.jp. http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/heavy_main01.html. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- ^ "IWGP Heavyweight Championship title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. http://wrestling-titles.com/japan/newjapan/iwgp-h.html. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- ^ a b c "IWGP Heavyweight Championship title history". TitleHistories.com. http://titlehistories.com/NJPW_IWGP_Heavyweight_Title.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- ^ "History of the IWGP Heavyweight Title". Official Website of the Inoki Dojo. http://www.njpw.com/about/heavywhistory.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ Molinaro, John F.. "Vader rejuvenated in Japan". SLAM! Wrestling. http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingEditorial/jan5_molinaro.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ Martin, Adam (2007-06-28). "Brock Lesnar in Japan with IWGP Title; could defend against Kurt Angle". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2006/1183069997.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ Martin, Adam (2007-07-02). "Video online of Angle vs. Lesnar in Japan, Ask TNA Wrestling, TNA Today". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2006/1183415472.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ a b c d e "IWGP Heavyweight Championship official title history (page 2)" (in Japanese). NJPW.co.jp. http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/heavy_main02.html. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- ^ a b c "IWGP Heavyweight Championship official title history (page 3)" (in Japanese). NJPW.co.jp. http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/heavy_main03.html. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- ^ Molinaro, John (1999-12-11). "Tenryu wins IWGP Heavyweight title". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingArchive/dec11_tenryu.html. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
- ^ "IWGP Heavyweight Championship official title history (page 5)" (in Japanese). NJPW.co.jp. http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/heavy_main05.html. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- ^ "NJPW Explosion '07 official results" (in Japanese). NJPW.co.jp. http://www.njpw.co.jp/result/index.php?COM=result_main&SRNO=76&TKNO=1. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
External links
- NJPW official title history
- Wrestling-Titles.com - IWGP Heavyweight Title History
- TitleHistories.com - IWGP Title History
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