The Full Wiki

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Wikis
  
  

Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles.

Encyclopedia

Updated live from Wikipedia, last check: June 02, 2012 05:41 UTC (55 seconds ago)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

IWGP Heavyweight Championship

Five time former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kensuke Sasaki
Details
Current champion(s) Shinsuke Nakamura
Date won September 27, 2009
Promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling
Date established June 12, 1987

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]

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.[3][4]

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.[5][6] 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.

Contents


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 January 16, 2010

# Wrestler Reign Date Days
held		 Location Event Notes
1 Inoki, AntonioAntonio Inoki 1 01987-06-12 June 12, 1987 325 Tokyo, Japan Live event Defeated Masa Saito in a tournament final.
— Vacated 1 01988-05-02 May 2, 1988 N/A N/A N/A Vacated due to Inoki fracturing his left foot.
2 Fujinami, TatsumiTatsumi Fujinami 1 01988-05-08 May 8, 1988 19 Tokyo, Japan Live event Defeated Big Van Vader.
— Vacated 1 01988-05-27 May 27, 1988 N/A Sendai, Japan N/A Held up after a title defense against Riki Chōshū ended in a no contest.
3 Fujinami, TatsumiTatsumi Fujinami 2 01988-06-24 June 24, 1988 285 Osaka, Japan Live event Defeated Riki Chōshū in a rematch.
— Vacated 1 01989-04-05 April 5, 1989 N/A N/A N/A Vacated so the title could be decided in a tournament.
4 Vader, Big VanBig Van Vader 1 01989-04-24 April 24, 1989 31 Tokyo, Japan Live event Defeated Shinya Hashimoto in a tournament final with Lou Thesz as the special referee.
5 Hashimikov, SalmanSalman Hashimikov 1 01989-05-25 May 25, 1989 48 Osaka, Japan Live event
6 Chōshū, RikiRiki Chōshū 1 01989-07-12 July 12, 1989 29 Osaka, Japan Live event
7 Vader, Big VanBig Van Vader 2 01989-08-10 August 10, 1989 374 Tokyo, Japan Live event
8 Chōshū, RikiRiki Chōshū 2 01990-08-19 August 19, 1990 129 Tokyo, Japan Live event
9 Fujinami, TatsumiTatsumi Fujinami 3 01990-12-26 December 26, 1990 22 Hamamatsu, Japan Live event
10 Vader, Big VanBig Van Vader 3 01991-01-17 January 17, 1991 46 Yokohama, Japan Live event
11 Fujinami, TatsumiTatsumi Fujinami 4 01991-03-04 March 4, 1991 306 Hiroshima, Japan Live event
12 Chōshū, RikiRiki Chōshū 3 01992-01-04 January 4, 1992 225 Tokyo, Japan Starrcade 1992 in Tokyo Dome This match was also for Chōshū's Greatest 18 Championship.
13 Muta, Great, theThe Great Muta 1 01992-08-16 August 16, 1992 400 Fukuoka, Japan Live event This was also for Chōshū's Greatest 18 Championship.
14 Hashimoto, ShinyaShinya Hashimoto 1 01993-09-20 September 20, 1993 196 Nagoya, Japan Live event
15 Fujinami, TatsumiTatsumi Fujinami 5 01994-04-04 April 4, 1994 27 Hiroshima, Japan Battle Line Kyushu tour
16 Hashimoto, ShinyaShinya Hashimoto 2 01994-05-01 May 1, 1994 367 Fukuoka, Japan Wrestling Dontaku
17 Mutoh, KeijiKeiji Mutoh
(formerly The Great Muta)		 2 01995-05-03 May 3, 1995 246 Fukuoka, Japan Wrestling Dontaku
18 Takada, NobuhikoNobuhiko Takada 1 01996-01-04 January 4, 1996 116 Tokyo, Japan Wrestling World
19 Hashimoto, ShinyaShinya Hashimoto 3 01996-04-29 April 29, 1996 489 Tokyo, Japan Battle Formation
20 Sasaki, KensukeKensuke Sasaki 1 01997-08-31 August 31, 1997 216 Yokohama, Japan Final Power Hall in Yokohama
21 Fujinami, TatsumiTatsumi Fujinami 6 01998-04-04 April 4, 1998 126 Tokyo, Japan Antonio Inoki Retirement Show
22 Chono, MasahiroMasahiro Chono 1 01998-08-08 August 8, 1998 44 Osaka, Japan Rising the Next Generation in Osaka Dome
— Vacated 1 01998-09-21 September 21, 1998 N/A N/A N/A
23 Norton, ScottScott Norton 1 01998-09-23 September 23, 1998 103 Yokohama, Japan Big Wednesday. Defeated Yuji Nagata to win the vacant title
24 Mutoh, KeijiKeiji Mutoh 3 01999-01-04 January 4, 1999 340 Tokyo, Japan Wrestling World
25 Tenryu, GenichiroGenichiro Tenryu 1 01999-12-10 December 10, 1999 25 Osaka, Japan Battle Final tour [7]
26 Sasaki, KensukeKensuke Sasaki 2 02000-01-04 January 4, 2000 279 Tokyo, Japan Wrestling World
— Vacated 1 02000-10-09 October 9, 2000 N/A Tokyo, Japan N/A Vacated after Sasaki lost a non-title match to Toshiaki Kawada at Do Judge!!.
27 Sasaki, KensukeKensuke Sasaki 3 02001-01-04 January 4, 2001 72 Tokyo, Japan Wrestling World Defeated Toshiaki Kawada in a tournament final
28 Norton, ScottScott Norton 2 02001-03-17 March 17, 2001 23 Nagoya, Japan Hyper Battle tour
29 Fujita, KazuyukiKazuyuki Fujita 1 02001-04-09 April 9, 2001 270 Osaka, Japan Strong Style
— Vacated 1 02002-01-04 January 4, 2002 N/A N/A N/A Vacated due to an injured achilles tendon
30 Yasuda, TadaoTadao Yasuda 1 02002-02-16 February 16, 2002 48 Tokyo, Japan Fighting Spirit tour Defeated Yuji Nagata in a tournament final
31 Nagata, YujiYuji Nagata 1 02002-04-05 April 5, 2002 392 Tokyo, Japan Toukon Special
32 Takayama, YoshihiroYoshihiro Takayama 1 02003-05-02 May 2, 2003 185 Tokyo, Japan Ultimate Crush Was also for Takayama's NWF Heavyweight Championship.
33 Tenzan, HiroyoshiHiroyoshi Tenzan 1 02003-11-03 November 3, 2003 36 Yokohama, Japan Yokohama Dead out
34 Nakamura, ShinsukeShinsuke Nakamura 1 02003-12-09 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 02004-02-05 February 5, 2004 N/A N/A N/A Vacated due to various injuries.
35 Tenzan, HiroyoshiHiroyoshi Tenzan 2 02004-02-15 February 15, 2004 26 Tokyo, Japan Fighting Spirit tour Defeated Genichiro Tenryu in a tournament final
36 Sasaki, KensukeKensuke Sasaki 4 02004-03-12 March 12, 2004 16 Tokyo, Japan Hyper Battle tour
37 Sapp, BobBob Sapp 1 02004-03-28 March 28, 2004 66 Tokyo, Japan King of Sports
— Vacated 1 02004-06-02 June 2, 2004 N/A N/A N/A Vacated after Sapp lost a K-1 fight to Kazuyuki Fujita.[2]
38 Fujita, KazuyukiKazuyuki Fujita 2 02004-06-05 June 5, 2004 126 Osaka, Japan The Crush II Defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the vacant title
39 Sasaki, KensukeKensuke Sasaki 5 02004-10-09 October 9, 2004 64 Tokyo, Japan Pro-Wrestlers Be Strongest
40 Tenzan, HiroyoshiHiroyoshi Tenzan 3 02004-12-12 December 12, 2004 70 Nagoya, Japan Battle Final tour
41 Kojima, SatoshiSatoshi Kojima 1 02005-02-20 February 20, 2005 83 Tokyo, Japan New Year Gold Series This match was also for Kojima's AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.
42 Tenzan, HiroyoshiHiroyoshi Tenzan 4 02005-05-14 May 14, 2005 65 Tokyo, Japan Nexess VI
43 Fujita, KazuyukiKazuyuki Fujita 3 02005-07-18 July 18, 2005 82 Sapporo, Japan Summer Fight Series tour
44 Lesnar, BrockBrock Lesnar 1 02005-10-08 October 8, 2005 280 Tokyo, Japan Toukon Souzou New Chapter This was a triple threat match that also included Masahiro Chono.
— Vacated 1 02006-07-15 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 Tanahashi, HiroshiHiroshi Tanahashi 1 02006-07-17 July 17, 2006 270 Sapporo, Japan Circuit 2006 Turbulance Defeated Giant Bernard in a tournament final
46 Nagata, YujiYuji Nagata 2 02007-04-13 April 13, 2007 178 Osaka, Japan Circuit 2007 New Japan Brave tour
47 Tanahashi, HiroshiHiroshi Tanahashi 2 02007-10-08 October 8, 2007 88 Tokyo, Japan Explosion '07 [8]
48 Nakamura, ShinsukeShinsuke Nakamura 2 02008-01-04 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 Mutoh, KeijiKeiji Mutoh 4 02008-04-27 April 27, 2008 252 Osaka, Japan Circuit 2008 New Japan Brave tour  
50 Tanahashi, HiroshiHiroshi Tanahashi 3 02009-01-04 January 4, 2009 122 Tokyo, Japan Wrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome  
51 Nakanishi, ManabuManabu Nakanishi 1 02009-05-06 May 6, 2009 45 Tokyo, Japan Dissidence  
52 Tanahashi, HiroshiHiroshi Tanahashi 4 02009-06-20 June 20, 2009 57 Osaka, Japan Dominion 6.20  
— Vacated 1 02009-08-16 August 16, 2009 N/A N/A N/A Vacated due to Tanahashi fracturing his eye socket.
53 Nakamura, ShinsukeShinsuke Nakamura 3 02009-09-27 September 27, 2009 111+ Kobe, Japan Circuit 2009 New Japan Generation tour Defeated Togi Makabe to win the vacant title.

List of combined reigns

Statistics correct as of January 16, 2010

Key
© Indicates the current champion
Big Van Vader has held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship three times.
Rank Wrestler # Of Reigns Combined Days
1 Mutoh, KeijiKeiji Mutoh 4 1,238
2 Hashimoto, ShinyaShinya Hashimoto 3 1,052
3 Fujinami, TatsumiTatsumi Fujinami 6 785
4 Sasaki, KensukeKensuke Sasaki 5 647
5 Nagata, YujiYuji Nagata 2 570
6 Tanahashi, HiroshiHiroshi Tanahashi 4 537
7 Fujita, KazuyukiKazuyuki Fujita 3 478
8 Big Van Vader 3 451
9 Chōshū, RikiRiki Chōshū 3 383
10 Inoki, AntonioAntonio Inoki 1 325
11 Nakamura, ShinsukeShinsuke Nakamura © 3 283+
12 Lesnar, BrockBrock Lesnar 1 280
13 Tenzan, HiroyoshiHiroyoshi Tenzan 4 197
14 Takayama, YoshihiroYoshihiro Takayama 1 185
15 Norton, ScottScott Norton 2 126
16 Takada, NobuhikoNobuhiko Takada 1 116
17 Kojima, SatoshiSatoshi Kojima 1 83
18 Sapp, BobBob Sapp 1 65
19 Hashimikov, SalmanSalman Hashimikov 1 48
19 Yasuda, TadaoTadao Yasuda 1 48
21 Nakanishi, ManabuManabu Nakanishi 1 45
22 Chono, MasahiroMasahiro Chono 1 44
23 Tenryu, GenichiroGenichiro Tenryu 1 25

References

General
Specific
  1. ^ "IWGP Heavyweight Championship title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. http://wrestling-titles.com/japan/newjapan/iwgp-h.html. Retrieved 2007-07-06.  
  2. ^ a b "IWGP Heavyweight Championship title history". TitleHistories.com. http://titlehistories.com/NJPW_IWGP_Heavyweight_Title.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-06.  
  3. ^ "History of the IWGP Heavyweight Title". Official Website of the Inoki Dojo. http://www.njpw.com/about/heavywhistory.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-26.  
  4. ^ Molinaro, John F.. "Vader rejuvenated in Japan". SLAM! Wrestling. http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingEditorial/jan5_molinaro.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26.  
  5. ^ 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.  
  6. ^ 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.  
  7. ^ 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.  
  8. ^ "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

Professional wrestling
portal







Got something to say? Make a comment.
Your name
Your email address
Message
Please enter the solution to case below
45-15=