IWGP Heavyweight Championship

IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Former three-time champion Kazuchika Okada with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt
Details
Current champion(s)	Tetsuya Naito
Date won	April 10, 2016
Date established	June 12, 1987
Promotion	New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) Ring of Honor (ROH)
Statistics First champion(s) Antonio Inoki Most reigns Hiroshi Tanahashi (7 reigns) Longest reign Shinya Hashimoto (Third reign, 489 days) Shortest reign Kensuke Sasaki (Fourth reign, 16 days) Oldest winner Genichiro Tenryu (49 years, 10 months) Youngest winner Shinsuke Nakamura (23 years, 9 months)

The IWGP Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix. The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the finals of a IWGP tournament. Being a professional wrestling championship, the title is won as a result of a predetermined outcome.

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.

In 2006, 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, and lost the championship to Kurt Angle on the inaugural broadcast. Angle later lost the belt in a unification match to the NJPW-recognized champion Shinsuke Nakamura in 2008.

Overall, there have been 64 reigns shared among 27 wrestlers. Title changes happen at NJPW-promoted events. Six non-Japanese wrestlers have held the title. The inaugural champion was Inoki, who defeated Masa Saito on June 12, 1987, in a tournament final. Hiroshi Tanahashi holds the record for most reigns, with 7. At 489 days, Shinya Hashimoto's third reign is the longest in the title's history. Tanahashi, with a combined 7 reigns, holds the record for most days as champion at 1,358. Kensuke Sasaki's fourth reign holds the record for shortest reign at 16 days. With 11 successful defenses, Tanahashi's fifth reign had the most during a single reign. Over his 7 reigns, Tanahashi successfully defended the title 28 times, the most of any champion. With zero, Big Van Vader's first and third reigns, Salman Hashimikov's only reign, Riki Choshu's first reign, Tatsumi Fujinami's third and fifth reigns, Masahiro Chono's only reign, Genichiro Tenryu's only reign, Scott Norton's second reign, Hiroyoshi Tenzan's first and third reigns, Kensuke Sasaki's fourth reign, Kazuyuki Fujita's third reign, and Manabu Nakanishi's only reign are all tied for least successful defenses. Tetsuya Naito is the current champion in his first reign, after defeating Kazuchika Okada on April 10, 2016, at NJPW's Invasion Attack 2016 event to win the title.

Title history

#	Order in reign history
Reign	The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed
Event	The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title was won
Successful defenses	The number of successful defenses the champion had during his reign
—	Used for vacated reigns so as not to count it as an official reign
N/A	The information is not available or is unknown
+	Indicates the current reign is changing daily

#	Wrestlers	Reign	Date	Days held	Location	Event	Successful defenses	Notes	Ref(s).
1	Antonio Inoki	1	June 12, 1987		Tokyo, Japan	Summer Big Fight Series 1987	4	Inoki defeated Masa Saito in a tournament final.
—	Vacated	—	May 2, 1988	—	—	—	—	Vacated due to Inoki fracturing his left foot.
2	Tatsumi Fujinami	1	May 8, 1988		Tokyo, Japan	Super Fight Series 1988	1	Fujinami defeated Big Van Vader to win the vacant title.
—	Vacated	—	May 27, 1988	—	—	—	—	Title held up after defense against Riki Choshu ended in a no contest.
3	Tatsumi Fujinami	2	June 24, 1988		Osaka, Japan	IWGP Champion Series 1988	7	Fujinami defeated Riki Choshu to win the vacant title.
—	Vacated	—	April 5, 1989	—	—	—	—	Vacated so the title could be decided in a tournament.
4	Big Van Vader	1	April 24, 1989		Tokyo, Japan	Battle Satellite in Tokyo Dome	0	Vader defeated Shinya Hashimoto in a tournament final to win the vacant title.
5	Salman Hashimikov	1	May 25, 1989		Osaka, Japan	Battle Satellite 1989 in Osaka Dome	0
6	Riki Choshu	1	July 12, 1989		Osaka, Japan	House show	0
7	Big Van Vader	2	August 10, 1989		Tokyo, Japan	House show	4
8	Riki Choshu	2	August 19, 1990		Tokyo, Japan	House show	1
9	Tatsumi Fujinami	3	December 26, 1990		Hamamatsu, Japan	King of Kings	0
10	Big Van Vader	3	January 17, 1991		Yokohama, Japan	New Year Dash 1991	0
11	Tatsumi Fujinami	4	March 4, 1991		Hiroshima, Japan	Big Fight Series 1991	3
12	Riki Choshu	3	January 4, 1992		Tokyo, Japan	Super Warriors in Tokyo Dome	4	This match was also for Choshu's Greatest 18 Championship.
13	The Great Muta	1	August 16, 1992		Fukuoka, Japan	G1 Climax Special 1992	5	This was also for Choshu's Greatest 18 Championship.
14	Shinya Hashimoto	1	September 20, 1993		Nagoya, Japan	G1 Climax Special 1993	4
15	Tatsumi Fujinami	5	April 4, 1994		Hiroshima, Japan	Battle Line Kyushu	0
16	Shinya Hashimoto	2	May 1, 1994		Fukuoka, Japan	Wrestling Dontaku 1994	9
17	Keiji Mutoh	2	May 3, 1995		Fukuoka, Japan	Wrestling Dontaku 1995	5	Mutoh previously won the title as The Great Muta.
18	Nobuhiko Takada	1	January 4, 1996		Tokyo, Japan	Wrestling World 1996	1
19	Shinya Hashimoto	3	April 29, 1996		Tokyo, Japan	Battle Formation	7
20	Kensuke Sasaki	1	August 31, 1997		Yokohama, Japan	Final Power Hall in Yokohama	3
21	Tatsumi Fujinami	6	April 4, 1998		Tokyo, Japan	Antonio Inoki Retirement Show	2
22	Masahiro Chono	1	August 8, 1998		Osaka, Japan	Rising the Next Generation in Osaka Dome	0
—	Vacated	—	September 21, 1998	—	—	—	—	Title was vacated due to Chono's neck injury.
23	Scott Norton	1	September 23, 1998		Yokohama, Japan	Big Wednesday	4	Norton defeated Yuji Nagata to win the vacant title.
24	Keiji Mutoh	3	January 4, 1999		Tokyo, Japan	Wrestling World 1999	5
25	Genichiro Tenryu	1	December 10, 1999		Osaka, Japan	Battle Final 1999	0
26	Kensuke Sasaki/Power Warrior	2	January 4, 2000		Tokyo, Japan	Wrestling World 2000	5
—	Vacated	—	October 9, 2000	—	—	—	—	Vacated after Sasaki lost a non-title match to Toshiaki Kawada at Do Judge!!.
27	Kensuke Sasaki	3	January 4, 2001		Tokyo, Japan	Wrestling World 2001	1	Sasaki defeated Toshiaki Kawada in a tournament final to win the vacant title.
28	Scott Norton	2	March 17, 2001		Nagoya, Japan	Hyper Battle 2001	0
29	Kazuyuki Fujita	1	April 9, 2001		Osaka, Japan	Strong Style	2
—	Vacated	—	January 4, 2002	—	—	—	—	Fujita vacated the title due to an injured achilles tendon.
30	Tadao Yasuda	1	February 16, 2002		Tokyo, Japan	Fighting Spirit 2002	1	Yasuda defeated Yuji Nagata in a tournament final to win the vacant title.
31	Yuji Nagata	1	April 5, 2002		Tokyo, Japan	Toukon Special	10
32	Yoshihiro Takayama	1	May 2, 2003		Tokyo, Japan	Ultimate Crush	3	This match was also for Takayama's NWF Heavyweight Championship.
33	Hiroyoshi Tenzan	1	November 3, 2003		Yokohama, Japan	Yokohama Dead Out	0
34	Shinsuke Nakamura	1	December 9, 2003		Osaka, Japan	Battle Final 2003	1	Nakamura defeated Yoshihiro Takayama to unify the IWGP Heavyweight Championship with the NWF Heavyweight Championship on January 4, 2004 at Wrestling World 2004.
—	Vacated	—	February 5, 2004	—	—	—	—	Title was vacated due to Nakamura suffering various injuries.
35	Hiroyoshi Tenzan	2	February 15, 2004		Tokyo, Japan	Fighting Spirit 2004	1	Tenzan defeated Genichiro Tenryu in a tournament final for the vacant title.
36	Kensuke Sasaki	4	March 12, 2004		Tokyo, Japan	Hyper Battle 2004	0
37	Bob Sapp	1	March 28, 2004		Tokyo, Japan	King of Sports	1
—	Vacated	—	June 2, 2004	—	—	—	—	Title vacated after Sapp lost a K-1 fight to Kazuyuki Fujita.
38	Kazuyuki Fujita	2	June 5, 2004		Osaka, Japan	The Crush II	1	Fujita defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the vacant title.
39	Kensuke Sasaki	5	October 9, 2004		Tokyo, Japan	Pro-Wrestlers Be Strongest	2
40	Hiroyoshi Tenzan	3	December 12, 2004		Nagoya, Japan	Battle Final 2004	0
41	Satoshi Kojima	1	February 20, 2005		Tokyo, Japan	New Year Gold Series	1	This match was also for Kojima's Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.
42	Hiroyoshi Tenzan	4	May 14, 2005		Tokyo, Japan	Nexess VI	1
43	Kazuyuki Fujita	3	July 18, 2005		Sapporo, Japan	Summer Fight Series	0
44	Brock Lesnar	1	October 8, 2005		Tokyo, Japan	Toukon Souzou New Chapter	3
—	Vacated	—	July 15, 2006	—	—	—	—	Title was 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		Sapporo, Japan	Circuit2006 Turbulence	4	Tanahashi defeated Giant Bernard in a tournament final for the title.
46	Yuji Nagata	2	April 13, 2007		Osaka, Japan	Circuit2007 New Japan Brave tour	2
47	Hiroshi Tanahashi	2	October 8, 2007		Tokyo, Japan	Explosion '07	1
48	Shinsuke Nakamura	2	January 4, 2008		Tokyo, Japan	Wrestle Kingdom II in Tokyo Dome	2	Nakamura defeated Kurt Angle on February 17, 2008 on the Circuit2008 New Japan Ism tour to unify the NJPW and IGF versions of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
49	Keiji Mutoh	4	April 27, 2008		Osaka, Japan	Circuit2008 New Japan Brave tour	4
50	Hiroshi Tanahashi	3	January 4, 2009		Tokyo, Japan	Wrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome	3
51	Manabu Nakanishi	1	May 6, 2009		Tokyo, Japan	Dissidence	0
52	Hiroshi Tanahashi	4	June 20, 2009		Osaka, Japan	Dominion 6.20	1
—	Vacated	—	August 17, 2009	—	—	—	—	Title vacated due to Tanahashi fracturing his eye socket.
53	Shinsuke Nakamura	3	September 27, 2009		Kobe, Japan	Circuit2009 New Japan Generation tour	6	Nakamura defeated Togi Makabe to win the vacant title.
54	Togi Makabe	1	May 3, 2010		Fukuoka, Japan	Wrestling Dontaku 2010	3
55	Satoshi Kojima	2	October 11, 2010		Tokyo, Japan	Destruction '10	1
56	Hiroshi Tanahashi	5	January 4, 2011		Tokyo, Japan	Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome	11
57	Kazuchika Okada	1	February 12, 2012		Osaka, Japan	The New Beginning	2
58	Hiroshi Tanahashi	6	June 16, 2012		Osaka, Japan	Dominion 6.16	7
59	Kazuchika Okada	2	April 7, 2013		Tokyo, Japan	Invasion Attack	8
60	A.J. Styles	1	May 3, 2014		Fukuoka, Japan	Wrestling Dontaku 2014	2
61	Hiroshi Tanahashi	7	October 13, 2014		Tokyo, Japan	King of Pro-Wrestling	1
62	A.J. Styles	2	February 11, 2015		Osaka, Japan	The New Beginning in Osaka	1
63	Kazuchika Okada	3	July 5, 2015		Osaka, Japan	Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall	3
64	Tetsuya Naito	1	April 10, 2016	+	Tokyo, Japan	Invasion Attack 2016	1

Combined reigns

Hiroshi Tanahashi has held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship seven times

As of April 25, 2024.

†	Indicates the current champion

Rank	Wrestler	No. of reigns	Combined defenses	Combined days
1	Hiroshi Tanahashi	7	28	1,358
2	Keiji Mutoh/The Great Muta	4	19	1,238
3	Shinya Hashimoto	3	20	1,052
4	Kazuchika Okada	3	13	796
5	Tatsumi Fujinami	6	13	785
6	Kensuke Sasaki/Power Warrior	5	9	647
7	Yuji Nagata	2	12	570
8	Kazuyuki Fujita	3	3	478
9	Big Van Vader	3	4	451
10	Shinsuke Nakamura	3	9	390
11	Riki Choshu	3	5	383
12	Antonio Inoki	1	4	325
13	A.J. Styles	2	3	307
14	Brock Lesnar	1	3	280
15	Hiroyoshi Tenzan	4	2	197
16	Yoshihiro Takayama	1	3	185
17	Satoshi Kojima	2	2	168
18	Togi Makabe	1	3	161
19	Scott Norton	2	4	126
20	Nobuhiko Takada	1	1	116
21	Bob Sapp	1	1	66
22	Tetsuya Naito †	1	1	+
23	Tadao Yasuda	1	1	48
	Salman Hashimikov	1	0	48
25	Manabu Nakanishi	1	0	45
26	Masahiro Chono	1	0	44
27	Genichiro Tenryu	1	0	25

References

General

Specific

External links

• New Japan Pro Wrestling.co.jp