IWGP Heavyweight Championship Information & IWGP Heavyweight Championship Links at HealthHaven.com

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
Statistics
Most reigns	Tatsumi Fujinami (6)
First champion(s)	Antonio Inoki
Longest reign	Shinya Hashimoto (489 days)
Shortest reign	Kensuke Sasaki (16 days)
Oldest champion	Genichiro Tenryu (49 years)
Youngest champion	Shinsuke Nakamura (23 years)
Heaviest champion	Big Van Vader (400 lb.)
Lightest champion	Nobuhiko Takada (210 lb.)

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.

[edit] 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 November 30, 2009

#	Wrestler	Reign	Date	Days held	Location	Event	Notes
01 1	Inoki, AntonioAntonio Inoki	01 1	01987-06-12 June 12, 1987	325	Tokyo, Japan	Live event	Defeated Masa Saito in a tournament final.
01.5 —	Vacated	01 1	01988-05-02 May 2, 1988	N/A	N/A	N/A	Vacated due to Inoki fracturing his left foot.^[1]
02 2	Fujinami, TatsumiTatsumi Fujinami	01 1	01988-05-08 May 8, 1988	19	Tokyo, Japan	Live event	Defeated Big Van Vader.^[1]
02.5 —	Vacated	01 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.^[1]
03 3	Fujinami, TatsumiTatsumi Fujinami	02 2	01988-06-24 June 24, 1988	285	Osaka, Japan	Live event	Defeated Riki Chōshū in a rematch.^[1]
03.5 —	Vacated	01 1	01989-04-05 April 5, 1989	N/A	N/A	N/A	Vacated so the title could be decided in a tournament.^[1]
04 4	Vader, Big VanBig Van Vader	01 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.^[3]
05 5	Hashimikov, SalmanSalman Hashimikov	01 1	01989-05-25 May 25, 1989	48	Osaka, Japan	Live event	^[1]
06 6	Chōshū, RikiRiki Chōshū	01 1	01989-07-12 July 12, 1989	29	Osaka, Japan	Live event	^[8]
07 7	Vader, Big VanBig Van Vader	02 2	01989-08-10 August 10, 1989	374	Tokyo, Japan	Live event	^[8]
08 8	Chōshū, RikiRiki Chōshū	02 2	01990-08-19 August 19, 1990	129	Tokyo, Japan	Live event	^[8]
09 9	Fujinami, TatsumiTatsumi Fujinami	03 3	01990-12-26 December 26, 1990	22	Hamamatsu, Japan	Live event	^[8]
10 10	Vader, Big VanBig Van Vader	03 3	01991-01-17 January 17, 1991	46	Yokohama, Japan	Live event	^[8]
11 11	Fujinami, TatsumiTatsumi Fujinami	04 4	01991-03-04 March 4, 1991	306	Hiroshima, Japan	Live event
12 12	Chōshū, RikiRiki Chōshū	03 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.^[9]
13 13	Muta, Great, theThe Great Muta	01 1	01992-08-16 August 16, 1992	400	Fukuoka, Japan	Live event	This was also for Chōshū's Greatest 18 Championship.^[9]
14 14	Hashimoto, ShinyaShinya Hashimoto	01 1	01993-09-20 September 20, 1993	196	Nagoya, Japan	Live event	^[9]
15 15	Fujinami, TatsumiTatsumi Fujinami	05 5	01994-04-04 April 4, 1994	27	Hiroshima, Japan	Battle Line Kyushu tour
16 16	Hashimoto, ShinyaShinya Hashimoto	02 2	01994-05-01 May 1, 1994	367	Fukuoka, Japan	Wrestling Dontaku
17 17	Mutoh, KeijiKeiji Mutoh (formerly The Great Muta)	02 2	01995-05-03 May 3, 1995	246	Fukuoka, Japan	Wrestling Dontaku
18 18	Takada, NobuhikoNobuhiko Takada	01 1	01996-01-04 January 4, 1996	116	Tokyo, Japan	Wrestling World
19 19	Hashimoto, ShinyaShinya Hashimoto	03 3	01996-04-29 April 29, 1996	489	Tokyo, Japan	Battle Formation
20 20	Sasaki, KensukeKensuke Sasaki	01 1	01997-08-31 August 31, 1997	216	Yokohama, Japan	Final Power Hall in Yokohama
21 21	Fujinami, TatsumiTatsumi Fujinami	06 6	01998-04-04 April 4, 1998	126	Tokyo, Japan	Antonio Inoki Retirement Show
22 22	Chono, MasahiroMasahiro Chono	01 1	01998-08-08 August 8, 1998	44	Osaka, Japan	Rising the Next Generation in Osaka Dome
22.5 —	Vacated	01 1	01998-09-21 September 21, 1998	N/A	N/A	N/A
23 23	Norton, ScottScott Norton	01 1	01998-09-23 September 23, 1998	103	Yokohama, Japan	Big Wednesday.	Defeated Yuji Nagata to win the vacant title
24 24	Mutoh, KeijiKeiji Mutoh	03 3	01999-01-04 January 4, 1999	340	Tokyo, Japan	Wrestling World
25 25	Tenryu, GenichiroGenichiro Tenryu	01 1	01999-12-10 December 10, 1999	25	Osaka, Japan	Battle Final tour	^[10]
26 26	Sasaki, KensukeKensuke Sasaki	02 2	02000-01-04 January 4, 2000	279	Tokyo, Japan	Wrestling World
26.5 —	Vacated	01 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!!.^[11]
27 27	Sasaki, KensukeKensuke Sasaki	03 3	02001-01-04 January 4, 2001	72	Tokyo, Japan	Wrestling World	Defeated Toshiaki Kawada in a tournament final
28 28	Norton, ScottScott Norton	02 2	02001-03-17 March 17, 2001	23	Nagoya, Japan	Hyper Battle tour
29 29	Fujita, KazuyukiKazuyuki Fujita	01 1	02001-04-09 April 9, 2001	270	Osaka, Japan	Strong Style
29.5 —	Vacated	01 1	02002-01-04 January 4, 2002	N/A	N/A	N/A	Vacated due to an injured achilles tendon
30 30	Yasuda, TadaoTadao Yasuda	01 1	02002-02-16 February 16, 2002	48	Tokyo, Japan	Fighting Spirit tour	Defeated Yuji Nagata in a tournament final
31 31	Nagata, YujiYuji Nagata	01 1	02002-04-05 April 5, 2002	392	Tokyo, Japan	Toukon Special
32 32	Takayama, YoshihiroYoshihiro Takayama	01 1	02003-05-02 May 2, 2003	185	Tokyo, Japan	Ultimate Crush	Was also for Takayama's NWF Heavyweight Championship.
33 33	Tenzan, HiroyoshiHiroyoshi Tenzan	01 1	02003-11-03 November 3, 2003	36	Yokohama, Japan	Yokohama Dead out
34 34	Nakamura, ShinsukeShinsuke Nakamura	01 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.
34.5 —	Vacated	01 1	02004-02-05 February 5, 2004	N/A	N/A	N/A	Vacated due to various injuries.
35 35	Tenzan, HiroyoshiHiroyoshi Tenzan	02 2	02004-02-15 February 15, 2004	26	Tokyo, Japan	Fighting Spirit tour	Defeated Genichiro Tenryu in a tournament final
36 36	Sasaki, KensukeKensuke Sasaki	04 4	02004-03-12 March 12, 2004	16	Tokyo, Japan	Hyper Battle tour
37 37	Sapp, BobBob Sapp	01 1	02004-03-28 March 28, 2004	66	Tokyo, Japan	King of Sports
37.5 —	Vacated	01 1	02004-06-02 June 2, 2004	N/A	N/A	N/A	Vacated after Sapp lost a K-1 fight to Kazuyuki Fujita.^[3]
38 38	Fujita, KazuyukiKazuyuki Fujita	02 2	02004-06-05 June 5, 2004	126	Osaka, Japan	The Crush II	Defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the vacant title
39 39	Sasaki, KensukeKensuke Sasaki	05 5	02004-10-09 October 9, 2004	64	Tokyo, Japan	Pro-Wrestlers Be Strongest
40 40	Tenzan, HiroyoshiHiroyoshi Tenzan	03 3	02004-12-12 December 12, 2004	70	Nagoya, Japan	Battle Final tour
41 41	Kojima, SatoshiSatoshi Kojima	01 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 42	Tenzan, HiroyoshiHiroyoshi Tenzan	04 4	02005-05-14 May 14, 2005	65	Tokyo, Japan	Nexess VI
43 43	Fujita, KazuyukiKazuyuki Fujita	03 3	02005-07-18 July 18, 2005	82	Sapporo, Japan	Summer Fight Series tour
44 44	Lesnar, BrockBrock Lesnar	01 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.
44.5 —	Vacated	01 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 45	Tanahashi, HiroshiHiroshi Tanahashi	01 1	02006-07-17 July 17, 2006	270	Sapporo, Japan	Circuit 2006 Turbulance	Defeated Giant Bernard in a tournament final
46 46	Nagata, YujiYuji Nagata	02 2	02007-04-13 April 13, 2007	178	Osaka, Japan	Circuit 2007 New Japan Brave tour
47 47	Tanahashi, HiroshiHiroshi Tanahashi	02 2	02007-10-08 October 8, 2007	88	Tokyo, Japan	Explosion '07	^[12]
48 48	Nakamura, ShinsukeShinsuke Nakamura	02 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 49	Mutoh, KeijiKeiji Mutoh	04 4	02008-04-27 April 27, 2008	252	Osaka, Japan	Circuit 2008 New Japan Brave tour
50 50	Tanahashi, HiroshiHiroshi Tanahashi	03 3	02009-01-04 January 4, 2009	122	Tokyo, Japan	Wrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome
51 51	Nakanishi, ManabuManabu Nakanishi	01 1	02009-05-06 May 6, 2009	45	Tokyo, Japan	Dissidence
52 52	Tanahashi, HiroshiHiroshi Tanahashi	04 4	02009-06-20 June 20, 2009	57	Osaka, Japan	Dominion 6.20
52.5 —	Vacated	01 1	02009-08-16 August 16, 2009	N/A	N/A	N/A	Vacated due to Tanahashi fracturing his eye socket.
53 53	Nakamura, ShinsukeShinsuke Nakamura	03 3	02009-09-27 September 27, 2009	64	Kobe, Japan	Circuit 2009 New Japan Generation tour	Defeated Togi Makabe to win the vacant title.

[edit] List of combined reigns

Statistics correct as of November 30, 2009

Key

©	Indicates the current champion

Big Van Vader has held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship three times.

Rank	Wrestler	# Of Reigns	Combined Days
01 1	Mutoh, KeijiKeiji Mutoh	04 4	1,238 1,238
02 2	Hashimoto, ShinyaShinya Hashimoto	03 3	1,052 1,052
03 3	Fujinami, TatsumiTatsumi Fujinami	06 6	0785 785
04 4	Sasaki, KensukeKensuke Sasaki	05 5	0647 647
05 5	Nagata, YujiYuji Nagata	02 2	0570 570
06 6	Tanahashi, HiroshiHiroshi Tanahashi	04 4	0538 537
07 7	Fujita, KazuyukiKazuyuki Fujita	03 3	0478 478
08 8	Big Van Vader Big Van Vader	03 3	0451 451
09 9	Chōshū, RikiRiki Chōshū	03 3	0383 383
10 10	Inoki, AntonioAntonio Inoki	01 1	0325 325
11 11	Lesnar, BrockBrock Lesnar	01 1	0280 280
12 12	Nakamura, ShinsukeShinsuke Nakamura ©	03 3	236+
13 13	Tenzan, HiroyoshiHiroyoshi Tenzan	04 4	0197 197
14 14	Takayama, YoshihiroYoshihiro Takayama	01 1	0185 185
15 15	Norton, ScottScott Norton	02 2	0126 126
16 16	Takada, NobuhikoNobuhiko Takada	01 1	0116 116
17 17	Kojima, SatoshiSatoshi Kojima	01 1	0083 83
18 18	Sapp, BobBob Sapp	01 1	0065 65
19 19	Hashimikov, SalmanSalman Hashimikov	01 1	0048 48
19 19	Yasuda, TadaoTadao Yasuda	01 1	0048 48
21 21	Nakanishi, ManabuManabu Nakanishi	01 1	0045 45
22 22	Chono, MasahiroMasahiro Chono	01 1	0044 44
23 23	Tenryu, GenichiroGenichiro Tenryu	01 1	0025 25

[edit] 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.

[edit] External links

Professional wrestling
portal

[iwgpofficial1-0] ^ ^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.

[wthistory-1] "IWGP Heavyweight Championship title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. http://wrestling-titles.com/japan/newjapan/iwgp-h.html. Retrieved 2007-07-06.

[titlehistories-2] "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.

[iwgpofficial2-7] "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.

[iwgpofficial3-8] "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.

[ten1-9] 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.

[iwgpofficial5-10] "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.

[explosion07-11] "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.

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Contents

[edit] Title history

[edit] List of combined reigns

[edit] References

[edit] External links