IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

Prince Devitt with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship belt in a wrestling ring

Prince Devitt with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship belt
Details
Promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW)
Date established February 6, 1986
Current champion(s) Kushida
Date won November 5, 2016

The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling junior 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 February 6, 1986, at a NJPW show. Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may hold the championship. NJPW currently controls two junior heavyweight championships: the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. The weight-limit for the tag team title is 100 kg (220 lb); it is assumed that this title has the same weight-limit.[1] From August 5, 1996, until November 5, 1997, the title was part of the J-Crown, or J-Crown Octuple Unified Championship. The J-Crown was an assembly of eight different championships from several different promotions. It was created on August 5, 1996, when The Great Sasuke won an eight-man tournament. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, the British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship, the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship, the NWA World Welterweight Championship, the UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship, the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship, the WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship, and the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship were the eight championships that were involved.[2] On November 5, 1997, then-champion Shinjiro Otani vacated all J-Crown belts but the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship after the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) retook control of its Light Heavyweight title, effectively ending the J-Crown. Being a professional wrestling championship, the title is won as a result of a predetermined outcome.

Overall, there have been 75 reigns shared among 34 wrestlers. Title changes happen mostly at NJPW-promoted events, as it has only changed hands at non-NJPW events twice. Reigns 36 and 37 occurred on World Championship Wrestling's Nitro television program, when Juventud Guerrera defeated Jushin Thunder Liger on November 29, 1999, and on December 6, 1999, when Liger retrieved the championship by defeating Guerrera's stand-in Psychosis. The inaugural champion was Shiro Koshinaka, who defeated The Cobra on February 6, 1986, in the finals of a tournament. Liger holds the record of most reigns, with 11. At 628 days, Liger's sixth reign is the longest in the title's history. Liger, with a combined 11 reigns, holds the record for most days as champion at 2,245. Guerrera's only reigns holds the record for shortest reign at one week. With 11 successful defenses, Minoru Tanaka's reign under the ring name "Heat" had the most during a single reign. Over his 11 reigns, Liger successfully defended the title 31 times, the most of any champion. With zero, El Samurai's second reign, Hiroshi Hase's second reign, Tiger Mask's fourth and sixth reigns, Liger's fourth reign, Guerrera's only reign, Pegasus Kid's only reign, Low Ki's third reign, Kushida's first reign and Bushi's only reign are all tied for least successful defenses. Kushida is the current champion in his fourth reign, after defeating Bushi on November 5, 2016, at NJPW's Power Struggle 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
# Wrestler Reign Date Days
held		 Location Event Successful defenses Notes Ref(s).
1 Koshinaka, ShiroShiro Koshinaka 1 February 6, 1986 102 Tokyo, Japan Live event 1 Koshinaka defeated The Cobra in a tournament final to become the first champion. [3]
2 Takada, NobuhikoNobuhiko Takada 1 May 19, 1986 123 Tokyo, Japan Live event 6
3 Shiro Koshinaka 2 September 19, 1986 317 Fukuoka, Japan Live event 2
— Vacated — August 2, 1987 — N/A N/A — Koshinaka vacated the championship due to injuring his right ankle.
4 Kobayashi, KuniakiKuniaki Kobayashi 1 August 20, 1987 129 Tokyo, Japan Live event 1 Kuniaki Kobayashi defeated Nobuhiko Takada to win the vacant championship.
5 Hase, HiroshiHiroshi Hase 1 December 27, 1987 152 Tokyo, Japan Live event 3
6 Hart, OwenOwen Hart 1 May 27, 1988 28 Sendai, Japan Live event 1
7 Koshinaka, ShiroShiro Koshinaka 3 June 24, 1988 265 Osaka, Japan Live event 6
8 Hase, HiroshiHiroshi Hase 2 March 16, 1989 70 Yokohama, Japan Live event 0
9 Jushin Liger 1 May 25, 1989 77 Osaka, Japan Live event 2
10 Sano, NaokiNaoki Sano 1 August 10, 1989 174 Tokyo, Japan Live event 2
11 Jushin Thunder Liger 2 January 31, 1990 200 Osaka, Japan Live event 1
12 Pegasus Kid 1 August 19, 1990 74 Tokyo, Japan Live event 0 [4]
13 Jushin Thunder Liger 3 November 1, 1990 165 Tokyo, Japan Live event 2
— Vacated — April 15, 1991 — N/A N/A — Liger vacated the championship so a new champion could be decided in the Top of the Super Juniors tournament.
14 Honaga, NorioNorio Honaga 1 April 30, 1991 43 Tokyo, Japan Live event 2 Honaga defeated Jushin Thunder Liger in the finals of the Top of the Super Juniors tournament.
15 Jushin Thunder Liger 4 June 12, 1991 58 Tokyo, Japan Live event 0
16 Nogami, AkiraAkira Nogami 1 August 9, 1991 88 Tokyo, Japan Live event 1
17 Honaga, NorioNorio Honaga 2 November 5, 1991 95 Tokyo, Japan Live event 1
18 Jushin Thunder Liger 5 February 8, 1992 139 Sapporo, Japan Live event 3
19 Samurai, ElEl Samurai 1 June 26, 1992 149 Tokyo, Japan Live event 3
20 Último Dragón 1 November 22, 1992 43 Tokyo, Japan Live event 1 [5]
21 Jushin Thunder Liger 6 January 4, 1993 628 Tokyo, Japan Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome 5
— Vacated — September 24, 1994 — N/A N/A — Liger vacated the championship due to fracturing his left ankle.
22 Honaga, NorioNorio Honaga 3 September 27, 1994 145 Osaka, Japan Live event 6 Honaga defeated Wild Pegasus in a tournament final to win the vacant championship.
23 Kanemoto, KojiKoji Kanemoto 1 February 19, 1995 73 Tokyo, Japan Live event 2
24 Sabu 1 May 3, 1995 42 Fukuoka, Japan Wrestling Dontaku 1995 1
25 Kanemoto, KojiKoji Kanemoto 2 June 14, 1995 204 Tokyo, Japan Live event 2 This match was also for Kanemoto's UWA World Welterweight Championship.
26 Jushin Thunder Liger 7 January 4, 1996 116 Tokyo, Japan Wrestling World 1996 2
27 The Great Sasuke 1 April 29, 1996 165 Tokyo, Japan Battle Formation 5 On August 5, 1996, Sasuke won an 8-man tournament to form the J-Crown, an octuple-belt championship that includes the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title; these titles were still considered separate, but were defended together.
28 Último Dragón 2 October 11, 1996 85 Osaka, Japan Live event 7
29 Jushin Thunder Liger 8 January 4, 1997 183 Tokyo, Japan Wrestling World 1997 4 Liger lost the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship from the J-Crown on June 6, 1997, but continued to defend the other 7 belts.
30 Samurai, ElEl Samurai 2 July 6, 1997 35 Sapporo, Japan Live event 0
31 Otani, ShinjiroShinjiro Otani 1 August 10, 1997 181 Nagoya, Japan The Four Heaven in Nagoya Dome 5 On November 5, 1997, Otani vacated all J-Crown belts but the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title after the WWF retook control of its Light Heavyweight title, effectively ending the J-Crown.
32 Jushin Thunder Liger 9 February 7, 1998 403 Sapporo, Japan Live event 8
33 Kanemoto, KojiKoji Kanemoto 3 March 17, 1999 164 Hiroshima, Japan Live event 3
34 Kashin, KendoKendo Kashin 1 August 28, 1999 44 Tokyo, Japan Jingu Climax 1
35 Jushin Thunder Liger 10 October 11, 1999 49 Tokyo, Japan Final Dome 1
36 Guerrera, JuventudJuventud Guerrera 1 November 29, 1999 7 Denver, United States Nitro 0
37 Jushin Thunder Liger 11 December 6, 1999 227 Milwaukee, United States Nitro 3 Psychosis replaced Guerrera in the match due to Guerrera suffering a fractured right arm.
38 Takaiwa, TatsuhitoTatsuhito Takaiwa 1 July 20, 2000 101 Sapporo, Japan Summer Struggle 2000 2 [6]
39 Minoru Tanaka 1 October 29, 2000 264 Kobe, Japan Get a Right!! 2 [6]
40 Naruse, MasayukiMasayuki Naruse 1 July 20, 2001 80 Sapporo, Japan Dome Quake 1
41 Ishizawa/Kendo Kashin, TokimitsuTokimitsu Ishizawa/Kendo Kashin 2 October 8, 2001 116 Tokyo, Japan Indicate of Next 2 Won the title under the name Tokimitsu Ishizawa, but defended it under the name Kendo Kashin. [7]
— Vacated — February 1, 2002 — N/A N/A — Kashin left NJPW and returned the title to the IWGP Executive Committee. [8]
42 Minoru Tanaka 2 February 16, 2002 153 Tokyo, Japan Fighting Spirit 2002 3 Defeated Masahito Kakihara to win the championship. [9]
43 Kanemoto, KojiKoji Kanemoto 4 July 19, 2002 278 Sapporo, Japan Summer Fight Series 2002 6 [9]
44 Tiger Mask 1 April 23, 2003 153 Hiroshima, Japan Strong Energy 2003 4 [10][11]
— Vacated — September 23, 2003 — N/A N/A — The championship was vacated so it could be contested for in a battle royal.
45 Jado 1 October 13, 2003 62 Tokyo, Japan Ultimate Crush 1 Jado defeated Dick Togo, El Samurai, Gedo, Heat, Jushin Thunder Liger, Katsushi Takemura, Koji Kanemoto, Masahito Kakihara, Masayuki Naruse and Tiger Mask in a battle royal to win the vacant championship. [11]
46 Heat 3 December 14, 2003 387 Nagoya, Japan Battle Final 2003 11 Previously known as Minoru Tanaka. [11][12]
47 Tiger Mask 2 January 4, 2005 277 Tokyo, Japan Toukon Festival: Wrestling World 3
48 Black Tiger 1 October 8, 2005 134 Tokyo, Japan Toukon Souzou New Chapter 1 This match was also for Black Tiger's NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
49 Tiger Mask 3 February 19, 2006 73 Tokyo, Japan Acceleration 1 This match was also for Black Tiger's NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. [13]
50 Kanemoto, KojiKoji Kanemoto 5 May 3, 2006 235 Fukuoka, Japan New Japan Cup 2006 Special 1 [13]
51 Minoru 4 December 24, 2006 194 Tokyo, Japan Battle Xmas! Catch the Victory 4 Previously known as Minoru Tanaka/Heat.
52 Taguchi, RyusukeRyusuke Taguchi 1 July 6, 2007 155 Tokyo, Japan New Japan Soul C.T.U Farewell Tour 4 [14]
53 Inoue, WataruWataru Inoue 1 December 8, 2007 191 Osaka, Japan New Japan Alive 3 [15]
— Vacated — June 16, 2008 — N/A N/A — The championship was vacated when Inoue moved to the heavyweight division.
54 Tiger Mask 4 July 8, 2008 75 Tokyo, Japan New Japan Trill 0 Tiger Mask defeated Prince Devitt in a tournament final to win the vacant championship. [16]
55 Low Ki 1 September 21, 2008 105 Kobe, Japan New Japan Generation 1 [17]
56 Tiger Mask 5 January 4, 2009 223 Tokyo, Japan Wrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome 4 [18]
[19]
57 Místico 1 August 15, 2009 85 Tokyo, Japan G1 Climax 2009: New Lords, New Laws 2 [20]
[21]
58 Tiger Mask 6 November 8, 2009 57 Tokyo, Japan Destruction '09 0 [22]
59 Marufuji, NaomichiNaomichi Marufuji 1 January 4, 2010 166 Tokyo, Japan Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome 5 [23]
60 Devitt, PrincePrince Devitt 1 June 19, 2010 364 Osaka, Japan Dominion 6.19 7
61 Ibushi, KotaKota Ibushi 1 June 18, 2011 85 Osaka, Japan Dominion 6.18 2
— Vacated — September 12, 2011 — N/A N/A — The championship was vacated after Ibushi was sidelined with a shoulder injury. [24]
62 Devitt, PrincePrince Devitt 2 September 19, 2011 227 Kobe, Japan Kantaro Hoshino Memorial Show 4 Devitt defeated Kushida to win the vacant championship.
63 Low Ki 2 May 3, 2012 87 Fukuoka, Japan Wrestling Dontaku 2012 1
64 Ibushi, KotaKota Ibushi 2 July 29, 2012 71 Tokyo, Japan Last Rebellion 2
65 Low Ki 3 October 8, 2012 34 Tokyo, Japan King of Pro-Wrestling 0
66 Devitt, PrincePrince Devitt 3 November 11, 2012 419 Osaka, Japan Power Struggle 4
67 Ibushi, KotaKota Ibushi 3 January 4, 2014 181 Tokyo, Japan Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome 4
68 Kushida 1 July 4, 2014 79 Tokyo, Japan Kizuna Road 2014 0
69 Taguchi, RyusukeRyusuke Taguchi 2 September 21, 2014 105 Kobe, Japan Destruction in Kobe 2
70 Omega, KennyKenny Omega 1 January 4, 2015 182 Tokyo, Japan Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome 3
71 Kushida 2 July 5, 2015 80 Osaka, Japan Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall 1
72 Omega, KennyKenny Omega 2 September 23, 2015 103 Okayama, Japan Destruction in Okayama 1
73 Kushida 3 January 4, 2016 257 Tokyo, Japan Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome 5
74 Bushi 1 September 17, 2016 49 Tokyo, Japan Destruction in Tokyo 0
75 Kushida 4 November 5, 2016 30+ Osaka, Japan Power Struggle 0

Combined reigns

Jushin Thunder Liger in a wrestling ring
Jushin Thunder Liger holds the record for most reigns as champion with 11

As of December 5, 2016.

† Indicates the current champion
Rank[A] Wrestler No. of
reigns		 Combined
defenses		 Combined
days
1 Jushin Liger/Jushin Thunder Liger 11 31 2,245
2 Prince Devitt 3 15 1,010
3 Heat/Minoru/Minoru Tanaka 4 20 998
4 Koji Kanemoto 5 14 954
5 Tiger Mask 6 12 858
6 Shiro Koshinaka 3 9 702
7 Kushida † 4 6 446+
8 Kota Ibushi 3 8 337
9 Kenny Omega 2 4 285
10 Norio Honaga 3 9 283
11 Ryusuke Taguchi 2 6 260
12 Low Ki 3 2 226
13 Hiroshi Hase 2 3 195
14 Wataru Inoue 1 2 191
15 El Samurai 2 3 184
16 Shinjiro Otani 1 5 181
17 Naoki Sano 1 2 174
18 Naomichi Marufuji 1 5 166
19 The Great Sasuke 1 5 165
20 Kendo Kashin/Tokimitsu Ishizawa 2 3 160
21 Black Tiger 1 1 134
22 Kuniaki Kobayashi 1 1 129
23 Último Dragón 2 8 128
24 Nobuhiko Takada 1 6 123
25 Tatsuhito Takaiwa 1 1 101
26 Akira Nogami 1 1 88
27 Místico 1 2 85
28 Masayuki Naruse 1 1 80
29 Pegasus Kid 1 0 74
30 Jado 1 1 62
31 Bushi 1 0 49
32 Sabu 1 1 42
33 Owen Hart 1 1 28
34 Juventud Guerrera 1 0 7

Footnotes

A. ^ Each wrestler's total number of days as champion is ranked highest to lowest; wrestlers with the same number are tied for that certain rank.

References

General
Specific
  1. ↑ "No Limit、またしてもIWGP Jr.タッグ奪還ならず！/4月19日TNA「Lock Down」試合結果(1)". NJPW.co.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. 2009-04-20. Archived from the original on 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2015-08-30. 「Lock Down」は全試合が「シックスサイドスチール」と呼ばれる金網マッチで行われる大会。なれない試合形式に加えて3Wayタッグ。さらに、もう一組の挑戦者チームであるLAXのホミサイドはともかく、ヘルナンデスはどう見ても新日本のJr.規定である100Kgを超えている。数々のハンディを抱えての再挑戦となった。
  2. ↑ Clevett, Jason (2004-11-04). "The legend of Jushin "Thunder" Liger". Slam! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  3. ↑ "PWI: Wrestling History". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. PWI-Online.com. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  4. ↑ Milner, John (2005-03-22). "Chris Benoit". Slam! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  5. ↑ Molinaro, John F. (1999-10-28). "Chris Benoit". Slam! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  6. 1 2 "試合結果 2000年". So-net.ne.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2003-12-11. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  7. ↑ "試合結果 　10月8日（月）東京ドーム". So-net.ne.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2002-12-21. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  8. ↑ "2月5日　新日本プロレスリング・5階会議室　PM2：00〜". So-net.ne.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. 2002-02-05. Archived from the original on 2002-12-14. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  9. 1 2 "試合結果 2002年". So-net.ne.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2002-12-16. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  10. ↑ Power Slam Staff (August 2003). "We are the Champions (as of July 8)". Power Slam Magazine. Lancaster, Lancashire, England: SW Publishing LTD. p. 15. 109.
  11. 1 2 3 "試合結果 インデックス 2003年". NJP-W.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2005-12-18. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  12. ↑ Power Slam Magazine Staff (March 2005). "We are the champions (as of February 11)". Power Slam Magazine. Lancaster, Lancashire, England: SW Publishing LTD. p. 15. 116.
  13. 1 2 "試合結果". NJPW.co.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2006-06-03. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  14. ↑ "新日本プロレス創立35周年Tour Circuit 2007 New Japan Soul C.T.U Farewell Tour". NJPW.co.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  15. ↑ "新日本プロレス創立35周年Tour Circuit2007 New Japan Alive". NJPW.co.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  16. ↑ "New Japan Trill". NJPW.co.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  17. ↑ "Circuit2008 New Japan Generation". NJPW.co.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  18. ↑ Martin, Andrew (2009-01-04). "1/4 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom III results: Tokyo, Japan". Wrestleview. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  19. ↑ Golden, Hunter (2009-01-07). "Rising Sun Soliloquy Newsletter #7: Colossal Tokyo Dome Edition!". Wrestleview. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  20. ↑ Golden, Hunter (2009-08-20). "Rising Sun Soliloquy Newsletter #36". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on 2009-08-24. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  21. ↑ "フィールズ Presents G1 Climax 2009 ～New Lords，New Laws～". NJPW.co.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  22. ↑ "Resultados NJPW Destruction – Tiger Mask vence a Místico – Team 3D y Nakamura retienen". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). 2009-11-08. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  23. ↑ "January 4 New Japan Tokyo Dome report – legends, promotional wars". Wrestling Observer. 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  24. ↑ "9.19神戸大会全カード決定!　飯伏が負傷欠場、デヴィvsKushidaで"新王者"決定戦！金本vs魔界28号は星野勘太郎メモリアルマッチ!!". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). 2011-09-12. Retrieved 2015-08-30.

External links

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