List of current champions in New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) is a professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Title reigns are either determined by professional wrestling matches or are awarded to a wrestler, as a result of the culmination of various scripted storylines. There are four active singles championships, two active tag team championships and one active six-man tag team championship. Five of the seven championships carry the letters "IWGP", after NJPW's governing body, International Wrestling Grand Prix. Eleven wrestlers hold the championships. The list includes the number of times the wrestler has held the title, the date and location of the win, and a description of the winning bout. The following is correct as of December 5, 2016.

Current championships

At the top of NJPW's championship hierarchy is the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which is held by four-time champion Kazuchika Okada, who defeated Tetsuya Naito on June 19, 2016, at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall.[1][2]

There are two secondary titles in NJPW, the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and the NEVER Openweight Championship.

The IWGP Intercontinental Championship is currently held by one-time champion Tetsuya Naito, who defeated Michael Elgin on September 25, 2016, at Destruction in Kobe.[3][4]

The NEVER Openweight Championship is held by three-time champion Katsuyori Shibata, who defeated Evil on November 15, 2016, at Wrestling World 2016 in Singapore.[5]

The IWGP Tag Team Championship is held by Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa), who are in their second reign both individually and as a team. They won the title by defeating The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) on October 10, 2016, at King of Pro-Wrestling.[6][7]

There are also two junior heavyweight championships in NJPW.

The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship is held by four-time champion Kushida, who defeated Bushi on November 5, 2016, at Power Struggle.[8][9]

The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship is held by five-time champions The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson), who defeated previous champions Matt Sydal and Ricochet as well as reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) and Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero) in a four-way elimination match on June 19, 2016, at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall.[2][10]

The NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship is held by David Finlay, Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima, who are in their first reign as a team after defeating Bullet Club (Adam Cole, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) for the vacant title on September 25, 2016, at Destruction in Kobe. Individually, this is the first reign for Finlay and the second for Ricochet and Kojima.[4][11]

Champions

Championship Current champion(s) Reign Date won Days
held 		Location Notes
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Kazuchika Okada 4 June 19, 2016 169 Osaka Defeated Tetsuya Naito at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall.[1][2]
IWGP Intercontinental Championship Tetsuya Naito 1 September 25, 2016 71 Kobe Defeated Michael Elgin at Destruction in Kobe.[3][4]
NEVER Openweight Championship Katsuyori Shibata 3 November 15, 2016 20 Singapore Defeated Evil at Wrestling World 2016 in Singapore.[5][12]
IWGP Tag Team Championship
Guerrillas of Destiny
(Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa)		 2 October 10, 2016 56 Tokyo Defeated The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) at King of Pro-Wrestling.[6][7]
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Kushida 4 November 5, 2016 30 Osaka Defeated Bushi at Power Struggle.[8][9]
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship The Young Bucks
(Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)		 5 June 19, 2016 169 Osaka Defeated Matt Sydal and Ricochet, reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) and Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero) at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall.[2][10]
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship David Finlay, Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima 1
(1,2,2)		 September 25, 2016 71 Kobe Defeated Bullet Club (Adam Cole, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) to win the vacant title at Destruction in Kobe.[4][11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "IWGP Heavy weight class". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Meltzer, Dave (June 18, 2016). "NJPW Dominion live results: Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP HW Championship". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "IWGP Inter Continental champion". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Rose, Bryan (September 25, 2016). "NJPW Destruction in Kobe results: Elgin defends his title against Naito". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "NEVER open weight class". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  6. 1 2 "IWGP Heavy tag weight class". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Rose, Bryan (October 9, 2016). "NJPW King of Pro Wrestling live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Naomichi Marufuji". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Rose, Bryan (November 4, 2016). "NJPW Power Struggle live results: Tetsuya Naito vs. Jay Lethal". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  9. 1 2 "IWGP Jr. Heavy weight class". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  10. 1 2 "IWGP Jr. Heavy tag weight class". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  11. 1 2 "NEVER open 6 men tag class". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  12. ↑ Macklin, Matthew (November 15, 2016). "Title change at New Japan show in Singapore". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved November 15, 2016.

External links

Current champions
Official website
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