AJPW Triple Crown Championship
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The All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) Triple Crown World Heavyweight Championship (三冠ヘビー級王座, Sankan Hēbikyū Ōza) is the top singles title in All Japan Pro Wrestling. It has existed since 1989 and has World Title status per Pro Wrestling Illustrated. It is one of three World Titles in Japan, the others being the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and the AWA World Heavyweight Championship.
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[edit] Background
The title was created with the unification of the NWA International Heavyweight Championship, the PWF Heavyweight Championship and the NWA United National Championship, hence the Triple Crown name. Unlike most other such unified titles, the Triple Crown has remained indivisible throughout its history.
Citing the collapse of the National Wrestling Alliance system, and with the need to have a single heavyweight title to counter New Japan Pro Wrestling's IWGP title, All Japan promoter Shohei Baba began running matches for the eventual unification of the titles. Choosing Jumbo Tsuruta, a former AWA World champion and pound-for-pound the best All Japan wrestler at the time, as the first titleholder solidified the status of the title, and Tsuruta's subsequent feud with Genichiro Tenryu over the unified title set the standard for all Triple Crown matches and feuds to follow. Many people consider its replacement feud, Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada in the 1990s, to have provided the best singles wrestling matches of all time.
Before 2000 a Triple Crown match winner used to be presented a trophy in the shape of a globe pierced by three pikes symbolizing the three titles. When Nippon TV cancelled the AJPW television show, the trophy was retired.
On October 14, 2006, it was announced that the three belts representing the Triple Crown would be retired due to damage suffered by the belts over time. They will be replaced in February 2007 with a single belt. All that is known about this new belt is that it will feature "Triple Crown" written in English in the center.
[edit] Title history
| Wrestler | Reigns | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jumbo Tsuruta | 1 | April 18, 1989 | Tokyo, Japan | Tsuruta, the NWA International Heavyweight Champion, defeated the PWF Heavyweight and NWA United National Champion Stan Hansen to unify the titles. |
| Genichiro Tenryu | 1 | June 5, 1989 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Jumbo Tsuruta | 2 | October 11, 1989 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Terry Gordy | 1 | June 5, 1990 | Chiba, Japan | |
| Stan Hansen | 1 | June 8, 1990 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Terry Gordy | 2 | July 17, 1990 | Ishikawa, Japan | |
| Vacated on July 27, 1990 when Gordy is hospitalized with a serious illness. | ||||
| Stan Hansen | 2 | July 27, 1990 | Matsudo, Japan | Defeated Mitsuharu Misawa in a decision match. |
| Jumbo Tsuruta | 3 | January 19, 1991 | Matsumoto, Japan | |
| Stan Hansen | 3 | January 28, 1992 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Mitsuharu Misawa | 1 | August 22, 1992 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Steve Williams | 1 | July 28, 1994 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Toshiaki Kawada | 1 | October 22, 1994 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Stan Hansen | 4 | March 4, 1995 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Mitsuharu Misawa | 2 | May 26, 1995 | Sapporo, Japan | |
| Akira Taue | 1 | May 24, 1996 | Sapporo, Japan | |
| Kenta Kobashi | 1 | July 24, 1996 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Mitsuharu Misawa | 3 | January 20, 1997 | Osaka, Japan | |
| Toshiaki Kawada | 2 | May 1, 1998 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Kenta Kobashi | 2 | June 12, 1998 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Mitsuharu Misawa | 4 | October 31, 1998 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Toshiaki Kawada | 3 | January 22, 1999 | Osaka, Japan | |
| Vacated on January 29, 1999 due to Kawada fracturing his right arm during the title match on January 22. | ||||
| Vader | 1 | March 6, 1999 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Akira Taue in a decision match. |
| Mitsuharu Misawa | 5 | May 2, 1999 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Vader | 2 | October 30, 1999 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Kenta Kobashi | 3 | February 27, 2000 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Vacated in June 2000 when Kobashi leaves the company for Pro Wrestling NOAH. | ||||
| Genichiro Tenryu | 2 | October 28, 2000 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Toshiaki Kawada in a tournament final. |
| Keiji Mutoh | 1 | June 8, 2001 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Toshiaki Kawada | 4 | February 24, 2002 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Vacated on March 28, 2002 due to Kawada injuring his knee. | ||||
| Genichiro Tenryu | 3 | April 13, 2002 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Keiji Mutoh in a decision match. |
| The Great Muta | 2 | October 27, 2002 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Shinya Hashimoto | 1 | February 23, 2003 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Vacated on August 16, 2003 due to Hashimoto injuring his knee. | ||||
| Toshiaki Kawada | 5 | September 6, 2003 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Shinjiro Ohtani in a tournament final. |
| Satoshi Kojima | 1 | February 16, 2005 | Tokyo, Japan | Also holds IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, becoming the only man to hold both titles at once. |
| Taiyō Kea | 1 | July 3, 2006 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Minoru Suzuki | 1 | September 3, 2006 | Sapporo, Japan | |
[edit] Statistics
- Most reigns: Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada, 5 times each
- Most reigns by a foreigner: Stan Hansen, 4 times
- Most title defenses: Toshiaki Kawada, 10 during fifth reign
- Most participation in Triple Crown matches: Mitsuharu Misawa, 32 matches; Toshiaki Kawada, 31
[edit] Trivia
- Winners of both the Triple Crown and the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship include Vader, Genichiro Tenryu, Keiji Muto, Shinya Hashimoto, and Satoshi Kojima. Kojima is the only man to hold both titles at the same time.
- Stan Hansen is the only man to hold the Triple Crown both as a unified championship and as separate components (1 International, 1 United National, and 4 PWF championships).
