Inoki Genome Federation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Inoki Genome Federation
Acronym IGF
Founded 2007
Headquarters Japan
Founder(s) Antonio Inoki
Owner(s) Antonio Inoki
Website Official Site of Inoki Genome Federation

Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) is a professional wrestling promotion in Japan founded by Antonio Inoki in 2007.

History

Antonio Inoki left New Japan Pro Wrestling, a promotion he founded in 1972, to start the IGF. Inoki carried over to IGF his National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) accreditation, making IGF the official Japanese territory of the NWA.

In 2007, the IGF began a talent exchange with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) of the United States,[1] with Kurt Angle being the first TNA talent used by IGF.

The first IGF show was held on June 29, 2007 at the Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The card was completely changed at the last minute, resulting in the 8,426 fans in attendance not knowing who or what they were going to see outside of the main event of Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar.

Shinichi Suzukawa was scheduled to face Bob Sapp in an IGF special rules Heavyweight bout on December 31, 2010, at K-1 Dynamite!! 2010.[2] The fight was to be held under MMA rules, but the fighters wouldn't be wearing gloves. Closed-fist strikes would have been allowed, but palm strikes wouldn't have been permitted.[3] The event was to air on HDNet in North America.[4] However, the fight was canceled due to a last-minute contract dispute but the Japanese audience in attendance were told by the promoter involved in the contract dispute that Sapp “had lost his will to fight.” [5]

In 2011 the company gave a gift to Kim Jong Il, leader of North Korea.[6]

Roster

Guests
Supervisor

IGF Championship

IGF Championship
Details
Current champion(s) Satoshi Ishii
Date won December 31, 2013
Promotion Inoki Genome Federation

In February 2011, IGF started a tournament to determine the first ever IGF Champion, which eventually led to a final match between Jérôme Le Banner and Josh Barnett. However, just days prior to the final match taking place, IGF announced on August 19 that Barnett would not be able to attend the event.[7] On August 22, IGF declared Le Banner the first champion.[8] Though primarily contested for in predetermined professional wrestling matches, the third champion was crowned in a legitimate mixed martial arts fight.[9]

Title history

# Wrestler Reign Date Days
held		 Location Successful
defenses		 Notes
1 Le Banner, JérômeJérôme Le Banner 1 August 22, 2011 327 Tokyo, Japan 5 Declared first champion, after Josh Barnett pulls out of a tournament final match.[8]
2 Fujita, KazuyukiKazuyuki Fujita 1 July 14, 2012 535 Osaka, Japan 4 [10]
3 Ishii, SatoshiSatoshi Ishii 1 December 31, 2013 42+ Tokyo, Japan 0 This was a legitimate mixed martial arts fight.[11]

IWGP Heavyweight Championship (IGF version)

IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Details
Promotion Inoki Genome Federation
Date established October 8, 2005
Date retired February 17, 2008
<th style="style="white-space: nowrap;">Most reigns<th style="style="white-space: nowrap;">Longest reign<th style="style="white-space: nowrap;">Shortest reign<th style="style="white-space: nowrap;">Oldest champion<th style="style="white-space: nowrap;">Youngest champion<th style="style="white-space: nowrap;">Heaviest champion

The IWGP Heavyweight Championship was IGF's first sanctioned championship. Though it is officially not the same title recognized by New Japan Pro Wrestling, the Inoki Genome Federation referred to this title as the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (and was recognized as such also by TNA). IGF claims that the IWGP Heavyweight Championship was never held up despite Brock Lesnar being stripped of the title by NJPW on July 15, 2006. This is due to Antonio Inoki believing that Lesnar was being treated unfairly by NJPW. As Inoki was the one who had originally established the IWGP title, he still viewed Lesnar as the rightful champion. As such there were two separate belts and titles that were billed as the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. IGF's version used the third physical incarnation of the belt, while NJPW reverted to the second once it lost possession of the third belt. The IGF championship was defended for the first time by Lesnar in a losing effort against Kurt Angle in the main event of the debut IGF card on June 29, 2007.[12]

Angle made his first successful title defense against Samoa Joe on August 12, 2007 in Orlando, Florida at TNA Hard Justice in a match where, in addition to the IWGP title, Angle's TNA World Heavyweight, and Joe's TNA World Tag Team and TNA X Division Championships were on the line.[13]

On December 20, 2007 Angle successfully defended the title against Kendo Kashin[14] and again against Yuji Nagata at the New Japan Pro Wrestling Wrestle Kingdom II in Tokyo Dome supershow on January 4, 2008.[15]

Angle ultimately lost the title in his fourth defense, against NJPW-recognized IWGP Heavyweight Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, in a title unification match, on February 17, 2008; this unified both versions of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. As a result, the IGF went over three years without sanctioning any championships.

Title history

# Wrestler Reign Date Days
held		 Location Notes
1 Lesnar, BrockBrock Lesnar 1 October 8, 2005 629 Tokyo, Japan Defeated champion Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono in a three-way match. NJPW strips Lesnar of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on July 15, 2006. IGF considers his reign active and uses the belt as its own version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in 2007.
2 Angle, KurtKurt Angle 1 June 29, 2007 235 Tokyo, Japan Defeated Brock Lesnar on the first IGF card, Angle's TNA World Heavyweight Championship was also on the line.[16]
3 Nakamura, ShinsukeShinsuke Nakamura 1 February 17, 2008 0 Tokyo, Japan Defeated Kurt Angle on the Circuit 2008 New Japan ISM tour to unify the NJPW and IGF versions of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
— Deactivated — February 17, 2008 — Tokyo, Japan

References

  1. ↑ This Page Has Moved - WrestlingInc.com
  2. ↑ "DREAM Dynamite!! 2010". dreamofficial.com. Retrieved 2010-12-01. 
  3. ↑ "DREAM "Dynamite!! 2010," special rules detailed". mmajunkie.com. December 29, 2009. 
  4. ↑ "Dream Dynamite 2010". mmajunkie.com. December 31, 2009. 
  5. ↑ http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=dm-nyejapan123110
  6. ↑ http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2011/201109/news10/20110910-29ee.html
  7. ↑ "ジョシュ・バーネット欠場のお知らせ (2011/08/19)". Inoki Genome Federation (in Japanese). 2011-08-19. Retrieved 2011-08-22. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "INOKI GENOME追加対戦カード発表のお知らせ (2011/08/22)". Inoki Genome Federation (in Japanese). 2011-08-22. Retrieved 2011-08-22. 
  9. ↑ "藤田「役目終わった」／ＩＧＦ". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2013-01-01. Retrieved 2013-01-02. 
  10. ↑ "藤田、王者レバンナ破った／ＩＧＦ". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2012-07-15. 
  11. ↑ "【猪木祭り】MMAルールによる藤田vs石井のIGF王座戦". Battle News (in Japanese). 2013-12-31. Retrieved 2013-12-31. 
  12. ↑ 06/29/07: Inoki Genome Federation - Angle Defeats Lesnar
  13. ↑ Sokol, Chris (2007-08-12). "Bad booking mars Hard Justice". SLAM! Sports. Retrieved 2008-01-15. 
  14. ↑ (Japanese) IGF イノキゲノムフェデレーション
  15. ↑ "Strong Style Spirit". Strong Style Spirit. 2008-01-04. Archived from the original on 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2008-01-04. 
  16. ↑ "IWGP Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved 2007-08-17. 

External links

Active
Major promotions
Men
Independent promotions
Men
Women
Defunct promotions
National promotions
Men
Women
Independent promotions
Men
Women
Interpromotional alliances
Men
World Championships
National and Regional Championships
Current Territories
Miscellaneous
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.