List of IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions
Kenny Omega, the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling junior heavweight 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]
Overall, there have been 70 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 broadcast, 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 IV's fourth and sixth reigns, Liger's fourth reign, Guerrera's only reign, Pegasus Kid's only reign, Low Ki's third reign and Kushida's only reign are all tied for least successful defenses. Guerrera and Pegasus Kid are the only champions to not successfully defend the title once. Kenny Omega is the current champion in his first reign, after defeating Ryusuke Taguchi on January 4, 2015, at NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome to win the title.
Title history
| # | Order in reign history |
| Reign | The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed |
| Event | The event 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 |
| # | Wrestlers | Reign | Date | Days held |
Location | Event | Successful defenses | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Koshinaka, ShiroShiro Koshinaka | 1 | February 6, 1986 | 102 | Tokyo, Japan | New Year Dash 1986 | 1 | Koshinaka defeated The Cobra in a tournament final to become the first champion.[2] |
| 2 | Takada, NobuhikoNobuhiko Takada | 1 | May 19, 1986 | 123 | Tokyo, Japan | IWGP Champion Series 1986 | 6 | |
| 3 | Shiro Koshinaka | 2 | September 19, 1986 | 317 | Fukuoka, Japan | Challenge Spirit 1986 | 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 | Summer Night Fever in Kokugikan | 1 | Kobayashi defeated Nobuhiko Takada to win the vacant championship. |
| 5 | Hase, HiroshiHiroshi Hase | 1 | December 27, 1987 | 152 | Tokyo, Japan | Inoki Toukon Live III | 3 | |
| 6 | Hart, OwenOwen Hart | 1 | May 27, 1988 | 28 | Sendai, Japan | IWGP Champion Series 1988 | 1 | |
| 7 | Koshinaka, ShiroShiro Koshinaka | 3 | June 24, 1988 | 265 | Osaka, Japan | IWGP Champion Series 1988 | 6 | |
| 8 | Hase, HiroshiHiroshi Hase | 2 | March 16, 1989 | 70 | Yokohama, Japan | Big Fight Series | 0 | |
| 9 | Liger, JushinJushin Liger | 1 | May 25, 1989 | 77 | Osaka, Japan | Battle Satellite 1989 in Osaka | 2 | |
| 10 | Sano, NaokiNaoki Sano | 1 | August 10, 1989 | 174 | Tokyo, Japan | Live event | 2 | |
| 11 | Liger, Jushin ThunderJushin 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 | [3] |
| 13 | Liger, Jushin ThunderJushin Thunder Liger | 3 | November 1, 1990 | 165 | Tokyo, Japan | Dream Tour 1990 | 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 | Explosion Tour 1991 | 2 | Honaga defeated Jushin Thunder Liger in the finals of the Top of the Super Juniors tournament. |
| 15 | Liger, Jushin ThunderJushin Thunder Liger | 4 | June 12, 1991 | 58 | Tokyo, Japan | Fighting Connection: Ultra-High and Mighty Declaration II | 0 | |
| 16 | Nogami, AkiraAkira Nogami | 1 | August 9, 1991 | 88 | Tokyo, Japan | Violent Storm in Kokugikan | 1 | |
| 17 | Honaga, NorioNorio Honaga | 2 | November 5, 1991 | 95 | Tokyo, Japan | Tokyo 3Days Battle | 1 | |
| 18 | Liger, Jushin ThunderJushin Thunder Liger | 5 | February 8, 1992 | 139 | Sapporo, Japan | Fighting Spirit 1992 | 3 | Liger's WCW World Light Heavyweight Championship was also on the line. |
| 19 | Samurai, ElEl Samurai | 1 | June 26, 1992 | 149 | Tokyo, Japan | Masters of Wrestling | 3 | |
| 20 | Último Dragón | 1 | November 22, 1992 | 43 | Tokyo, Japan | Wrestling Scramble 1992 | 1 | [4] |
| 21 | Liger, Jushin ThunderJushin 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 | G1 Climax Special 1994 | 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 | Fighting Spirit 1995 | 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 | Fighting Spirit Legend | 2 | This match was also for Kanemoto's UWA World Welterweight Championship. |
| 26 | Liger, Jushin ThunderJushin Thunder Liger | 7 | January 4, 1996 | 116 | Tokyo, Japan | Wrestling World (1996) | 2 | |
| 27 | Great Sasuke, TheThe 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 | Osaka Crush Night | 7 | |
| 29 | Liger, Jushin ThunderJushin 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 | Summer Struggle 1997 | 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 | Liger, Jushin ThunderJushin Thunder Liger | 9 | February 7, 1998 | 403 | Sapporo, Japan | Fighting Spirit 1998 | 8 | |
| 33 | Kanemoto, KojiKoji Kanemoto | 3 | March 17, 1999 | 164 | Hiroshima, Japan | Hyper Battle 1999 | 3 | |
| 34 | Kashin, KendoKendo Kashin | 1 | August 28, 1999 | 44 | Tokyo, Japan | Jingu Climax | 1 | |
| 35 | Liger, Jushin ThunderJushin 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 | Liger, Jushin ThunderJushin 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 | |
| 39 | Tanaka, MinoruMinoru Tanaka | 1 | October 29, 2000 | 264 | Kobe, Japan | Get a Right!! | 2 | |
| 40 | Naruse, MasayukiMasayuki Naruse | 1 | July 20, 2001 | 80 | Sapporo, Japan | Dome Quake | 1 | |
| 41 | Kashin, KendoKendo Kashin | 2 | October 8, 2001 | 131 | Tokyo, Japan | Indicate of Next | 2 | |
| 42 | Tanaka, MinoruMinoru Tanaka | 2 | February 16, 2002 | 153 | Tokyo, Japan | Fighting Spirit 2002 | 3 | |
| 43 | Kanemoto, KojiKoji Kanemoto | 4 | July 19, 2002 | 278 | Sapporo, Japan | Sapporo Toukon Memorial Day 1st | 6 | |
| 44 | Tiger Mask IV | 1 | April 23, 2003 | 153 | Hiroshima, Japan | Crush | 4 | [5] |
| — | 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 II | 1 | Jado defeated Dick Togo, El Samurai, Gedo, Heat, Jushin Thunder Liger, Katsushi Takemura, Koji Kanemoto, Masahito Kakihara, Masayuki Naruse and Tiger Mask IV in a battle royal to win the vacant championship. |
| 46 | Heat | 3 | December 14, 2003 | 387 | Nagoya, Japan | Battle Final 2003 | 11 | [6] |
| 47 | Tiger Mask IV | 2 | January 4, 2005 | 277 | Tokyo, Japan | Toukon Festival: Wrestling World | 3 | |
| 48 | Black Tiger IV | 1 | October 8, 2005 | 134 | Tokyo, Japan | Toukon Souzou New Chapter | 1 | This match was also for Black Tiger IV's NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. |
| 49 | Tiger Mask IV | 3 | February 19, 2006 | 73 | Tokyo, Japan | Circuit2006 Acceleration | 1 | This match was also for Black Tiger IV's NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. |
| 50 | Kanemoto, KojiKoji Kanemoto | 5 | May 3, 2006 | 235 | Fukuoka, Japan | New Japan Cup 2006 Special | 1 | |
| 51 | Minoru | 4 | December 24, 2006 | 194 | Tokyo, Japan | Battle Xmas! Catch the Victory | 4 | |
| 52 | Taguchi, RyusukeRyusuke Taguchi | 1 | July 6, 2007 | 155 | Tokyo, Japan | New Japan Pro Wrestling 35th Anniversary Tour Circuit 2007 New Japan Soul C.T.U Farewell Tour | 4 | |
| 53 | Inoue, WataruWataru Inoue | 1 | December 8, 2007 | 191 | Osaka, Japan | New Japan Pro Wrestling 35th Anniversary Tour Circuit 2007 New Japan Alive | 3 | |
| — | Vacated | — | June 16, 2008 | — | N/A | N/A | — | The championship was vacated when Inoue moved to the heavyweight division. |
| 54 | Tiger Mask IV | 4 | July 8, 2008 | 75 | Tokyo, Japan | New Japan Trill | 0 | Tiger Mask IV defeated Prince Devitt in a tournament final to win the vacant championship. |
| 55 | Low Ki | 1 | September 21, 2008 | 105 | Kobe, Japan | Circuit2008 New Japan Generation | 1 | |
| 56 | Tiger Mask IV | 5 | January 4, 2009 | 223 | Tokyo, Japan | Wrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome | 4 | [7][8] |
| 57 | Místico | 1 | August 15, 2009 | 85 | Tokyo, Japan | G1 Climax 2009: New Lords, New Laws | 2 | [9] |
| 58 | Tiger Mask IV | 6 | November 8, 2009 | 57 | Tokyo, Japan | Destruction '09 | 0 | [10] |
| 59 | Marufuji, NaomichiNaomichi Marufuji | 1 | January 4, 2010 | 166 | Tokyo, Japan | Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome | 5 | [11] |
| 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.[12] |
| 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 (2012) | 0 | |
| 66 | Devitt, PrincePrince Devitt | 3 | November 11, 2012 | 419 | Osaka, Japan | Power Struggle (2012) | 4 | |
| 67 | Ibushi, KotaKota Ibushi | 3 | January 4, 2014 | 181 | Tokyo, Japan | Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome | 4 | |
| 68 | Kushida, 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 | 104+ | Tokyo, Japan | Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome | 2 |
List of combined reigns
Jushin Thunder Liger, a record eleven-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion
As of April 18, 2015
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| † | Indicates the current champion(s) |
| Rank | 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 IV | 6 | 12 | 858 |
| 6 | Shiro Koshinaka | 3 | 9 | 702 |
| 7 | Kota Ibushi | 3 | 8 | 337 |
| 8 | Norio Honaga | 3 | 9 | 283 |
| 9 | Ryusuke Taguchi | 2 | 6 | 260 |
| 10 | Low Ki | 3 | 2 | 226 |
| 11 | Hiroshi Hase | 2 | 3 | 195 |
| 12 | Wataru Inoue | 1 | 2 | 191 |
| 13 | El Samurai | 2 | 3 | 184 |
| 14 | Shinjiro Otani | 1 | 5 | 181 |
| 15 | Kendo Kashin | 2 | 3 | 175 |
| 16 | Naoki Sano | 1 | 2 | 174 |
| 17 | Naomichi Marufuji | 1 | 5 | 166 |
| 18 | The Great Sasuke | 1 | 5 | 165 |
| 19 | Black Tiger IV | 1 | 1 | 134 |
| 20 | Kuniaki Kobayashi | 1 | 1 | 129 |
| 21 | Último Dragón | 2 | 8 | 128 |
| 22 | Nobuhiko Takada | 1 | 6 | 123 |
| 23 | Kenny Omega† | 1 | 2 | 104+ |
| 24 | Tatsuhito Takaiwa | 1 | 1 | 101 |
| 25 | Akira Nogami | 1 | 1 | 88 |
| 26 | Místico | 1 | 2 | 85 |
| 27 | Masayuki Naruse | 1 | 1 | 80 |
| 28 | Kushida | 1 | 0 | 79 |
| 29 | Pegasus Kid | 1 | 0 | 74 |
| 30 | Jado | 1 | 1 | 62 |
| 31 | Sabu | 1 | 1 | 42 |
| 32 | Owen Hart | 1 | 1 | 28 |
| 33 | Juventud Guerrera | 1 | 0 | 7 |
References
- General
- Benaka, Matt; Westcott, Brian; Zadarnowski, Andrew. "IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title History". Wrestling Title Histories by Gary Will and Royal Duncan. Solie.org. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Japan & Korea: New Japan IWGP Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 373. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- "IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship history". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). NJPW.co.jp. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- "IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship history: page one". NJPW.co.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- "IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship history: page two". NJPW.co.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- "IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship history: page three". NJPW.co.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- "IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship history: Page Four". NJPW.co.jp (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
- Specific
- ↑ "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 2009-12-08.
「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。
- ↑ "PWI: Wrestling History". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. PWI-Online.com. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
- ↑ Milner, John (2005-03-22). "Chris Benoit". Slam! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
- ↑ Molinaro, John F. (1999-10-28). "Chris Benoit". Slam! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Martin, Andrew (2009-01-04). "1/4 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom III results: Tokyo, Japan". Wrestleview. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
- ↑ Golden, Hunter (2009-01-07). "Rising Sun Soliloquy Newsletter #7: Colossal Tokyo Dome Edition!". Wrestleview. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
- ↑ Golden, Hunter (2009-08-20). "Rising Sun Soliloquy Newsletter #36". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on 2009-08-24. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
- ↑ "Resultados NJPW Destruction – Tiger Mask vence a Místico – Team 3D y Nakamura retienen". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). 2009-11-08. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
- ↑ "January 4 New Japan Tokyo Dome report – legends, promotional wars". Wrestling Observer. 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2010-03-05.
- ↑ "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 2011-09-12.
External links
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