The NWA International Light Heavyweight Championship was a title that was promoted by Ultimo Dragon's Toryumon 2000 Project (T2P) promotion. Although having the "NWA" initials, it was not officially sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance. Milano Collection AT was the first champion after defeating Masato Yoshino in the finals of the T2P Strongest Merit Assessment League. T2P closed a month after CIMA won the title, so CIMA took the title to Toryumon Japan but never defended it. The title was later abandoned when CIMA won the Ultimo Dragon Gym Championship.
Championship Tournament[]
Following the main event of the Descembarcamiento 2 show on January 23, 2002, Milano Collection AT challenged all of the members of the T2P roster to compete in a league tournament so that the strongest within the group would be recognized, similar to what Toryumon Japan was doing with the El Numero Uno league tournament. Toryumon President Ultimo Dragon took the challenge a step further by adding that the winner would be crowned the first NWA International Light Heavyweight Champion.
The tournament began on February 17, 2002 in Toryumon Mexico before resuming in Japan through T2P ten days later. At the end of the preliminary rounds, Block A and D each had a decisive winner in Milano and Masato Yoshino respectively. However, Block B and C had ties going into the final day on March 3. Block B had a tie between Shuji Kondo and Toru Owashi while all three wrestlers in Block C were tied. Thus, decision matches were held prior to the semi-finals, resulting in three rounds of the tournament being showcased in one night.
During the entrances for the finals, Milano was attacked by Don Fujii, who proceeded to kidnap his invisible dog Mikeru. At the end of the tournament, Fujii returned briefly to challenge Milano and all of T2P to "Come to Japan!" To combat the inevitable threat of Crazy MAX, Milano would form the Italian Connection with Yoshino, Stevie "brother" Tsujimoto, Takayuki Yagi, and Kondo, the latter four changing their names to fit their new-found Italian heritage. This would be the catalyst for the Toryumon Japan vs. T2P rivalry that would run through the remainder of the year.
| Block A | Milano Collection AT | Second Doi | Raimu Mishima | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milano Collection AT | — | O | O | 4 |
| Second Doi | X | — | O | 2 |
| Raimu Mishima | X | X | — | 0 |
| Block B | Shuji Kondo | Toru Owashi | Noriaki Kawabata | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shuji Kondo | — | ± | O | 3 |
| Toru Owashi | ± | — | O | 3 |
| Noriaki Kawabata | X | X | — | 0 |
| Block C | Anthony W. Mori | Stevie "brother" Tsujimoto | Takayuki Yagi | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony W. Mori | — | O | X | 2 |
| Stevie "brother" Tsujimoto | X | — | O | 2 |
| Takayuki Yagi | O | X | — | 2 |
| Block D | Masato Yoshino | Jun Ogawauchi | Kinya Oyanagei | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masato Yoshino | — | O | O | 4 |
| Jun Ogawauchi | X | — | O | 2 |
| Kinya Oyanagei | X | X | — | 0 |
Block C Decision Three-Way Match: Anthony W. Mori defeated Stevie "brother" Tsujimoto and Takayuki Yagi (March 3 - 9:25)
Block B Decision Match: Shuji Kondo defeated Toru Owashi (March 3 - 7:57)
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
| A1 | Milano Collection AT | Sub | |||||||
| B1 | Shuji Kondo | 0:59 | |||||||
| A1 | Milano Collection AT | Sub | |||||||
| D1 | Masato Yoshino | 5:35 | |||||||
| C1 | Anthony W. Mori | Sub | |||||||
| D1 | Masato Yoshino | 8:31 | |||||||
Title history[]
| # | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Location | Event | Length | Defenses | Successful defenses | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milano Collection AT | 1 | March 3, 2002 | Tokyo | T2P Strongest Assessment League Finals | 298
Days |
1 | 1. defeated Don Fujii in Two Out of Three Falls match on June 6, 2002 | Defeated Masato Yoshino in the T2P Strongest League Finals to become the first champion. |
| 2 | CIMA | 1 | December 26, 2002 | Tokyo | Toryumon 2000 Project XV | 131
Days |
0 | This match had Lucha Libre Rules. | |
| — | Vacated and Abandoned | — | May 6, 2003 | Tokyo | — | — | — | — | Vacated after CIMA winning the Ultimo Dragon Gym Championship. |
Gallery[]
