The IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship (IWGP GLOBALヘビー級王座 IWGP Gurōbaru Hebī-kyū Ōza) is the secondary singles championship in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix.
The title was announced on December 11, 2023, with the inaugural champion crowned on January 4, 2024 at Wrestle Kingdom 18 in Tokyo Dome. It was created to replace the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, which was destroyed by David Finlay, with the last holder of the title Will Ospreay requesting NJPW to create a new title.
Overview[]
Background[]
The idea of a secondary championship in NJPW was established in 2011, with the establishment of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Through MVP's inaugural reign and the subsequent reigns of Masato Tanaka and Hirooki Goto, the title was largely a mid-card title, remaining firmly behind the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Tag Team Championship in importance. However, after Shinsuke Nakamura captured the title from Goto, the title began gaining importance, culminating with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship match receiving top billing over the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match at NJPW's biggest annual event, Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2014, leading Tokyo Sports to write that the Intercontinental and Heavyweight Championships were now equaled, while Dave Meltzer wrote that Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi made the Intercontinental Championship feel like "the real world title belt".
Meanwhile the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship established 2017 as part of NJPW's US market expansion, first started as a tertiary; however, during the first reign of Kenny Omega, the title began ascending to the second tier, with Omega stating that the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship had already surpassed the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as the number two championship in NJPW. Following the unification of the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships, the IWGP Intercontinental Championship was retired in the process. This left with Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada referring that the legacy of both IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships would be completely erased. This was further complemented by former eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi. Since then, there were some attempts to revive the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, with most remarkably, Yota Tsuji proposing that if he won the IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Championship, he would vacate the title and challenge for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. The issue was heavily debated among the company and the audience, feeling that IWGP Intercontinental Championship should had not been unified.
The IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship in the meantime would partly devaluate over the title consecutive reigns, with the title not satisfying the promotion's second tier ranks. Will Ospreay reshifted the to the IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Championship, in a move to raise the prestige of the title that had been devaluated.
Establishment[]
On November 4, 2023 at Power Struggle, after Will Ospreay successfully defended the IWGP United States (United Kingdom) Heavyweight Championship against Shota Umino. He was confronted by Jon Moxley, before being attacked by David Finlay, who proceeded to destroy both the UK and the US Championship belts. Afterwards, in a post-match interview, Ospreay proposed a three-way match between him, Moxley, and Finlay at Wrestle Kingdom 18 for a new title. Two days later, at a press conference, NJPW chairman Naoki Sugabayashi announced that a new championship would replace the U.S./U.K. Heavyweight Championship. On December 11, NJPW announced the creation of the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship, effectively retiring the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. The title is part of NJPW's new phase of its international expansion, not only in the United Kingdom and the United States but also in Europe and Asia-Pacific. Sugabayashi also revealed that there were discussions to revive the defunct IWGP Intercontinental Championship, but found it unreasonable since it had been unified with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to create the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Ospreay himself had previously expressed his interest in reviving the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. On January 4, 2024 at Wrestle Kingdom 18, David Finlay went on to defeat Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley in the finals to become the inaugural IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion.
Championship belt design[]
The new championship belt was revealed on January 3, 2024. It is set on a white strap, similar to the now-retired IWGP Intercontinental Championship, and features three plates: one center and one set of side plates. The center plate features the "IWGP" letters in the center, the word "Global" on top, and the word "Champion" on the bottom, all in capital letters. Four gold circles with a ruby in the center are vertically set, two on each side, next to the center plate. The one set of side plates feature half the world globe on one and the other half on the other.
Title History[]
| # | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Location | Length | Defenses | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Finlay | 1 | January 4, 2024 | Tokyo | 50 Days | 0 | Defeated Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley in a three-way match to become the inaugural champion. |
| 2 | Nic Nemeth | 1 | February 23, 2024 | Sapporo | 71 Days | 1 | |
| 3 | David Finlay | 2 | May 4, 2024 | Fukuoka | 245 Days | 4 | |
| 4 | Yota Tsuji | 1 | January 4, 2025 | Tokyo | 109+ | 3 |
Combined reigns[]
| † | Indicates the current champion |
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Finlay | 2 | 4 | 295 |
| 2 | Yota Tsuji † | 1 | 3 | 109+ |
| 3 | Nic Nemeth | 1 | 71 |
