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IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

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The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (IWGPジュニアヘビー級王座, IWGP Junia Hebī-kyū Ōza) is the top singles junior heavyweight championship in the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix.

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.

Overview[]

The title was introduced on February 6, 1986, at a NJPW show. Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may hold the championship. From August 5, 1996, until November 5, 1997, the title was part of the J-Crown, or J-Crown Octuple Unified Championship. The J-Crown was an assembly of eight different championships from several different promotions. It was created on August 5, 1996, when The Great Sasuke won an eight-man tournament. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, the British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship, the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship, the NWA World Welterweight Championship, the UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship, the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship, the WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship, and the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship were the eight championships that were involved. On November 5, 1997, then-champion Shinjiro Otani vacated all J-Crown belts but the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship after the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) retook control of its Light Heavyweight title, effectively ending the J-Crown. On July 7, 2018, at G1 Special in San Francisco, Hiromu Takahashi suffered a neck injury against Dragon Lee during his match with Dragon Lee. This led to NJPW Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi announcing a four-man tournament final to crown a new champion. On October 8 at King of Pro-Wrestling, KUSHIDA defeated Marty Scurll to become the new champion.

Title History[]

# Wrestlers Reign Date Length Location Successful defenses Notes
1 Shiro Koshinaka 1 February 6, 1986 102 Days Tokyo 1 Defeated The Cobra in a tournament final to become the first champion.
2 Nobuhiko Takada 1 May 19, 1986 123 Days Tokyo 6
3 Shiro Koshinaka 2 September 19, 1986 317 Days Fukuoka 2
— Vacated — August 2, 1987 — — — Koshinaka vacated the championship due to injuring his right ankle.
4 Kuniaki Kobayashi 1 August 20, 1987 129 Days Tokyo 1 Defeated Nobuhiko Takada to win the vacant championship.
5 Hiroshi Hase 1 December 27, 1987 152 Days Tokyo 3
6 Owen Hart 1 May 27, 1988 28 Days Sendai 1
7 Shiro Koshinaka 3 June 24, 1988 265 Days Osaka 6
8 Hiroshi Hase 2 March 16, 1989 70 Days Yokohama 0
9 Jushin Liger 1 May 25, 1989 77 Days Osaka 2
10 Naoki Sano 1 August 10, 1989 174 Days Tokyo 2
11 Jushin Thunder Liger 2 January 31, 1990 200 Days Osaka 1 Previously known as Jushin Liger.
12 Pegasus Kid 1 August 19, 1990 74 Days Tokyo 0
13 Jushin Thunder Liger 3 November 1, 1990 165 Days Tokyo 2
— Vacated — April 15, 1991 — — — Liger vacated the championship so a new champion could be decided in the Top of the Super Junior tournament.
14 Norio Honaga 1 April 30, 1991 43 Days Tokyo 2 Defeated Jushin Thunder Liger in the finals of the Top of the Super Juniors tournament.
15 Jushin Thunder Liger 4 June 12, 1991 58 Days Tokyo 0
16 Akira Nogami 1 August 9, 1991 88 Days Tokyo 1
17 Norio Honaga 2 November 5, 1991 95 Days Tokyo 1
18 Jushin Thunder Liger 5 February 8, 1992 139 Days Sapporo 3
19 El Samurai 1 June 26, 1992 149 Days Tokyo 5
20 Ultimo Dragon 1 November 22, 1992 43 Days Tokyo 1
21 Jushin Thunder Liger 6 January 4, 1993 628 Days Tokyo 5
— Vacated — September 24, 1994 — — — Liger vacated the championship due to fracturing his left ankle.
22 Norio Honaga 3 September 27, 1994 145 Days Osaka 6 Honaga defeated Wild Pegasus in a tournament final to win the vacant championship.
23 Koji Kanemoto 1 February 19, 1995 73 Days Tokyo 2
24 Sabu 1 May 3, 1995 42 Days Fukuoka 1
25 Koji Kanemoto 2 June 14, 1995 204 Days Tokyo 2 This match was also for Kanemoto's UWA World Welterweight Championship.
26 Jushin Thunder Liger 7 January 4, 1996 116 Days Tokyo 2
27 The Great Sasuke 1 April 29, 1996 165 Days Tokyo 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 Ultimo Dragon 2 October 11, 1996 85 Days Osaka 7
29 Jushin Thunder Liger 8 January 4, 1997 183 Days Osaka 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 El Samurai 2 July 6, 1997 35 Days Sapporo 0
31 Shinjiro Otani 1 August 10, 1997 181 Days Nagoya 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 Jushin Thunder Liger 9 February 7, 1998 403 Days Sapporo 8
33 Koji Kanemoto 1 March 17, 1999 164 Days Hiroshima 3
34 Kendo Kashin 1 August 28, 1999 44 Days Tokyo 1 Kashin had his own version of the title.
35 Jushin Thunder Liger 10 October 11, 1999 49 Days Tokyo 1
36 Juventud Guerrera 1 November 29, 1999 7 Days Denver, CO 0
37 Jushin Thunder Liger 11 December 6, 1999 227 Days Milwaukee, WI 3 Psychosis replaced Guerrera in the match due to Guerrera suffering a fractured right arm.
38 Tatsuhito Takaiwa 1 July 20, 2000 101 Days Sapporo 2
39 Minoru Tanaka 1 October 29, 2000 264 Days Kobe 2
40 Masayuki Naruse 1 July 20, 2001 80 Days Sapporo 1
41 Kendo Kashin 2 October 8, 2001 131 Days Tokyo 2
42 Minoru Tanaka 2 February 16, 2002 153 Days Tokyo 3
43 Koji Kanemoto 4 July 19, 2002 278 Days Sapporo 6
44 Tiger Mask 1 April 23, 2003 153 Days Tokyo
— Vacated — September 23, 2003 — — — The championship was vacated so it could be contested for in a battle royal.
45 Jado 1 October 13, 2003 62 Days Tokyo 1 Jado defeated Dick Togo, El Samurai, Gedo, Heat, Jushin Thunder Liger,  Katsushi Takemura, Koji Kanemoto, Masahito Kakihara, Masayuki Naruse, and Tiger Mask in a Battle Royal to win the vacant championship.
46 Heat 2 December 14, 2003 387 Days Nagoya 11 Previously known as Minoru Tanaka.
47 Tiger Mask 2 January 4, 2005 277 Days Tokyo 3
48 Black Tiger 1 October 8, 2005 134 Days Tokyo 1 This match was also for Black Tiger's NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
49 Tiger Mask 3 February 19, 2006 73 Days Tokyo 1
50 Koji Kanemoto 5 May 3, 2006 235 Days Fukuoka 1
51 Minoru 4 December 24, 2006 194 Days Tokyo 4 Previously known as Minoru Tanaka and Heat.
52 Ryusuke Taguchi 1 July 6, 2007 155 Days Tokyo 4
53 Wataru Inoue 1 December 8, 2007 191 Days Osaka 3
— Vacated — June 16, 2008 — — — The championship was vacated when Inoue moved to the heavyweight division.
54 Tiger Mask 4 July 8, 2008 75 Days Fukuoka 3 Tiger Mask defeated Prince Devitt in a tournament final to win the vacant championship.
55 Low Ki 1 September 21, 2008 105 Days Kobe 1
56 Tiger Mask 5 January 4, 2009 223 Days Tokyo 4
57 Místico 1 August 15, 2009 85 Days Tokyo 2
58 Tiger Mask 6 November 8, 2009 57 Days Tokyo 0
59 Naomichi Marufuji 1 January 4, 2010 166 Days Tokyo 5
60 Prince Devitt 1 June 19, 2010 364 Days Osaka 7
61 Kota Ibushi 1 June 18, 2011 85 Days Tokyo 2
— Vacated — September 12, 2011 — — — The championship was vacated after Ibushi was sidelined with a shoulder injury.
62 Prince Devitt 2 September 19, 2011 227 Days Kobe 4 Devitt defeated KUSHIDA to win the vacant championship.
63 Low Ki 2 May 3, 2012 87 Days Fukuoka 1
64 Kota Ibushi 2 July 29, 2012 71 Days Tokyo 2
65 Low Ki 3 October 8, 2012 34 Days Tokyo 0
66 Prince Devitt 3 November 11, 2012 419 Days Osaka 4
67 Kota Ibushi 3 January 4, 2014 181 Days Tokyo 4
68 KUSHIDA 1 July 4, 2014 79 Days Tokyo 0
69 Ryusuke Taguchi 2 September 21, 2014 105 Days Kobe 2
70 Kenny Omega 1 January 4, 2015 182 Days Tokyo 3
71 KUSHIDA 2 July 5, 2015 80 Days Osaka 1
72 Kenny Omega 2 September 23, 2015 103 Days Okayama 1
73 KUSHIDA 3 January 4, 2016 257 Days Tokyo 5
74 BUSHI 1 September 17, 2016 49 Days Tokyo 0
75 KUSHIDA 4 November 5, 2016 60 Days Osaka 0
76 Hiromu Takahashi 1 January 4, 2017 158 Days Tokyo 4
77 KUSHIDA 5 June 11, 2017 120 Days Osaka 2
78 Will Ospreay 1 October 9, 2017 27 Days Tokyo 0
79 Marty Scurll 1 November 5, 2017 60 Days Osaka 0
80 Will Ospreay 2 January 4, 2018 156 Days Tokyo 3 This was a Four-Way Match, also involving Hiromu Takahashi and KUSHIDA.
81 Hiromu Takahashi 2 June 9, 2018 72 Days Osaka 2
— Vacated — August 20, 2018 — — — Takahashi returned the title to NJPW after being sidelined with a neck injury.
82 KUSHIDA 6 October 8, 2018 88 Days Tokyo 0
83 Taiji Ishimori 1 January 4, 2019 92 Days Tokyo 2
84 Dragon Lee 1 April 6, 2019 64 Days New York City, NY 1
85 Will Ospreay 3 June 9, 2019 209 Days Osaka 4
86 Hiromu Takahashi 3 January 4, 2020 238 Days Tokyo 1
87 Taiji Ishimori 2 August 29, 2020 129 Days Tokyo 0
88 Hiromu Takahashi 4 January 5, 2021 51 Days Tokyo 1
— Vacated — February 25, 2021 — — — Takahashi returned the title to NJPW after being sidelined with a shoulder injury.
89 El Desperado 1 February 28, 2021 147 Days Osaka 2 Defeated BUSHI and El Phantasmo in a decision match to win the vacant championship.
90 Robbie Eagles 1 July 25, 2021 104 Days Tokyo 1
91 El Desperado 2 November 6, 2021 176 Days Osaka 3
92 Taiji Ishimori 3 May 1, 2022 248 Days Fukuoka 1
93 Hiromu Takahashi 5 January 4, 2023 365 Days Tokyo 7 This was a Four-Way Match, also involving El Desperado and Master Wato.
93 El Desperado 3 January 4, 2024 50 Days Tokyo 1
94 Sho 1 February 23, 2024 114 Days Sapporo 2 Had Sho lost, he would be forced to join Strong Style.
95 El Desperado 4 June 16, 2024 19 Days Sapporo 0 This was a steel cage match.
96 DOUKI 1 July 5, 2024 183 Days Tokyo 4
97 El Desperado 5 January 4, 2025 16+ Tokyo 1

Combined Reigns[]

As of January 20, 2025.

† Indicates the current champions
Rank[A] 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 Hiromu Takahashi 15 884
6 Tiger Mask 6 12 858
7 Shiro Koshinaka 3 9 702
8 KUSHIDA 5 8 684
9 Taiji Ishimori 3 3 469
10 El Desperado † 5 7 408+
11 Will Ospreay 3 9 392
12 Kota Ibushi 8 337
13 Kenny Omega 2 4 285
14 Norio Honaga 3 9 283
15 Ryusuke Taguchi 2 6 260
16 Low Ki 3 2 226
17 Hiroshi Hase 2 3 195
18 Wataru Inoue 1 2 191
19 El Samurai 2 3 184
20 DOUKI 1 4 183
21 Shinjiro Otani 5 181
22 Naoki Sano 2 174
23 Naomichi Marufuji 5 166
24 The Great Sasuke 165
25 Kendo Kashin/Tokimitsu Ishizawa 2 3 160
26 Black Tiger 1 1 134
27 Kuniaki Kobayashi 129
28 Último Dragón 2 8 128
29 Nobuhiko Takada 1 6 123
30 Sho 2 114
31 Robbie Eagles 1 104
32 Tatsuhito Takaiwa 101
33 Akira Nogami 88
34 Místico 2 85
35 Masayuki Naruse 1 80
36 Pegasus Kid 0 74
37 Dragon Lee 1 64
38 Jado 62
39 Marty Scurll 0 60
40 BUSHI 49
41 Sabu 1 42
42 Owen Hart 28
43 Juventud Guerrera 0 7

Footnotes[]

A. ^ Each wrestler's total number of days as champion is ranked highest to lowest; wrestlers with the same number are tied for that certain rank.
B. ^ Guerrera was replaced by Psychosis due to Guerrera being injured.

Gallery[]

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