The NJPW World Television Championship (NJPW WORLD認定TV王座 NJPW WORLD Nintei TV Ōza, lit. "NJPW World Authorized Television Championship") is the quaternary singles championship in the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. The title is the first NJPW title to feature the promotion's acronym, instead of the NEVER or "IWGP", which is the acronym of NJPW's governing body. The title was announced on October 10, 2022, with the inaugural champion crowned on January 4, 2023, at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Tokyo Dome. The title became NJPW's thirteeth active championship.
Overview[]
Background[]
On October 10, 2022 at Declaration of Power, NJPW President Takami Ohbari and TV Asahi's representative Hiroyoki Mihira announced the creation of the NJPW World Television Championship. The title was made to celebrate the upcoming 50-year anniversary of the partnership between NJPW and TV Asahi, as well as the continued growth of NJPW's internet streaming service NJPW World due to it's nature as a television championship, Mihira announced the title matches would air for free through NJPW World, as well as through NJPW's social media platforms. Mihaira also announced specific rules that would apply to the title. The rules would include 15 minute time limit, with a coin toss, deciding the winner of a match in case of a draw, while also encouraging a rapid in-ring style, similar to NJPW's sister promotion's Stardom's High Speed Championship towards a youth-focused matches for the younger up-and-coming talent.
Championship Tournament[]
The first champion would be crowned in a tournament, which started on October 15 and concluded on January 4, 2023, at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Tokyo Dome. On October 11, NJPW announced the participants in the tournament to crown the first NJPW World Television Champion. Zack Sabre Jr. went on to defeat Ren Narita in the finals to become the inaugural NJPW World Television Champion.
| Round 1 Battle Autumn '22 (October 14, 15, 16 and 26) | Round 2 Battle Autumn '22 (October 27 and 30) | Semifinals Battle Autumn '22 (November 5) | Final Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Tokyo Dome (January 4, 2023) | ||||||||||||||||
| David Finlay | Pin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 11:52 | ||||||||||||||||||
| David Finlay | Pin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 13:03 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Alex Zayne | Sub | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 14:55 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre Jr. | Pin | ||||||||||||||||||
| EVIL | 4:48 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yoshi-Hashi | Pin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jeff Cobb | 12:!4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yoshi-Hashi | Pin | ||||||||||||||||||
| EVIL | 11:48 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Aaron Henare | Pin | ||||||||||||||||||
| EVIL | 10:55 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Zack Sabre Jr. | Sub | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ren Narita | 10:32 | ||||||||||||||||||
| SANADA | Pin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Taichi | 14:47 | ||||||||||||||||||
| SANADA | Pin | ||||||||||||||||||
| KENTA | 13:05 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hirooki Goto | Pin | ||||||||||||||||||
| KENTA | 9:32 | ||||||||||||||||||
| SANADA | Pin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ren Narita | 14:31 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ren Narita | Pin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tomohiro Ishii | 14:33 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ren Narita | Sub | ||||||||||||||||||
| Toru Yano | 8:47 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Toru Yano | Pin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Great O-Khan | 11:20 | ||||||||||||||||||
Establishment[]
Since its inception the original concept of title having younger workers wrestle for the title has also not been realized with almost all seven holders of the title having been in their thirties or forties with the exception of Ren Narita who is in his twenties. However, with Zack Sabre Jr.'s first year reign, the title began gaining importance. Sabre also made the title more international, defending it extensively the United States, mostly in, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH) with whom NJPW has a working relationship.
At Wrestle Kingdom 18 in Tokyo Dome, Sabre lost the NJPW World Television Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi, with Tanahashi vowing to carry Sabre's torch and further elevated the title. Tanahashi lost the title to the debuting fomer WWE star Matt Riddle, with many people putting their eyes on the title due to Riddle's previous fame in WWE. Riddle defended the title against Bad Dude Tito and Kosei Fujita in MLW, which was Riddle's home promotion before losing the title back to Sabre at Windy City Riot, becoming the first two-time champion. Riddle unsatisfied controversly left the arena in protest. It was later reported that the original plan was to Riddle dropping the title to Jeff Cobb; however, NJPW and TV Asahi became heavily unsatisfied with Riddle's actions due to Riddle's conduct and also for Riddle reportedly defending the NJPW World Television Championship at the American independent circuit eleven times without the promotion's prior approval, leading NJPW to only recognize his title defenses in MLW, with whom has a working partnership. Cobb eventually challenged Sabre and defeated him at Wrestling Dontaku to win the title. Several months later, regarding Riddle's side of the story, Riddle revealed that he was suposed to do a tour, with NJPW wanting him wrestle in San Jose after Windy City Riot; however, Riddle had a schedule conflict leading to Riddle to pull out of the event, which he believed the promotion had nothing personal against him.
Ren Narita became the youngest champion at 26 years old on October 14, at King of Pro-Wrestling, when he defeated the previous champion Jeff Cobb and Yota Tsuji in the first three-way match for the title.
Title History[]
| # | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Location | Length | Defenses | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Sabre Jr. | 1 | January 4, 2023 | Tokyo | 365 Days | 16 | Defeated Ren Narita in a tournament final to become the inaugural champion. |
| 2 | Hiroshi Tanahashi | 1 | January 4, 2024 | Tokyo | 50 Days | 1 | |
| 3 | Matt Riddle | 1 | February 23, 2024 | Sapporo | 49 Days | 2[a] | |
| 4 | Zack Sabre Jr. | 2 | April 12, 2024 | Chicago, Illinois | 21 Days | 0 | |
| 5 | Jeff Cobb | 1 | May 3, 2024 | Fukuoka | 164 Days | 3 | |
| 6 | Ren Narita | 1 | October 14, 2024 | Tokyo | 82 Days | 0 | This was a 3-Way Match, also involving Yota Tsuji. |
| 7 | El Phantasmo | 1 | January 4, 2025 | Tokyo | 91 Days | 4 | This was a 4-Way Match, also involving Jeff Cobb and Ryohei Oiwa. |
| 7 | El Phantasmo | 1 | April 5, 2025 | Tokyo | 18+ | 0 |
Combined reigns[]
| † | Indicates the current champion |
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Sabre Jr. | 2 | 16 | 386 |
| 2 | Jeff Cobb | 1 | 3 | 164 |
| 3 | El Phantasmo | 4 | 91 | |
| 4 | Ren Narita | 0 | 82 | |
| 5 | Hiroshi Tanahashi | 1 | 50 | |
| 6 | Matt Riddle | 2 | 49 | |
| 7 | Great-O-Khan † | 0 | 18+ |
