The Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship (STRONG無差別級タッグ王座 STRONG Musabetsu-kyū Taggu Ōza) is the top tag team championship in the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) promotion's American brand division New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America (NJoA) in the United States.
Named after the NJoA's flagship program NJPW Strong, the title was announced on June, 2022, with the inaugural champion being crowned on July 24, at the finals of the High Alert. The title is meant to be defended exclusively in the NJPW Strong television series and is the third tag team championship in the promotion, along with the IWGP Tag Team and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team. The title's nature means that both heavyweight and junior heavyweight wrestlers are eligible to challenge for it.
Overview[]
Background[]
On June 8, 2021, NJPW's sub-brand New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America announced the creation of the Strong Tag Team Championship. The first champion will be crowned in a tournament on July 24 at High Alert. The title is part of an American expansion plan, which NJPW had made public in the years before the announcement. Plans had been made to run extended tours in the United States with California as the base, starting in 2018, as well the creation of the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.
The championship is named after the NJoA's flagship program NJPW Strong, created after the creation of the Strong Openweight Championship, with the title being set to become the brand's exclusive and primary tag team championship. The title's nature means that both heavyweight and junior heavyweight wrestlers are eligible to challenge for it.
Inaugural tournament[]
On June 8, NJPW announced the creation of the championship, with it being contested in a singles-elimination tournament. The bracket was revealed on June 18. The tournament matches were contested through NJPW's weekly television show, NJPW Strong series. However Fredericks would be quietly replaced by Yuya Uemura as Christopher Daniels tag team partner.
| Round 1 Ignition (July 9 and 16) | Semifinals Ignition (June 23 and 30) | Final High Alert (August 13) | ||||||||||||
| Christopher Daniels and Yuya Uemura | Pin | |||||||||||||
| The Factory (Aaron Solow and Nick Comoroto) | 9:17 | |||||||||||||
| Christopher Daniels and Yuya Uemura | Pin | |||||||||||||
| TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste) | 10:02 | |||||||||||||
| TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs) | 10:21 | |||||||||||||
| Christopher Daniels and Yuya Uemura | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) | 11:57 | |||||||||||||
| Midnight Heat (Eddie Pearl and Ricky Gibson) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Stray Dog Army (Barrett Brown and Misterioso) | 8:28 | |||||||||||||
| Stray Dog Army (Barrett Brown and Misterioso) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) | 7:27 | |||||||||||||
| Dark Order (Alan Angels and Evil Uno) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) | 12:44 | |||||||||||||
Belt Design[]
Much like the design of the Strong Openweight Championship belt, the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship, features a dark blue leather base with the front plate being silver circular octagon followed by two silver ovals.
The front plate is sorrounded by forty-nine white rhinestones across the plate, except on the top banner. Above is the top banner with the text "NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING" written in silver, with a white diamond stone in the middle of the banner. At the center of the center plate, there is the logo of NJoA's premiere show NJPW Strong in blue and silver that has NJPW's logo over top of it in black and silver with a banner below the NJPW Strong logo that says "TAG TEAM CHAMPION" in a blue rectangle, with the banner being written in silver, sorrounded by forty-five rays emanating from the front logo.
The the side plates are sorrounded by sorrounded by thirty-seven white rhinestones, with the center of the side plate featuring the logo of the promotion in blue and silver, with two white rhinestones at the sides of the logo, sorrounded by forty-two rays emanating from the promotion's logo.
Title History[]
Names[]
| Name | Years | Promotions |
|---|---|---|
| Strong Tag Team Championship | June 8, 2022 – October 15, 2022 | NJPW AEW |
| Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship | June 8, 2022 – present | NJPW AEW IMPACT RevPro |
Reigns[]
| # | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Location | Length | Defenses | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) |
1 | August 13, 2022 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 76 Days | 3 | Defeated Christopher Daniels and Yuya Uemura in a tournament final to become the the inaugural champions. NJPW recognizes Aussie Open's reign as beginning on August 13, 2022, when the episode aired on tape delay. |
| 2 | The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) |
1 | October 28, 2022 | New York City, New York | 169 Days | 3 | This was a Three-Way Tag Team Match, involving LA Dojo (The DKC and Kevin Knight). |
| 3 | Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) |
2 | April 15, 2023 | Washington, D.C. | 36 Days | 1 | This was a Three-Way Tag Team Match, also involving Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada. |
| — | Vacated | — | May 21, 2023 | Long Beach, California | — | — | Kyle Fletcher voluntarily relinquished the titles after Mark Davis sustained an injury. |
| 3 | Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) |
1 | June 4, 2023 | Osaka | 30 Days | 0 | Defeated House of Torture (EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi) in a decision match, also involving United Empire (Great O-Khan and Aaron Henare). This match was also for the IWGP Tag Team Championships. |
| 4 | Bullet Club War Dogs (Alex Coughlin and Gabe Kidd) |
1 | July 4, 2023 | Tokyo | 97 Days | 0 | |
| 5 | Guerrillas of Destiny (Hikuleo and El Phantasmo) |
1 | October 9, 2023 | Tokyo | 186 Days | 5 | |
| 6 | TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste) |
1 | April 12, 2024 | Chicago, Illinois | 29 Days | 1 | This was a four corners tag team match, also involving the West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs), and Tom Lawlor and Fred Rosser. |
| 7 | Guerrillas of Destiny (Hikuleo and El Phantasmo) |
2 | May 11, 2024 | Ontario, California | 29 Days | 0 | |
| 8 | TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste) |
2 | June 9, 2024 | Osaka | 152 Days | 2 | This was a Four-way tornado tag team elimination Winners Take All match, also involving Bullet Club (KENTA and Chase Owens) and Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi). This match was also for the IWGP Tag Team Championships. |
| 9 | Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) |
1 | November 8, 2024 | Lowell, Massachusetts | 37 Days | 1 | |
| 10 | World Class Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs) |
1 | December 15, 2024 | Long Beach, California | 129+ | 2 | Previously known as the West Coast Wrecking Crew. |
Combined Reigns[]
As of April 23, 2025.
| † | Indicates the current champions |
By team[]
| Rank | Team | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guerrillas of Destiny (Hikuleo and El Phantasmo) |
2 | 5 | 215 |
| 2 | TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste) |
2 | 181 | |
| 3 | The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) |
1 | 3 | 169 |
| 4 | World Class Wrecking Crew † (Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs) |
2 | 129+ | |
| 5 | Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) |
2 | 4 | 112 |
| 6 | Bullet Club War Dogs (Alex Coughlin and Gabe Kidd) |
1 | 0 | 97 |
| 7 | Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) |
1 | 37 | |
| 8 | Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) |
0 | 30 |
By wrestler[]
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hikuleo | 2 | 5 | 215 |
| El Phantasmo | ||||
| 3 | Mikey Nicholls | 1 | 181 | |
| Shane Haste | ||||
| 5 | Chris Sabin | 1 | 3 | 169 |
| Alex Shelley | ||||
| 7 | Jorel Nelson † | 2 | 129+ | |
| Royce Isaacs † | ||||
| 9 | Kyle Fletcher | 2 | 4 | 112 |
| Mark Davis | ||||
| 11 | Alex Coughlin | 1 | 0 | 97 |
| Gabe Kidd | ||||
| 13 | James Drake | 1 | 37 | |
| Zack Gibson | ||||
| 15 | Hirooki Goto | 0 | 30 | |
| Yoshi-Hashi |
Gallery[]
