IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

From MedBib.com - Medicine & Nature

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
A male wearing a mask and a body suit, with the colors schemes of red, white, black, and yellow, standing inside a wrestling ring
Jushin Liger, who has held the championship eleven times
Details
Current champion(s) Naomichi Marufuji
Date won January 4, 2010
Promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW)
Date established February 6, 1986

The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling junior heavweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix. The title was introduced on February 6, 1986 at a NJPW live event; it is contested for by junior heavyweight wrestlers. 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 220 lb (100 kg); it is assumed they have the same weight-limit.[1] The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship was one of eight championships that assembled the J-Crown, or J-Crown Octuple Unified Championship for short. It formed on August 5, 1996 when The Great Sasuke won an eight-man tournament to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and win the British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship, NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship, NWA World Welterweight Championship, UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship, WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship, WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship, and the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship.[2] Being a professional wrestling championship, the title is won as a result of a predetermined outcome.

Title changes happen mostly at NJPW-promoted events. The inaugural champion was Shiro Koshinaka, who defeated defeated The Cobra on February 6, 1986 in the finals of a tournament. Jushin Liger holds the record of most reigns, with 11. At 628 days, Liger's sixth reign is the longest in the title's history. Liger's combined 11 reigns holds the record for most days as champion at 2245. Juventud Guerrera's only reigns holds the record for shortest reign at one week. NJPW keep track of all championship title defenses per reign, which is unlike most mainstream wrestling organizations. With 11 successful defenses, Minoru Tanaka's reign under the ring name "Heat" is the most during a single reign. However, Liger's combined 11 reigns of successful defenses totals to 31, the most of any former champion. Guerrera's, Pegasus Kid's, and current champion Naomichi Marufuji's only reigns all have the least successful defenses, with zero. Overall, there have been 59 reigns shared among 29 wrestlers.

Contents

Title history

# Order in reign history
Reign The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed
Event The event in which the title was won
Successful defenses The number of successful defenses the champions had during their reign
— Used for vacated reigns so as not to count it as an official reign
N/A The information is not available or is unknown
+ Indicates the current reign is changing daily
# Wrestlers Reign Date Days
held		 Location Event Successful defenses Notes
1 Shiro Koshinaka 1 01986-02-06 February 6, 1986 &0000000000000102.000000102 Tokyo, Japan Live event 1 Koshinaka defeated The Cobra in a tournament final to become the first champion.
2 Nobuhiko Takada 1 01986-05-19 May 19, 1986 &0000000000000123.000000123 Tokyo, Japan Live event 6
3 Shiro Koshinaka 2 01986-09-19 September 19, 1986 &0000000000000335.000000335 Fukuoka, Japan Live event 2
4 Kuniaki Kobayashi 1 01987-08-20 August 20, 1987 &0000000000000129.000000129 Tokyo, Japan Live event 1 Kobayashi defeated Nobuhiko Takada to win the vacant championship.
5 Hiroshi Hase 1 01987-12-27 December 27, 1987 &0000000000000152.000000152 Tokyo, Japan Inoki Toukon Live III 3
6 Owen Hart 1 01988-05-27 May 27, 1988 &0000000000000028.00000028 Sendai, Japan Live event 1
7 Shiro Koshinaka 3 01988-06-24 June 24, 1988 &0000000000000265.000000265 Osaka, Japan Live event 6
8 Hiroshi Hase 2 01989-03-16 March 16, 1989 &0000000000000070.00000070 Yokohama, Japan Live event 0
9 Jushin Liger 1 01989-05-25 May 25, 1989 &0000000000000077.00000077 Osaka, Japan Live event 2
10 Naoki Sano 1 01989-08-10 August 10, 1989 &0000000000000174.000000174 Tokyo, Japan Live event 2
11 Jushin Liger 2 01990-01-31 January 31, 1990 &0000000000000200.000000200 Osaka, Japan Live event 1
12 Pegasus Kid 1 01990-08-19 August 19, 1990 &0000000000000074.00000074 Tokyo, Japan Live event 0 [3]
13 Jushin Liger 3 01990-11-01 November 1, 1990 &0000000000000165.000000165 Tokyo, Japan Live event 2
— Vacated — 01991-04-15 April 15, 1991 — N/A N/A — Liger vacated the championship so a new champion could be decided in the Top of the Super Juniors tournament.
14 Norio Honaga 1 01991-04-30 April 30, 1991 &0000000000000043.00000043 Tokyo, Japan Live event 2 Honaga defeated Jushin Liger in the finals of the Top of the Super Juniors tournament.
15 Jushin Liger 4 01991-06-12 June 12, 1991 &0000000000000058.00000058 Tokyo, Japan Live event 0
16 Akira Nogami 1 01991-08-09 August 9, 1991 &0000000000000088.00000088 Tokyo, Japan Live event 1
17 Norio Honaga 2 01991-11-05 November 5, 1991 &0000000000000095.00000095 Tokyo, Japan Live event 1
18 Jushin Liger 5 01992-02-08 February 8, 1992 &0000000000000139.000000139 Sapporo, Japan Live event 3
19 El Samurai 1 01992-06-26 June 26, 1992 &0000000000000149.000000149 Tokyo, Japan Live event 3
20 Último Dragón 1 01992-11-22 November 22, 1992 &0000000000000043.00000043 Tokyo, Japan Live event 1 [4]
21 Jushin Liger 6 01993-01-04 January 4, 1993 &0000000000000628.000000628 Tokyo, Japan Fantastic Story 5
— Vacated — 01994-09-24 September 24, 1994 — N/A N/A — Liger vacated the championship due to fracturing his left ankle.
22 Norio Honaga 3 01994-09-27 September 27, 1994 &0000000000000145.000000145 Osaka, Japan Live event 6 Honaga defeated Pegasus Kid in a tournament final to win the vacant championship.
23 Koji Kanemoto 1 01995-02-19 February 19, 1995 &0000000000000073.00000073 Tokyo, Japan Live event 2
24 Sabu 1 01995-05-03 May 3, 1995 &0000000000000042.00000042 Fukuoka, Japan Wrestling Dontaku 1
25 Koji Kanemoto 2 01995-06-14 June 14, 1995 &0000000000000204.000000204 Tokyo, Japan Live event 2 This match was also for Kanemoto's UWA World Welterweight Championship.
26 Jushin Liger 7 01996-01-04 January 4, 1996 &0000000000000116.000000116 Tokyo, Japan Wrestling World (1996) 2
27 The Great Sasuke 1 01996-04-29 April 29, 1996 &0000000000000165.000000165 Tokyo, Japan Battle Formation 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 are still considered separate, but are defended together.
28 Último Dragón 2 01996-10-11 October 11, 1996 &0000000000000085.00000085 Tokyo, Japan Live event 7
29 Jushin Liger 8 01997-01-04 January 4, 1997 &0000000000000183.000000183 Tokyo, Japan Wrestling World (1997) 4 Liger loses the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship from the J-Crown on June 6, 1997, but continues to defend the other 7 belts.
30 El Samurai 2 01997-07-06 July 6, 1997 &0000000000000035.00000035 Sapporo, Japan Live event 0
31 Shinjiro Otani 1 01997-08-10 August 10, 1997 &0000000000000181.000000181 Nagoya, Japan The Four Heaven 5 On November 5, 1997, Otani vacates all J-Crown belts but the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title after the WWF retakes control of its Light Heavyweight title, effectively sealing the J-Crown.
32 Jushin Liger 9 01998-02-07 February 7, 1998 &0000000000000403.000000403 Sapporo, Japan Live event 8
33 Koji Kanemoto 3 01999-03-17 March 17, 1999 &0000000000000164.000000164 Hiroshima, Japan Live event 3
34 Kendo Kashin 1 01999-08-28 August 28, 1999 &0000000000000044.00000044 Tokyo, Japan Jingu Climax 1
35 Jushin Liger 10 01999-10-11 October 11, 1999 &0000000000000049.00000049 Tokyo, Japan Final Dome 1
36 Juventud Guerrera 1 01999-11-29 November 29, 1999 &0000000000000007.0000007 Denver, United States Nitro 0
37 Jushin Liger 11 01999-12-06 December 6, 1999 &0000000000000227.000000227 Milwaukee, United States Nitro 3 Psychosis was a replacement for Guerrera during this match due to Guerrera suffering a fractured right arm.
38 Tatsuhito Takaiwa 1 02000-07-20 July 20, 2000 &0000000000000101.000000101 Sapporo, Japan Live event 2
39 Minoru Tanaka 1 02000-10-29 October 29, 2000 &0000000000000264.000000264 Kobe, Japan Live event 2
40 Masayuki Naruse 1 02001-07-20 July 20, 2001 &0000000000000080.00000080 Sapporo, Japan Dome Quake 1
41 Kendo Kashin 2 02001-10-08 October 8, 2001 &0000000000000131.000000131 Tokyo, Japan Indicate of Next 2
42 Minoru Tanaka 2 02002-02-16 February 16, 2002 &0000000000000153.000000153 Tokyo, Japan Live event 3
43 Koji Kanemoto 4 02002-07-19 July 19, 2002 &0000000000000278.000000278 Sapporo, Japan Sapporo Toukon Memorial Day 1st 6
44 Tiger Mask IV 1 02003-04-23 April 23, 2003 &0000000000000153.000000153 Hiroshima, Japan Live event 4
— Vacated — 02003-09-23 September 23, 2003 — N/A N/A — The championship was vacated so it could be contested in a battle royal.
45 Jado 1 02003-10-13 October 13, 2003 &0000000000000062.00000062 Tokyo, Japan Ultimate Crush II 1 This was an 11-man battle royal.
46 Heat 3 02003-12-14 December 14, 2003 &0000000000000387.000000387 Nagoya, Japan Live event 11
47 Tiger Mask IV 2 02005-01-04 January 4, 2005 &0000000000000277.000000277 Tokyo, Japan Toukon Festival ~ Wrestling World 3
48 Black Tiger IV 1 02005-10-08 October 8, 2005 &0000000000000134.000000134 Tokyo, Japan Toukon Souzou New Chapter 1 This match was also for Black Tiger IV's NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
49 Tiger Mask IV 3 02006-02-19 February 19, 2006 &0000000000000073.00000073 Tokyo, Japan Live event 1 This match was also for Black Tiger IV's NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
50 Koji Kanemoto 5 02006-05-03 May 3, 2006 &0000000000000235.000000235 Fukuoka, Japan Live event 1
51 Minoru 4 02006-12-24 December 24, 2006 &0000000000000194.000000194 Tokyo, Japan Battle Xmas! Catch the Victory 4
52 Ryusuke Taguchi 1 02007-07-06 July 6, 2007 &0000000000000155.000000155 Tokyo, Japan Live event 4
53 Wataru Inoue 1 02007-12-08 December 8, 2007 &0000000000000191.000000191 Osaka, Japan Live event 3
— Vacated — 02008-06-16 June 16, 2008 — N/A N/A — The championship was vacated when Inoue moved to the heavyweight division.
54 Tiger Mask IV 4 02008-07-08 July 8, 2008 &0000000000000075.00000075 Tokyo, Japan Live event 0 Tiger Mask IV defeated Prince Devitt in a tournament final to win the vacant championship.
55 Low Ki 1 02008-09-21 September 21, 2008 &0000000000000105.000000105 Kobe, Japan Live event 1
56 Tiger Mask IV 5 02009-01-04 January 4, 2009 &0000000000000223.000000223 Tokyo, Japan Wrestle Kingdom III 4
57 Místico 1 02009-08-15 August 15, 2009 &0000000000000085.00000085 Tokyo, Japan Live event 2
58 Tiger Mask IV 6 02009-11-08 November 8, 2009 &0000000000000057.00000057 Tokyo, Japan Destruction '09 0
59 Naomichi Marufuji 1 02010-01-04 January 4, 2010 &0000000000000065.00000065+ Tokyo, Japan Wrestle Kingdom IV 0 [5]

List of combined reigns

Symbol Meaning
† Indicates the current champion(s)
Rank[N 1] Wrestler # of reigns Combined defenses Combined days
1 Jushin Liger 11 31 2245
2 Heat/Minoru/Minoru Tanaka 4 20 988
3 Koji Kanemoto 5 14 954
4 Tiger Mask IV 6 12 858
5 Shiro Koshinaka 3 9 702
6 Norio Honaga 3 9 283
7 Hiroshi Hase 2 3 195
8 Wataru Inoue 1 2 191
9 El Samurai 2 3 184
10 Shinjiro Otani 1 5 181
11 Kendo Kashin 2 3 175
12 Naoki Sano 1 2 174
13 The Great Sasuke 1 5 165
14 Ryusuke Taguchi 1 4 155
15 Black Tiger IV 1 1 134
16 Kuniaki Kobayashi 1 1 129
17 Último Dragón 2 8 128
18 Nobuhiko Takada 1 6 123
19 Low Ki 1 1 105
20 Tatsuhito Takaiwa 1 1 101
21 Akira Nogami 1 1 88
22 Místico 1 1 85
23 Masayuki Naruse 1 1 80
24 Pegasus Kid 1 0 74
25 Naomichi Marufuji† 1 0 65+
26 Jado 1 1 62
27 Sabu 1 1 42
28 Owen Hart 1 1 28
29 Juventud Guerrera 1 0 7

Footnotes

  1. ^ Each reign is ranked highest to lowest; reigns with the same number mean that they are tied for that certain rank.

References

General
Specific
  1. ^ "No Limit, once again IWGP Jr. Not recapture Tag! / April 19th TNA "Lock Down" match result (1)" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. NJPW.co.jp. 2009-04-20. http://www.njpw.co.jp/news/article.php?nwid=9954. Retrieved 2009-12-08. "Translated version shows that it was questioned if Hernandez weighed more than 100kg, the weight-limit." 
  2. ^ Clevett, Jason (2004-11-04). "The legend of Jushin “Thunder” Liger". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2004/11/03/699394.html. Retrieved 2010-03-08. 
  3. ^ Milner, John (2005-03-22). "Chris Benoit". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Bios/benoit.html. Retrieved 2010-03-08. 
  4. ^ Molinaro, John F. (1999-10-28). "Chris Benoit". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingEditorial/oct28_molinaro.html. Retrieved 2010-03-08. 
  5. ^ "January 4 New Japan Tokyo Dome report - legends, promotional wars". Wrestling Observer. 2010-01-04. http://www.f4wonline.com/content/view/11848/. Retrieved 2010-03-05. 

External links

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