Professional wrestling matches decide who holds the title. Otherwise the title goes to one which is included in script. Two tag team championships and one six-man tag team championship are still active. The letters "IWGP" is abbreviated as International Wrestling Grand Prix. It appears next to five of the eight championships. The title is held by 11 wrestlers. The list covers the wrestler's winning details, the date and place of the victory as well.
What is IWGP?
The top singles title in the New Japan Pro Wrestling organisation is the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (IWGP IWGP Sekai Heb-ky-za). The International Wrestling Grand Prix is known by the abbreviation "IWGP."
On March 1, 2021, the championship was established as the main title for NJPW. In response to a request from champion Kota Ibushi, it is accepted. The IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships were combined. The result was the birth of the most prestigious championship belt in NJPW. It is one of the most popular in all of Japanese professional wrestling.
Who is the current IWGP champion?
In his first reign, Jay White is the current champion. On June 12, 2022, at Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall in Osaka, Japan, he defeated Kazuchika Okada.
How many IWGP champs are there?
Five singles championships and two tag team championships are included in IWGP. All team championships are still active.
Background of IWGP Belt
After winning the 1987 IWGP League by defeating Masa Saito in the championship match. Antonio Inoki has crowned the first IWGP Heavyweight Champion in June 1987. Since its debut, the title has been touted as NJPW's lone primary championship. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious in all of Japanese professional wrestling.
Comparison is held between IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Tag Team Championship. The IWGP Intercontinental Championship was launched in 2011. MVP's first reign and the reigns of Masato Tanaka and Hirooki Goto were followed. It was essentially a mid-card title. The IWGP Intercontinental Championship match received more attention than the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match at NJPW's biggest annual event. However, after Shinsuke Nakamura successfully defended the title from Goto, the title began to gain.
Foundation Of IWGP Belt
Tetsuya Naito has wanted to win the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships since March 2019. The "Double Gold Dash"held on January 4 and 5, 2020, at the Wrestle Kingdom 14 in the Tokyo Dome. It was seen that Naito defeat Jay White and Kazuchika Okada. He becomes the first-ever double champion in NJPW's annals.
Kota Ibushi had previously won the 2019 G1 Climax. He had the same ambition. Following that, the IWGP Intercontinental and Heavyweight Championships started being defended simultaneously. His plea defends both championships independently. He was turned down by NJPW. Naito charged that they were attempting to unite both titles. Naito had intended to defend both titles separately or in some other way.
How IWGP Belt is established?
Fans expressed strong opposition to the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship's establishment. Many NJPW wrestlers including Tetsuya Naito, Kazuchika Okada, and Jay White, believed that the titles should never have been combined in the first place.
Will Ospreay won the 2021 New Japan Cup. He does not disagree with the idea of establishing a new lineage for the competition. Instead, Ospreay supposed that the title should be intended to establish. Then it serves as a new benchmark and ushers in a new era. It is established for use after Kota Ibushi to win it.
How much does the IWGP tiwontle weigh?
It has 43 stones total. It has 19 on the main plate and 6 on each of the four side plates. It weighs about 4 kg. All die-cast parts have an 18-karat gold coating on the gold portion. It makes it a high specification.
The IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships' belt designs are similar to those of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. The upper portion of the centre plate was inspired by the first circular IWGP Heavyweight design. The second design's upper profile of the IWGP crown pays homage to the style of the previous IWGP Championship belts. The plate also has two wings.
The wings represent the third design of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. It represent the idea of flight in general. In reference to the fourth design, the Lion Mark stands for the sun above and the Earth below. In the heart of the IWGP crown design, a sword cutting the planet is present. It is present from below to top. It represents the flames erupting from the sun. Each of the side plates for the title corresponds to a different continent in the world. So, it is tied to the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
Title history
Five reigns have been split among five wrestlers as of June 7, 2021, with one vacancy. The winner at the start was Kota Ibushi.Ibushi won it at age 38. He had the shortest reign at 31 days.
When Will Ospreay won, he was the youngest champion. After that, he was forced to give up the championship after getting hurt while defending it. At 211 days, Shingo Takagi holds the longest reign. He won it when he was 38 years old.Currently in his first term is Jay White. On June 12, 2022, at Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall in Osaka, Japan, he defeated Kazuchika Okada.
List of IWGP champions
There are currently two active tag team championships and one active six-man tag team championship. They are among the five active singles championships. The letters "IWGP" are given to six of the eight championships in honour of the International Wrestling Grand Prix. There are 12 wrestlers who are champions (including a double champion).
The list lists the wrestler's winning date, the opponent, and the number of times they have held the title.
Victory of 4 superstars for winning IWGP and WWE
We'll examine a select group of superstars. They have all together held the WWE United States Championship and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship during their pro wrestling careers in this list.
Andrade
La Sombra fought against Nakamura once more. This is held in Mexico City, for the IWGP IC Championship. He won by defeating "The King of Strong Style." La Sombra accomplished both goals by winning the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. He becomes the first Mexican superstar to do so.
Shinsuke Nakamura
The IWGP IC Title has been won by the "King of Strong Style" a total of 5 times. During his 5 reigns as IC Champion, Nakamura has successfully defended the title 17 times. He has held it for a total of 901 days. The IWGP Intercontinental Championship was last held by Nakamura in 2016. He then surrenders it after joining WWE.
MVP
MVP faced yano for two times. It occurs in his first and only period as IWGP IC Champion. MVP faced Yano twice in title defences before being assaulted by Masato Tanaka. He is a member of Yano's CHAOS. Then he challenged MVP for the championship.
The fact is that, Montel Vontavious Porter was the first wrestler. He has to capture WWE US and IWGP.IC Championships do not change the reality. MVP would ultimately his title after 148 days.
Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho returned to professional wrestling in 2017. He also confronted Kenny Omega for the IWGP US Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 12. He stunned the entire pro wrestling community. He is a former two-time WWE United States Champion. Although Jericho was unable to win the New Japan US Title. So, he soon turned his attention to the IWGP IC Title.
Conclusion:
Therefore, the above article's discussion covers all of the IWGP's specifics. Everything begins with its history, foundation, and establishment. Then, it concludes beautifully with the list of all IWGP championships. Please let us know in the comments area if you have any questions.