IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

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This article is about NJPW's current top heavyweight title. For NJPW's former top heavyweight title, see IWGP Heavyweight Championship. For the championship previously referred to by TNA as the "IWGP World Heavyweight Championship", see IWGP Heavyweight Championship (IGF). For the inactive DDT parody championship, see IMGP World Heavyweight Championship. For other uses, see IWGP Heavyweight Championship (disambiguation).
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
File:IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.jpg
The championship belt
Details
PromotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling
Date establishedMarch 1, 2021
Current championKonosuke Takeshita
Date wonOctober 13, 2025
Statistics
First championKota Ibushi
Most reignsKazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, and Zack Sabre Jr.
(2 reigns)
Longest reignSanada
(271 days)
Shortest reignKota Ibushi
(31 days)
Oldest championHirooki Goto
(45 years, 7 months and 17 days)
Youngest championWill Ospreay
(27 years, 10 months and 28 days)
Heaviest championKonosuke Takeshita
(251 lb (114 kg))
Lightest championKota Ibushi
(205 lb (93 kg))

The IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (IWGP世界ヘビー級王座, IWGP Sekai hebī-kyū ōza) is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix (インターナショナル・レスリング・グラン・プリ, intānashonaru resuringu guran puri).[1] The championship was created on March 1, 2021, by the unification of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. The current champion is Konosuke Takeshita, who is in his first reign.

History

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File:Kota Ibushi Aug 2015.JPG
Kota Ibushi became the inaugural champion when he unified the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles.

In 2019, when he was IWGP Intercontinental Champion, Tetsuya Naito declared his intention of making history by becoming the first to hold the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the Intercontinental Championship at the same time.[2] By the end of the year, Jay White, who had won the Intercontinental Championship from Naito, and Kota Ibushi, who was the next challenger for the Heavyweight Championship, also expressed the same desire. After a fan vote, it was decided that Naito, White, Ibushi, and Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada would compete at Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 4–5, 2020, where one would end up with both titles.[3] Naito achieved the feat to become the first "Double Champion" and the two titles were defended together since (apart from one time). During 2020, Naito said his original intention was for the titles to be defended separately. He requested for this, or otherwise for the titles to be unified, but no change happened.[4]

After Ibushi won the titles from Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 15 on January 4, 2021, he expressed his desire for the titles to be unified.[5] On March 1, 2021, with Ibushi still champion, the unification of the titles to create the new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship was officially announced, with Ibushi as the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion. After the announcement, Ibushi, who was scheduled to face El Desperado at the NJPW 49th Anniversary Show on March 4, 2021 in a non-title match, requested for the match to be for the Double Championship.[6] His request was granted with the title unification delayed until after the match, of which the winner would be final Double Champion and, therefore, the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion.[7] Ibushi won the match.[8]

With the announcement of the new championship was the announcement of a new championship belt.[5] Until the new belt was ready, Ibushi continued to hold the old IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championship belts. The new belt was eventually revealed and presented to the champion Ibushi in a presentation ceremony on March 30, 2021.[9] Its design incorporated the past belt designs of the two old titles.[10]

Reigns

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File:Konosuke Takeshita Forbidden Door 2024 06 30 008 (headshot).jpg
Current champion Konosuke Takeshita

As of August 12, 2026, there have been 14 reigns shared among 11 wrestlers with one vacancy. Kota Ibushi was the inaugural champion. Sanada's singular reign is the longest at 271 days, while Ibushi's reign is the shortest at 31 days. Hirooki Goto had the most successful defenses of the title at seven and was the oldest champion when he won it at 45 years old, while Will Ospreay was the youngest, winning it at 27 years old. Tetsuya Naito, Kazuchika Okada, and Zack Sabre Jr. are tied with the most reigns at two.

Konosuke Takeshita is the current champion in his first reign. He defeated previous champion Zack Sabre Jr. for the title at King of Pro-Wrestling in Tokyo, Japan on October 13, 2025.

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Defenses Number of successful defenses
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Defenses
New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW)
1 Kota Ibushi March 4, 2021 49th Anniversary Show Tokyo, Japan 1 31 0 After Ibushi, who was the reigning IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Champion, successfully defended both titles against El Desperado at the event, they were unified into the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, with Ibushi as the inaugural champion. [8]
2 Will Ospreay April 4, 2021 Sakura Genesis Tokyo, Japan 1 46 1 [11]
— Vacated May 20, 2021 — — — — — The championship was vacated due to Will Ospreay sustaining a neck injury. [12]
3 Shingo Takagi June 7, 2021 Dominion 6.6 in Osaka-jo Hall Osaka, Japan 1 211 3 Defeated Kazuchika Okada to win the vacant championship. [13]
4 Kazuchika Okada January 4, 2022 Wrestle Kingdom 16
Night 1 		Tokyo, Japan 1 159 4 [14]
5 Jay White June 12, 2022 Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall Osaka, Japan 1 206 2 [15]
6 Kazuchika Okada January 4, 2023 Wrestle Kingdom 17 Tokyo, Japan 2 94 2 [16]
7 Sanada April 8, 2023 Sakura Genesis Tokyo, Japan 1 271 4 [17]
8 Tetsuya Naito January 4, 2024 Wrestle Kingdom 18 Tokyo, Japan 1 99 2 [18]
9 Jon Moxley April 12, 2024 Windy City Riot Chicago, Illinois, U.S. 1 79 4 [19]
10 Tetsuya Naito June 30, 2024 AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door Elmont, New York, U.S. 2 106 1 [20]
11 Zack Sabre Jr. October 14, 2024 King of Pro-Wrestling Tokyo, Japan 1 120 4 [21]
12 Hirooki Goto February 11, 2025 The New Beginning in Osaka Osaka, Japan 1 138 7 [22]
13 Zack Sabre Jr. June 29, 2025 Tanahashi Jam Nagoya, Japan 2 106 2 [23]
14 Konosuke Takeshita October 13, 2025 King of Pro-Wrestling Tokyo, Japan 1 303+ 1 [24]

Combined reigns

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File:SANADA (52828750906).jpg
Sanada held the title for 271 days, the longest combined reign

As of August 12, 2026.

† Indicates the current champion
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns 		Combined
defenses 		Combined
days
1 Sanada 1 4 271
2 Kazuchika Okada 2 6 253
3 Zack Sabre Jr. 2 6 226
4 Shingo Takagi 1 3 211
5 Jay White 1 2 206
6 Tetsuya Naito 2 3 205
7 Hirooki Goto 1 7 138
8 Jon Moxley 1 4 79
9 Konosuke Takeshita † 1 1 303+
10 Will Ospreay 1 1 46
11 Kota Ibushi 1 0 31

References

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