Strong Openweight Championship

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Strong Openweight Championship
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The Strong Openweight Championship belt
Details
PromotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling
BrandStrong
Date establishedApril 2, 2021
Current championTomohiro Ishii
Date wonApril 11, 2025
Other names
  • Strong Openweight Championship
    (2021–present)
  • NJPW Strong Openweight Championship
Statistics
First championTom Lawlor
Most reignsKenta (2 reigns)
Longest reignTom Lawlor
(387 days)
Shortest reignHikuleo
(18 days)
Oldest championTomohiro Ishii
(49 years, 4 months and 1 day)
Youngest championGabe Kidd
(27 years and 17 days)
Heaviest championHikuleo
(264 lb (120 kg))
Lightest championKenta
(187 lb (85 kg))

The Strong Openweight Championship (STRONG無差別級王座, STRONG musabetsu-kyū ōza) is a professional wrestling world championship owned and promoted by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. The title was officially announced on April 2, 2021, and the inaugural champion was Tom Lawlor. The reigning champion is Tomohiro Ishii, who is in his first reign. He won the title on April 11, 2025 by defeating Gabe Kidd at Windy City Riot in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

The title was primarily featured on NJPW's American television program NJPW Strong, which includes American wrestlers, as well as on programming by NJPW partner promotions All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH).[1] The title is exclusively featured on NJPW's Strong brand and is usually defended at NJPW Strong branded shows in America. The current champion is Tomohiro Ishii, who is in his first reign.

History

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The title was officially announced on April 2, 2021.[2] Initially, the title was exclusively featured on NJPW's American television program NJPW Strong, which includes a distinct roster of American wrestlers.

On November 11, 2023, NJPW's American partner promotion AEW announced a tournament called the Continental Classic, with the winner becoming the first AEW Continental Champion.[3][4][5] Eddie Kingston, who held the ROH World Championship and the Strong Openweight Championship, announced that he would be putting his championships on the line in the tournament and that the tournament's winner would be an American Triple Crown Champion (collectively referred to as the Continental Crown).[5][6] At AEW's Worlds End event, Kingston defeated Jon Moxley in the Continental Classic final, retaining the Strong Openweight and ROH World championships and becoming the first Continental Crown Champion. Kingston would lose the AEW Continental Championship to Kazuchika Okada on the March 20, 2024, episode of AEW Dynamite, thus losing his recognition as Triple Crown Champion.[7]

Inaugural tournament

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template excerpt New Japan Cup USA § 2021.[edit]
Qualifying
March 5, 12, 19, 26 		Round 1
April 9 		Semi-finals
April 16 		Final
April 23
        
Clark Connors Pin[8]
TJP 9:27
Clark Connors 9:57
Lio Rush Pin[12]
Rocky Romero 13:57
Lio Rush Pin[9]
Lio Rush 7:38
Brody King Pin
Brody King Pin[10]
Bateman 13:25
Brody King Pin[12]
Chris Dickinson 10:42
Blake Christian 8:53
Chris Dickinson Pin[8]
Brody King 20:05
Tom Lawlor Sub
Ren Narita Pin[10]
Misterioso 11:12
Ren Narita 13:19
Tom Lawlor Sub[12]
The DKC 9:13
Tom Lawlor Pin[9]
Tom Lawlor Pin
Hikuleo 8:58
Jordan Clearwater 7:57
Hikuleo Pin[11]
Hikuleo Pin[12]
Fred Rosser 6:22
Fred Rosser Pin[11]
J. R. Kratos 14:16

Reigns

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File:Tomohiro Ishii 2016.JPG
Current champion Tomohiro Ishii

As of October 13, 2025, there have been eight reigns between seven champions. Tom Lawlor was the inaugural champion. Tomohiro Ishii is the oldest, when he won it at 49 years old, while Gabe Kidd is the youngest champion at 27 years old. Lawlor's reign is the longest at 387 days while Hikuleo's reign is the shortest at 18 days.

Tomohiro Ishii is the reigning champion in his first reign. He defeated previous champion Gabe Kidd for the title in a 30-minute iron man match, which Ishii won 2–1 in sudden death overtime at Windy City Riot on April 11, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Days recog. Number of days held recognized by the promotion
Defenses Number of successful defenses
N/A Unknown information
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Days recog. Defenses
New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW)
1 Tom Lawlor April 23, 2021
(air date) 		New Japan Cup USA 2021 Port Hueneme, CA 1 N/A 387 9 Defeated Brody King in the finals of an 16-man single-elimination tournament to become the inaugural champion. The exact date this event was taped is unknown. It aired on April 23, 2021 on tape delay. [13][2]
2 Fred Rosser May 15, 2022 Strong: Collision in Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA 1 279 238 7 Aired on tape delay on June 25, 2022. [14]
3 Kenta February 18, 2023 Battle in the Valley San Jose, CA 1 74 74 2 [15]
4 Hikuleo May 3, 2023 Wrestling Dontaku Fukuoka, Japan 1 18 18 0 [16]
5 Kenta May 21, 2023 Resurgence Long Beach, CA 2 45 45 0 [17]
6 Eddie Kingston July 5, 2023 Independence Day
Night 2 		Tokyo, Japan 1 311 311 12 During this reign, the championship became part of the American Triple Crown Championship (also referred to as the Continental Crown), with Kingston defending the championship alongside the AEW Continental Championship and ROH World Championship after winning the Continental Classic tournament at Worlds End. Kingston would lose the AEW Continental Championship to Kazuchika Okada on the March 20, 2024 episode of AEW Dynamite, thus dissolving the Triple Crown. [18]
7 Gabe Kidd May 11, 2024 Resurgence Ontario, CA 1 335 335 6 This was a No Ropes Last Man Standing match. [19]
8 Tomohiro Ishii April 11, 2025 Windy City Riot Chicago, IL 1 447+ 447+ 1 This was a 30-minute iron man match, which Ishii won 2–1 in sudden death overtime. [20]

Combined Reigns

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As of July 2, 2026.

† Indicates the current champion
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns 		Combined
defenses 		Combined
days 		Combined days
rec. by NJPW
1 Tom Lawlor 1 9 N/A 387
2 Gabe Kidd 1 6 335
3 Eddie Kingston 1 12 311
4 Fred Rosser 1 7 279 238
5 Tomohiro Ishii † 1 1 447+
6 Kenta 2 2 119
7 Hikuleo 1 0 18

See also

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References

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