The IWGP Heavyweight Championship is formerly the top singles title in New Japan Pro Wrestling. It was first awarded in June 1987 when Antonio Inoki won a tournament final to crown the inaugural champion. The title was unified with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in early 2021 and became the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. In 2020 it was defended simultaneously with the Intercontinental Championship as the same wrestler held both titles and it remained that way until the titles were unified.
The title was reactivated in January 2026 at the request of then-IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji, with the Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships being separated and the Intercontinental title retired. The Heavyweight Championship history will now include the World title going forward.
As of 1/6/2026 there have been 87 IWGP Heavyweight Champions. This includes the 14 IWGP World Heavyweight Champions who will be recognized as the 74th-87th Champions. They are listed below in order of reign, which reign it was (some won it multiple times), length and number of successful defenses.
1-Antonio Inoki. 1st reign. Length: 6/12/1987-5/2/1988. Successful defenses: 4. Vacated title on 5/2/1988 due to injury.
2-Tatsumi Fujinami. 1st reign. Length: 5/8/1988-5/27/1988. Successful defenses: 1. Title held up on 5/27/1988 after title defense on that date ended in a No Contest.
3-Tatsumi Fujinami. 2nd reign. Length: 6/24/1988-4/5/1989. Successful defenses: 7. Vacated title on 4/5/1989 so it could be decided in a tournament.
4-Big Van Vader. 1st reign. Length: 4/24/1989-5/25/1989. Successful defenses: None.
5-Salman Hashimikov. 1st reign. Length: 5/25/1989-7/12/1989. Successful defenses: None.
6-Riki Choshu. 1st reign. Length: 7/22/1989-8/10/1989. Successful defenses: None.
7-Big Van Vader. 2nd reign. Length: 8/10/1989-8/19/1990. Successful defenses: 4.
8-Riki Choshu. 2nd reign. Length: 8/19/1990-12/26/1990. Successful defenses: 1.
9-Tatsumi Fujinami. 3rd reign. Length: 12/26/1990-1/17/1991. Successful defenses: None.
10-Big Van Vader. 3rd reign. Length: 1/17/1991-3/4/1991. Successful defenses: None.
11-Tatsumi Fujinami. 4th reign. Length: 3/4/1991-1/4/1992. Successful defenses: 3.
12-Riki Choshu. 3rd reign. Length: 1/4/1992-8/16/1992. Successful defenses: 4.
13-The Great Muta (Keiji Muto). 1st reign. Length: 8/16/1992-9/20/1993. Successful defenses: 5.
14-Shinya Hashimoto. 1st reign. Length: 9/20/1993-4/4/1994. Successful defenses: 4.
15-Tatsumi Fujinami. 5th reign. Length: 4/4/1994-5/1/1994. Successful defenses: None.
16-Shinya Hashimoto. 2nd reign. Length: 5/1/1994-5/3/1995. Successful defenses: 9.
17-Keiji Muto. 2nd reign. Length: 5/3/1995-1/4/1996. Successful defenses: 5.
18-Nobuhiko Takada. 1st reign. Length: 1/4/1996-4/29/1996. Successful defenses: 1.
19-Shinya Hashimoto. 3rd reign. Length: 4/29/1996-8/31/1997. Successful defenses: 7.
20-Kensuke Sasaki. 1st reign. Length: 8/31/1997-4/4/1998. Successful defenses: 3.
21-Tatsumi Fujinami. 6th reign. Length: 4/4/1998-8/8/1998. Successful defenses: 2.
22-Masa Chono. 1st reign. Length: 8/8/1998-9/21/1998. Successful defenses: None. Vacated title on 9/21/1998 due to injury.
23-Scott Norton. 1st reign. Length: 9/23/1998-1/4/1999. Successful defenses: 4.
24-Keiji Muto. 3rd reign. Length: 1/4/1999-12/10/1999. Successful defenses: 5.
25-Genichiro Tenryu. 1st reign. Length: 12/10/1999-1/4/2000. Successful defenses: None.
26-Power Warrior (Kensuke Sasaki). 2nd reign. Length: 1/4/2000-10/9/2000. Successful defenses: 5. Vacated title on 10/9/2000 after losing a non-title match.
27-Kensuke Sasaki. 3rd reign. Length: 1/4/2001-3/17/2001. Successful defenses: 1.
28-Scott Norton. 2nd reign. Length: 3/17/2001-4/9/2001. Successful defenses: None.
29-Kazuyuki Fujita. 1st reign. Length: 4/9/2001-1/4/2002. Successful defenses: 2. Vacated title on 1/4/2002 due to injury.
30-Tadao Yasuda. 1st reign. Length: 2/16/2002-4/5/2002. Successful defenses: 1.
31-Yuji Nagata. 1st reign. Length: 4/5/2002-5/2/2003. Successful defenses: 10.
32-Yoshihiro Takayama. 1st reign. Length: 5/2/2003-11/3/2003. Successful defenses: 3.
33-Hiroyoshi Tenzan. 1st reign. Length: 11/3/2003-12/9/2003. Successful defenses: None
34-Shinsuke Nakamura. 1st reign. Length: 12/9/2003-2/5/2004. Successful defenses: 1. Vacated title on 2/5/2004 due to injuries.
35-Hiroyoshi Tenzan. 2nd reign. Length: 2/15/2004-3/12/2004. Successful defenses: 1.
36-Kensuke Sasaki. 4th reign. Length: 3/12/2004-3/28/2004. Successful defenses: None.
37-Bob Sapp. 1st reign. Length: 3/28/2004-6/2/2004. Successful defenses: 1. Vacated title on 6/2/2004 after losing a K-1 (kickboxing) fight to Kazuyuki Fujita.
38-Kazuyuki Fujita. 2nd reign. Length: 6/5/2004-10/9/2004. Successful defenses: 1.
39-Kensuke Sasaki. 5th reign. Length: 10/9/2004-12/12/2004. Successful defenses: 2.
40-Hiroyoshi Tenzan. 3rd reign. Length: 12/12/2004-2/20/2005. Successful defenses: None.
41-Satoshi Kojima. 1st reign. Length: 2/20/2005-5/14/2005. Successful defenses: 1.
42-Hiroyoshi Tenzan. 4th reign. Length: 5/14/2005-7/18/2005. Successful defenses: 1.
43-Kazuyuki Fujita. 3rd reign. Length: 7/18/2005-10/8/2005. Successful defenses: 1.
44-Brock Lesnar. 1st reign. Length: 10/8/2005-7/15/2006. Title vacated on 7/15/2006 after refusing to defend and return title. The belt at the time was kept by Lesnar and was then used by Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) as its championship with Lesnar recognized as first champion.
45-Hiroshi Tanahahsi. 1st reign. Length: 7/13/2006-4/13/2007. Successful defenses: 4.
46-Yuji Nagata. 2nd reign. Length: 4/13/2007-10/8/2007. Successful defenses: 2.
47-Hiroshi Tanahashi. 2nd reign. Length: 10/8/2007-1/4/2008. Successful defenses: 1.
48-Shinsuke Nakamura. 2nd reign. Length: 1/4/2008-4/27/2008. Successful defenses: 2.
49-Keiji Muto. 4th reign. Length: 4/27/2008-1/4/2009. Successful defenses: 4.
50-Hiroshi Tanahashi. 3rd reign. Length: 1/4/2009-5/9/2009. Successful defenses: 3.
51-Manabu Nakanishi. 1st reign. Length: 5/5/2009-6/20/2009. Successful defenses: None.
52-Hiroshi Tanahashi. 4th reign. Length: 6/20/2009-8/17/2009. Successful defenses: 1. Vacated title on 8/17/2009 due to injury.
53-Shinsuke Nakamura. 3rd reign. Length: 8/27/2009-5/3/2010. Successful defenses: 6.
54-Togi Makabe. 1st reign. Length: 5/3/2010-10/11/2010. Successful defenses: 3.
55-Satoshi Kojima. 2nd reign. Length: 10/11/2010-1/4/2011. Successful defenses: 1.
56-Hiroshi Tanahashi. 5th reign. Length: 1/4/2011-2/12/2012. Successful defenses: 11.
57-Kazuchika Okada. 1st reign. Length: 2/12/2012-6/16/2012. Successful defenses: 2.
58-Hiroshi Tanahashi. 6th reign. Length: 6/16/2012-4/7/2013. Successful defenses: 7.
59-Kazuchika Okada. 2nd reign. Length: 4/7/2013-5/3/2014. Successful defenses: 8.
60-AJ Styles. 1st reign. Length: 5/3/2014-10/13/2014. Successful defenses: 2.
61-Hiroshi Tanahashi. 7th reign. Length: 10/13/2014-2/11/2015. Successful defenses: 1.
62-AJ Styles. 2nd reign. Length: 2/11/2015-7/5/2015. Successful defenses: 1.
63-Kazuchika Okada. 3rd reign. Length: 7/5/2015-4/10/2016. Successful defenses: 3.
64-Tetsuya Naito. 1st reign. Length: 4/10/2016-6/19/2016. Successful defenses: 1.
65-Kazuchika Okada. 4th reign. Length: 6/19/2016-6/9/2018. Successful defenses: 12.
66-Kenny Omega. 1st reign. Length: 6/9/2018-1/4/2019. Successful defenses: 3. Won title in a 2 of 3 Falls match.
67-Hiroshi Tanahashi. 8th reign. Length: 1/4/2019-2/11/2019. Successful defenses: None.
68-Jay White. 1st reign. Length: 2/11/2019-4/6/2019. Successful defenses: None.
69-Kazuchika Okada. 5th reign. Length: 4/6/2019-1/5/2020. Successful defenses: 5. Won title in USA.
70-Tstsuya Naito. 1nd reign. Length: 1/5/2020-7/12/2020. Successful defenses: 1. Won title in double title match also for IWGP Intercontinental Championship. All title matches were double title matches for both titles beginning here.
71-EVIL. 1st reign. Length: 7/12/2020-8/29/2020. Successful defenses: 1.
72-Tetsuya Naito. 3rd reign. Length: 8/29/2020-1/4/2021. Successful defenses: 1.
73-Kota Ibushi. 1st reign. Length: 1/4/2021-4/4/2021. Successful defenses: 4. Titles unified on 3/4/2021 to create IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
74-Will Ospreay. 1st reign. Length: 4/4/2021/5/20/2021. Successful defenses: 1. Vacated title on 5/2/2021 due to injury.
75-Shingo Takagi. 1st reign. Length: 6/7/2021-1/4/2022. Successful defenses: 3.
76-Kazuchika Okada. 6th reign. Length: 1/4/2022-6/12/2022. Successful defenses: 4.
77-Jay White. 2nd reign. Length: 6/12/2022-1/4/2023. Successful defenses: 2.
78-Kazuchika Okada. 7th reign. Length: 1/4/2023-4/8/2023. Successful defenses: 1.
79-SANADA. 1st reign. Length: 4/8/2023-1/4/2024. Successful defenses: 4.
80-Tetsuya Naito. 4th reign. Length: 1/4/2024-4/12/2024. Successful defenses: 2.
81-Jon Moxley. 1st reign. Length: 4/12/2024-6/30/2024. Successful defenses: 4.
82-Tetsuya Naito. 5th reign. Length: 6/30/2024-10/14/2024. Successful defenses: 1. Won title in All Elite Wrestling.
83-Zack Sabre Jr. 1st reign. Length: 10/14/2024-2/11/2025. Successful defenses: 4.
84-Hirooki Goto. 1st reign. Length: 2/11/2025-6/29/2025. Successful defenses: 7. (Note: 6th defense ended in a double pinfall. Goto retained title as a result)
85-Zack Sabre Jr. 2nd reign. Length: 6/29/2025-10/13/2025. Successful defenses: 2.
86-Konosuke Takeshita. 1st reign. Length: 10/13/2025-1/4/2026. Successful defenses: 1.
Title reactivated on 1/6/2026 with prior IWGP World Heavyweight Champions recognized as 74th-86th IWGP Heavyweight Champions and IWGP World Heavyweight Championship abolished. Official title lineage resumes here.
87-Yota Tsuji. 1st reign. Length: 1/6/2026-Present (Current Champion). Successful defenses: None. Next defense: TBA. Named champion on 1/6/2026 due to holding IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and requesting to relinquish title in favor of reactivating IWGP Heavyweight Championship and retiring IWGP Intercontinental Championship.