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The WWWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship contested in the World Wrestling Federation and in New Japan Pro Wrestling. The belt was created on December 18, 1978, and awarded to NJPW mainstay Antonio Inoki by the then owner of the WWWF, Vincent J. McMahon, upon Inoki's arrival in the promotion. The original intention was that the title would be defended in legitimate shoot fights. The title was contested only in NJPW after the promotion severed its ties with the WWF in 1985, and Inoki abandoned the title during his second reign in 1989.
During the thirtieth anniversary of Inoki's career, NJPW created the Greatest 18 Club, a hall of fame. NJPW then created a new title, the Greatest 18 Championship, which was intended to be as prestigious as the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The Greatest 18 Championship was represented by the former Martial Arts Championship, which was by now abandoned (it can therefore be argued that the lineage of the title is not continuous, although the physical belt was the same). The Greatest 18 Championship was never contested in anything other than worked matches. The Greatest 18 Championship was awarded to Riki Chōshū in 1990, and Chōshū lost the title to The Great Muta in 1992. A month after winning the title, Muta abandoned it on September 23, in order to focus on his IWGP Heavyweight Championship title defenses. The belt was subsequently retired by NJPW.
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