World Junior Heavyweight Championship (AJPW)
| World Junior Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Soma Takao with the title belt in September 2016 | |||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||
| Promotion | All Japan Pro Wrestling | ||||||||||
| Date established | July 31, 1986 | ||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Shuji Kondo | ||||||||||
| Date won | September 22, 2018 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
The World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling, contested exclusively among junior heavyweight (<100 kg (220 lb)) wrestlers. It was created on July 31, 1986, when Hiro Saito defeated Brad Armstrong in a tournament final.[1]
The original World Junior Heavyweight Championship belt had a similar design to the title it replaced, the NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship, which had been around since 1982 and only replacing the word "International" with "World". This belt was replaced with a new belt on August 27, 2017.
There have been a total of 32 recognized champions who have had a combined 49 official reigns.
Title history
| 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 | ||||
| 1 | Hiro Saito | July 31, 1986 | Live event | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 115 | 3 | Defeated Brad Armstrong in a tournament final. | [1][2] |
| 2 | Kuniaki Kobayashi | November 23, 1986 | Live event | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 41 | 1 | [3] | |
| 3 | Masanobu Fuchi | January 3, 1987 | Live event | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 748 | 7 | [3] | |
| 4 | Joe Malenko | January 20, 1989 | Live event | Fukuoka, Japan | 1 | 5 | 0 | [3] | |
| 5 | Mighty Inoue | January 25, 1989 | Live event | Osaka, Japan | 1 | 42 | 2 | [3] | |
| 6 | Masanobu Fuchi | March 8, 1989 | Live event | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 39 | 1 | [3] | |
| 7 | Shinichi Nakano | April 16, 1989 | Live event | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 4 | 0 | [3] | |
| 8 | Mitsuo Momota | April 20, 1989 | Live event | Osaka, Japan | 1 | 72 | 2 | [3] | |
| 9 | Joe Malenko | July 1, 1989 | Live event | Omiya, Japan | 2 | 111 | 2 | [3][4] | |
| 10 | Masanobu Fuchi | October 20, 1989 | Live event | Nagoya, Japan | 3 | 1,309 | 14 | [3] | |
| 11 | Dan Kroffat | May 21, 1993 | Live event | Sapporo, Japan | 1 | 94 | 1 | [3] | |
| 12 | Masanobu Fuchi | August 23, 1993 | Live event | Shizuoka, Japan | 4 | 323 | 2 | [3] | |
| 13 | Dan Kroffat | July 12, 1994 | Live event | Kagoshima, Japan | 2 | 425 | 5 | [3][5] | |
| 14 | Yoshinari Ogawa | September 10, 1995 | Live event | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 294 | 4 | [3] | |
| 15 | Masanobu Fuchi | June 30, 1996 | Live event | Tokyo, Japan | 5 | 24 | 0 | [3] | |
| 16 | Tsuyoshi Kikuchi | July 24, 1996 | Live event | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 175 | 2 | [3] | |
| 17 | Yoshinari Ogawa | January 15, 1997 | Live event | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 219 | 1 | [3] | |
| 18 | Maunakea Mossman | August 22, 1997 | Live event | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 294 | 3 | [3] | |
| — | Vacated | June 12, 1998 | — | — | — | — | — | Vacated due to Mossman graduating to the heavyweight division. | [1] |
| 19 | Yoshinari Ogawa | July 19, 1998 | Summer Action Series tour | Niigata, Japan | 3 | 698 | 5 | Defeated Satoru Asako in a tournament final. | [1] |
| — | Vacated | June 16, 2000 | — | — | — | — | — | Vacated due to Ogawa and several others leaving AJPW to form Pro Wrestling Noah. | [3][6] |
| 20 | Kendo Kashin | April 13, 2002 | Grand Champion Carnival | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 670 | 8 | Defeated Masanobu Fuchi. | [7][8] |
| — | Vacated | February 12, 2004 | — | — | — | — | — | Vacated on February 12, 2004 due to inactivity. | [1][3] |
| 21 | Kaz Hayashi | February 22, 2004 | Excite Series tour | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 323 | 6 | Defeated Blue-K. | [9][10] |
| 22 | Taka Michinoku | January 10, 2005 | Kaientai Dojo's CLUB-K SUPER kick | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 285 | 12 | This match was also for Hayashi's Strongest-K Championship. | [11] |
| 23 | Shuji Kondo | October 22, 2005 | Shining Series tour | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 483 | 5 | [12] | |
| 24 | Katsuhiko Nakajima | February 17, 2007 | Puroresu Love in Ryogoku vol. 2 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 378 | 3 | The title was held up on October 18, 2007 after a title defense against Silver King ended in a no contest, though Nakajima remained the official champion. | [1][13] |
| 25 | Silver King | March 1, 2008 | Puroresu Love in Ryogoku vol. 4 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 59 | 0 | [14] | |
| 26 | Ryuji Hijikata | April 29, 2008 | Growin' Up tour | Nagoya, Japan | 1 | 152 | 3 | [15] | |
| 27 | Naomichi Marufuji | September 28, 2008 | Flashing tour | Yokohama, Japan | 1 | 131 | 4 | ||
| 28 | Kaz Hayashi | February 6, 2009 | Excite Series tour | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 695 | 17 | ||
| 29 | Minoru | January 2, 2011 | New Year Shining Series tour | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 152 | 1 | [16] | |
| — | Vacated | June 3, 2011 | — | — | — | — | — | Vacated after All Japan Pro Wrestling suspended Minoru. | |
| 30 | Kai | June 19, 2011 | 2011 Puroresu Love in Ryōgoku | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 126 | 2 | Defeated Shuji Kondo for the vacant title. | [17] |
| 31 | Kenny Omega | October 23, 2011 | Puroresu Love in Ryōgoku Vol. 13 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 217 | 5 | ||
| 32 | Kai | May 27, 2012 | Rise Up Tour 2012 | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 77 | 0 | ||
| 33 | Hiroshi Yamato | August 12, 2012 | Summer Impact 2012 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 143 | 5 | ||
| 34 | Shuji Kondo | January 2, 2013 | 2013 New Year Shining Series: New Year 2Days | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 52 | 0 | This match was also contested for Kondo's GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. | |
| 35 | Yoshinobu Kanemaru | February 23, 2013 | 2013 Excite Series | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 295 | 7 | ||
| 36 | Último Dragón | December 15, 2013 | 2013 Fan Appreciation Day | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 165 | 2 | ||
| 37 | Atsushi Aoki | May 29, 2014 | 2014 Super Power Series | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 302 | 5 | ||
| 38 | Kotaro Suzuki | March 27, 2015 | 2015 Dream Power Series | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 234 | 6 | ||
| — | Vacated | November 16, 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | Vacated due to Suzuki leaving AJPW. | |
| 39 | Atsushi Aoki | February 21, 2016 | 2016 Excite Series | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 119 | 3 | Defeated Hikaru Sato in the finals of the 2016 Jr. Battle of Glory. | |
| 40 | Hikaru Sato | June 19, 2016 | 2016 Dynamite Series | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 70 | 1 | ||
| 41 | Soma Takao | August 28, 2016 | DDT Pro-Wrestling's Ryōgoku Peter Pan 2016 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 91 | 1 | ||
| 42 | Keisuke Ishii | November 27, 2016 | Zen Nihon Puroresu in Ryōgoku Kokugikan | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 152 | 3 | ||
| 43 | Hikaru Sato | April 28, 2017 | 2017 Champion Carnival: 45th Anniversary Series | Okayama, Japan | 2 | 93 | 4 | ||
| 44 | Tajiri | July 30, 2017 | 2017 Summer Action Series | Osaka, Japan | 1 | 28 | 0 | ||
| 45 | Último Dragón | August 27, 2017 | 2017 Summer Explosion | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 55 | 1 | ||
| 46 | Tajiri | October 21, 2017 | Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori Debut 25th Anniversary Show | Yokohama, Japan | 2 | 105 | 3 | ||
| 47 | Atsushi Aoki | February 3, 2018 | 2018 Yokohama Twilight Blues Special | Yokohama, Japan | 3 | 204 | 4 | ||
| 48 | Koji Iwamoto | August 26, 2018 | 2018 Summer Explosion ~ Jr. Tag Battle of Glory | Chiba, Japan | 1 | 27 | 0 | ||
| 49 | Shuji Kondo | September 22, 2018 | 2018 Royal Road Tournament 2018 | Fukuoka, Japan | 3 | 2069+ | 1 | ||
Combined reigns
As of May 22, 2024.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
|---|
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Masanobu Fuchi | 5 | 24 | 2,443 |
| 2 | Yoshinari Ogawa | 3 | 10 | 1,211 |
| 3 | Kaz Hayashi | 2 | 23 | 1,018 |
| 4 | Kendo Kashin | 1 | 8 | 670 |
| 5 | Atsushi Aoki | 3 | 12 | 625 |
| 6 | Shuji Kondo † | 3 | 6 | 2604+ |
| 7 | Dan Kroffat | 2 | 6 | 519 |
| 8 | Katsuhiko Nakajima | 1 | 3 | 378 |
| 9 | Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 1 | 7 | 295 |
| 10 | Maunakea Mossman | 1 | 3 | 294 |
| 11 | Taka Michinoku | 1 | 12 | 285 |
| 12 | Kotaro Suzuki | 1 | 6 | 234 |
| 13 | Último Dragón | 2 | 3 | 220 |
| 14 | Kenny Omega | 1 | 5 | 217 |
| 15 | Kai | 2 | 2 | 203 |
| 16 | Tsuyoshi Kikuchi | 1 | 2 | 175 |
| 17 | Hikaru Sato | 2 | 5 | 163 |
| 18 | Keisuke Ishii | 1 | 3 | 152 |
| Ryuji Hijikata | 1 | 3 | 152 | |
| Minoru | 1 | 1 | 152 | |
| 21 | Hiroshi Yamato | 1 | 5 | 143 |
| 22 | Tajiri | 2 | 3 | 133 |
| 23 | Naomichi Marufuji | 1 | 4 | 131 |
| 24 | Joe Malenko | 2 | 2 | 116 |
| 25 | Hiro Saito | 1 | 3 | 115 |
| 26 | Soma Takao | 1 | 1 | 91 |
| 27 | Mitsuo Momota | 1 | 2 | 72 |
| 28 | Silver King | 1 | 0 | 59 |
| 29 | Mighty Inoue | 1 | 2 | 42 |
| 30 | Kuniaki Kobayashi | 1 | 1 | 41 |
| 31 | Koji Iwamoto | 0 | 0 | 27 |
| 32 | Shinichi Nakano | 1 | 0 | 4 |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f "AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship". Wrestling-Titles.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Hoops, Brian (July 31, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (July 31): Stan Hansen wins NWA International title, Giant Baba, Hulk Hogan in AWA". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship official title history" (in Japanese). All-Japan.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (July 1, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (July 1): Ric Flair stripped of WCW title, Von Erich win WCCW Tag titles". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (July 12, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (July 12): Gagne, Bruiser & Crusher, Ladd wins Americas title, 1992 Bash with Sting vs. Vader". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ^ "AJPW Triple Crown Championship official title history" (in Japanese). All-Japan.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
- ^ "AJPW Champion's Carnival tour results". Shining Road. Archived from the original on 2007-05-30. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
- ^ "We are the Champions (as of July 8)". Power Slam Magazine. Lancaster, Lancashire, England: SW Publishing LTD. August 2003. p. 15. 109.
- ^ "AJPW Excite Series tour results". Shining Road. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (February 22, 2017). "Daily pro wrestling history (02/22): Sting defeats Hogan to win vacant WCW title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ^ "Kaientai Dojo results, 2005" (in German). PuroLove.com. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
- ^ "AJPW Shining Series tour results". Shining Road. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
- ^ "AJPW Excite Series 2007 tour results". Shining Road. Archived from the original on 2008-04-28. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
- ^ "AJPW Excite Series 2008 tour results". Shining Road. Archived from the original on 26 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "AJPW Growin' Up tour results". Shining Road. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Meltzer, Dave (2011-01-02). "Complete Sunday update: Legendary feud, ratings, long time champ drops title today, Reaction to UFC". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
- ^ http://www.puroresuspirit.com/2011/06/19/results-for-june-19th-2011/