Wrestlers Who You Likely Didn't Know or Forgot Held A Title In A Promotion (New Japan Pro Wrestling)
July 21, 2021
By Ryan Porzl
Since it's formation in 1972, New Japan Pro Wrestling has had it's share of all time great champions and some lackluster along the way. While many are well known from Antonio Inoki to Tatsumi Fujinami to Riki Choshu to The Three Musketeers to Jushin Thunder Liger to Hiroshi Tanahashi to Shinsuke Nakamura to Kazuchika Okada. The company has also had many great foreigners hold titles including Hulk Hogan, Vader, The Steiner Brothers, AJ Styles, and Kenny Omega to name some. However, with such a long history, there's bound to be champions you may have forgotten about or didn't even know they held a title. Even wrestlers you're familiar with. This will be the first article in a series where I look at companies who had champions you heard of but didn't know they held a title there or forgot they did. First one is New Japan Pro Wrestling especially since a lot of foreigners are interesting in the promotion these days.
Note: I don't own any of the pictures as I got them off google and puroresusystem.fandom.com
Title Held: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
The King of Harts is one of the all time greats in professional wrestling and is largely known for his run in his family's Stampede Wrestling promotion during the 1980s and his runs in the WWF on and off during the late 1980s and most of the 1990s. Though largely known for his appearances in those two promotions, Owen would also enjoy good success in the land of the rising sun for New Japan touring with them between 1987-1991 while competing in their junior heavyweight division. During his time with New Japan, Owen would taste New Japan gold when he defeated fellow legend Hiroshi Hase for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on May 27, 1988 during the IWGP Champion Series 1988 tour. With the win, Owen became the first foreign IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in history. He would make one successful title defense, defeating Keiichi Yamada (the future Jushin Thunder Liger) on June 10th before losing the title on June 24th to the inaugural IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Shiro Koshinaka during the same tour. Owen would get one more shot at the title in 1989 against then champion Naoki Sano but wasn't able to regain it.
Title Held: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
I'm putting these two together because they were a championship team. I suppose it's fitting that Christopher Daniels and Bryan Danielson were a tag team once. Both men are two of the best wrestlers of their generation and among the all-time greats. Both took the long road to the top as they clawed their way for years and had to travel the world at times. Both eventually got their first breaks in ROH where they both (along with Low Ki) main evented the first show and had runs as world champion while eventually enhancing their careers in bigger promotions with Daniels enjoying a Hall of Fame run in TNA and a solid run in AEW while Danielson enjoyed a Hall of Fame worthy career in his own right in the WWE as Daniel Bryan. However, before their ROH World Title reigns, Danielson's run in WWE, and early in Daniels TNA run, Danielson was known as "American Dragon" while Daniels competed in Japan as the goofy "Curry Man". In 2004, while competing in New Japan, the pair would achieve success as they became the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions as they won the titles on March 12, 2004 defeating Jado & Gedo during the Hyper Battle 2004 tour. They would make one successful title defense as they successfully defended the titles 19 days later on March 31st during the same tour where they defeated Ryusuke Taguchi and Hirooki Goto before eventually dropping the titles back to Jado and Gedo on June 5th during the Best of the Super Jrs. XI tour.
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| Kikuchi (left) with Yoshinobu Kanemaru |
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
Title Held: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi is probably one of the more talented and maybe, underappreciated wrestlers in Japanese Wrestling history. Kikuchi is best known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling from his debut in 1988 to the NOAH exodus in 2000 where he was a staple in All Japan's weak junior division and probably never got the push he deserved. Nevertheless, he did enjoy championship gold winning the World Junior Heavyweight Championship in 1996 while also having a year long reign as All Asia Tag Team Champion with Kenta Kobashi. After following Mitsuharu Misawa to NOAH, Kikuchi would challenge for GHC gold but never won any. However, his run in NOAH did present another opportunity when NOAH's open door policy saw him venture into New Japan Pro Wrestling. Teaming with NOAH's young junior ace Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Kikuchi defeated the junior dream team of Jushin Thunder Liger and Minoru Tanaka at New Japan's Cross Road event on August 29, 2002 to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Kikuchi and Kanemaru would go on to hold the titles for five months but would spend the remainder of their reign in home promotion Pro Wrestling NOAH making four successful title defenses. They would first retain over El Samurai and Masayuki Naruse on September 23rd at NOAH's Great Voyage 2002. Their second title defense would be against KENTA and Takashi Sugiura on October 12th during NOAH's Navigation Against The Current 2002 tour. Their third title defense would be against Donovan Morgan and Michael Modest on November 24th during NOAH's Navigation, Uprising Spirit 2002 tour. Their fourth and final successful reign would be against Jado and Gedo on December 7th during the same tour. After five months as champions, they would finally lose the titles to another junior dream team in Liger and Koji Kanemoto on January 26, 2003 during NOAH's The First Navigation 2003 tour.
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| Hercules (right) with Scott Norton |
Title Held: IWGP Tag Team Championship
Hernandez is pretty well known to 80s wrestling fans. Like many of his generation, Hernandez originally traveled the NWA territories and non NWA territories where he competed in many companies like Mid South Wrestling, Central States Wrestling, and Championship Wrestling from Florida winning titles in each promotion. He also had a brief run in Jim Crockett Promotions as a masked Assassin where he made history wrestling the first match in the first Starrcade back in 1983. To many, he's best known for his seven year run in the WWF from 1985-1992 where he was a solid midcard attraction having feuds with Billy Jack Haynes, The Ultimate Warrior, and Ted Dibiase as well as taking part in the underrated Power & Glory tag team with Paul Roma. After leaving the WWF and having a cup of coffee with WCW as the masked Super Invader, Hernandez made his way to New Japan in 1993 where he quickly formed a team with fellow foreigner Scott Norton called "The Jurassic Powers". Within months, the team would see success as on August 5, 1993 during the G1 Climax 1993 tour, they would go on to defeat the Hell Raisers to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship. They would hold the titles for five months and defend them three times including a rematch against the Hell Raisers on August 8 then against Hiroshi Hase and Keiji "The Great Muta" Mutoh on September 25th during the G1 Climax Special tour and then against The Nasty Boys on December 10th during the Battle Final 1993 tour. In the end, Hernandez and Norton would eventually drop the titles back to the Hell Raisers at Battlefield on January 4, 1994.
Title Held: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Marufuji has consistently been one of wrestling's best talents over the past 20 years. Originally a trainee of the All Japan dojo, Marufuji mostly spent his rookie years there before following mentor Mitsuharu Misawa to Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2000. There, Marufuji has made his legend, having some of the company's greatest matches, won almost every honor available, and became the first wrestler to win five different championships. His success isn't just in the ring but also behind it as he's served as NOAH's vice president as well as vice president of NOAH parent company Cyberfight since 2009. With the death of Misawa in 2009 and the retirement of Kenta Kobashi in 2013, it's impossible to deny that Marufuji has been the heart and soul of NOAH, having continually been there through the highs and the lows. However, despite being NOAH through and through, that doesn't mean Marufuji hasn't ventured to other companies. Through out his career, Marufuji has popped up in a number of well known promotions included a return to All Japan as well for the American based ROH and Impact Wrestling. One of the companies Marufuji has traveled to is New Japan Pro Wrestling where he would actually not only taste gold but make history. At Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2010, Marufuji would defeat Tiger Mask IV to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. With that title win, Marufuji became the first wrestler to win the three major Japanese junior heavyweight titles having already held All Japan's World Junior Heavyweight Championship and NOAH's GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. Marufuji would hold the title for five months and make five successful title defenses. His defenses included over Prince Devitt (Finn Balor) on January 30th during the Circuit 2010 New Japan ISM tour, then against Koji Kanemoto on March 5th during the 38th Anniversary Series tour, then against Jushin Thunder Liger at New Dimension on April 4th, then Ryusuke Taguchi on May 3rd at Wrestling Dontaku 2010, and finally, against Tiger Mask IV on May 8th during the Super J Tag Tournament tour before finally losing the title to Devitt at Dominion 6.19 on June 19th.
Chris Benoit (Pegasus Kid)
Title Held: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Through the good and the bad, Chris Benoit will always be remembered in the wrestling business. Prior to his ugly end in 2007 and the events leading up to it, Benoit was a well traveled journeyman who achieved success just about everywhere he went and was loved and respected by all. The promotions he competed for and the accomplishments he earned could take all day to bring up. Early on in his Hall of Fame career, Benoit had a big run in New Japan Pro Wrestling competing there from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s first as Pegasus Kid and then as Wild Pegasus where he was a staple in the promotions junior heavyweight division where he tasted gold. After coming up short against Jushin Thunder Liger in his first title shot, Benoit would get a rematch on August 19, 1990 and defeated the fellow legend to win the championship. Despite holding the title for 2 1/2 months, Benoit made no successful title defenses before he lost the title back to Liger on November 1st during the Dream Tour 1990.
Title Held: IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Over the years, Andrade El Idolo has been a well traveled vet enjoying success in his native Mexico for the CMLL promotion before going around the world. To most non-Mexican wrestling fans, he's best known for his time as Andrade in the WWE and NXT enjoying reigns as WWE United States Champion and NXT Champion. However, between his CMLL and WWE runs, Andrade made appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling due to their relationship with CMLL. Competing as the masked La Sombra, Andrade would become IWGP Intercontinental Champion in 2013 during Shinsuke Nakamura's stranglehold on the title. He would defeat Nakamura in a best 2-out-3 falls match on May 31st to win the title in his native Mexico. He would make one title defense as he retained against Volador Jr. on June 28th again in CMLL before losing the championship back to Nakamura on July 20th during the Kizuna Road 2013 Tour.
Stan Hansen
Title Held: NWF Heavyweight Championship
It's almost impossible to think of Japanese wrestling and not think of Stan Hansen. Though he enjoyed success in his native United States including a feud with Bruno Sammartino in the then WWWF and winning titles like the AWA World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA United States Championship, he's one of those American wrestlers more known internationally, specifically Japan, then in his home country. In Japan, Hansen is probably mostly known for his near 20 year run in All Japan Pro Wrestling but prior to that, he had a big run in New Japan Pro Wrestling. During his New Japan run, Hansen would not only feud with Antonio Inoki but even win a title. During the late 70s to early 80s, New Japan did not have the IWGP titles and instead had titles from other organizations like the NWF Heavyweight Championship which is from the National Wrestling Federation which was an American promotion. Inoki would first win the title in 1973 and basically dominated the belt for the next eight years. During this dominance, Hansen was able to squeeze in a brief reign. On February 8, 1980, Hansen defeated Inoki during the New Year Golden Series tour. Hansen would make no successful title defenses as he would drop the title back to Inoki in his first defense on April 3rd during the Big Fight Series tour. Hansen would get a few more chances at the title but was never able to regain it.
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| Bigelow (right) with Big Van Vader |
Bam Bam Bigelow (Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow)
Title Held: IWGP Tag Team Championship
One of wrestling's greatest big men is Bam Bam Bigelow. During a near 20 year career, The Beast From The East competed in many top promotions and made a name for himself not only based on his success but for his great agility despite his 6'3, 350 pound frame. During the late 80s/early 90s, Bigelow (under the name Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow) was a regular for New Japan Pro Wrestling and even challenged for championships before including challenging Antonio Inoki for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. By early 1992, Bigelow formed a dream team with fellow big man great Big Van Vader called "Big, Bad, and Dangerous" and they would go on to defeat Keiji Mutoh and Hiroshi Hase on March 1, 1992 during the Big Fight Series 1992: NJPW 20th Anniversary Show to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship. They would make two title defenses first defeating Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto on March 9th during the same tour and then in a rematch against Mutoh and Hase on May 1st during the Explosion Tour 1992. They would lose the titles to fellow foreigners The Steiner Brothers on June 26th during the Masters of Wrestling tour.
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| Halme (right) with Scott Norton |
Tony Halme
Title Held: IWGP Tag Team Championship
Tony Halme is a man who's life could be a movie as he accomplished a lot in his short life from powerlifting to boxing to wrestling to politics to writing books. Even though his MMA career was a fail, he did make history being Randy Couture's first opponent and being the first Nordic fighter to compete in the UFC. He's anything but boring. To many, especially wrestling fans, Halme will be best known for his cup of coffee run in the WWF from July 1993 to January 1994 as "the Hellraiser from Helsinki" Ludvig Borga: an Ivan Drago like badass heel who looked like he'd be one of their signature heels for years to come but instead would bail after an ankle injury among other reasons shortly after he arrived. Prior to his WWF run, Halme competed in New Japan Pro Wrestling for three years. His biggest success came with his brief alliance with Scott Norton. On November 22, 1992, during New Japan's Wrestling Scramble 1992 tour, Halme would team with Norton to defeat the legendary Steiner Brothers for the IWGP Tag Team Championships. However, the duo would make no successful title defenses or enjoy a long reign as they would drop the titles to The Hellraisers on December 14th during the Battle Final 1992 tour.
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| Hawk (left) with Kensuke Sasaki |
Road Warrior Hawk (Hawk Warrior)
Title Held: IWGP Tag Team Championship (2x)
What can be said about the Road Warriors that hasn't already been said? They're one of the most successful and ground breaking tag teams of all time and one of the biggest acts in wrestling during the 1980s and 1990s except during the early to mid 1990s. It would be during this period when the Road Warriors were put on hold as Hawk would abruptly leave the WWF in 1992 and Animal would take a break shortly afterwards due to a back injury. With Animal out of commission, Hawk would become a journeyman, competing in WCW, ECW, and the CWA in Germany. However, his biggest success during this run was in New Japan as part of the tag team The Hell Raisers, a Road Warrior inspired tag team with Hawk teaming with future legend Kensuke Sasaki, who took on the name Power Warrior to compliment Hawk's Japanese name which was Hawk Warrior. For a two year run between late 1992 to late 1994, The Hell Raisers would become New Japan's top tag team. Hawk would win his first New Japan title when he and Power Warrior defeated Scott Norton and Tony Halme to win the IWGP Tag Team Championships on December 14, 1992 during the Battle Final 1992 tour. The Hell Raisers would dominate the titles for 2/3rds of 1993 making four successful title defenses including defeating The Steiner Brothers on January 4, 1993 at Fantastic Story In Tokyo Dome then on February 16th against Monsieur Rambo and Halme during the Fighting Spirit 1993 tour then on June 14th against Halme and Bobby Eaton during the Explosion 1993 tour and then on July 13th against Keiji Mutoh and Shinya Hashimoto during the Summer Struggle 1993 tour before dropping the titles to the Jurassic Powers on August 5th during the G1 Climax 1993 tour.
It doesn't end there because after failing to regain the titles on August 8th, Hawk and Power Warrior would bounce back and regain the titles on January 4, 1994 at Battlefield. They would make two successful title defenses during this reign, both against The Steiners, first defeating them on May 1st at Wrestling Dontaku 1994 and then on September 27th during the G1 Climax Special 1994 tour before losing the titles to Mutoh and Hiroshi Hase on November 25th during the Battle Final 1994 tour.
MVP
Title Held: IWGP Intercontinental Championship
The IWGP Intercontinental Championship was one of the more prestigious titles of it's time especially during the late 2010s before being unified in 2021. It's mostly known for being held by the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura and Tetsuya Naito but how many people remember who was the first champion? Well, it was none other than MVP. Obviously, best known for his runs in WWE and his brief run in TNA, MVP ventured into New Japan during the early 2010s after his first WWE run ended. It seemed like a good match as MVP is a big fan of Japanese wrestling and New Japan was making their first attempts at international expansion and needed some foreign stars. During MVP's run, the promotion would crown it's first IWGP Intercontinental Champion during a North American tour, MVP would enter the tournament defeating Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito before eventually defeating Toru Yano in the finals on May 15, 2011 during the Invasion Tour - Attack on the East Coast to become the inaugural champion. MVP would go on to retain the championship on two occasions, both against Yano. The first would be on June 18th at Dominion 6.18 and the second would be on July 18th during the New Japan Soul 2011 tour. He would eventually drop the title after a five month reign to Masato Tanaka on October 10th at Destruction 2011.
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| Taiyo Kea (top) with Keiji Mutoh |
Taiyo Kea
Title Held: IWGP Tag Team Championship
Taiyo Kea is a name many American wrestling fans are probably not familiar with but long time Japanese wrestling fans should know him or have at least heard of him. Originally competing under his real name Mannukea Mossman, Kea is best known for his 18 year run in All Japan from his debut in 1994 to 2012 and became one of the company's top stars post NOAH exodus and during the Mutoh era capturing almost every honor available at the time. While he was moving up the rankings in All Japan, the promotion began an interpromotional alliance with New Japan which saw talent work both companies. As that was happening, Keiji Mutoh returned from a run in WCW in early 2001 and formed a multi-promotional group called BATT (Bad Ass Translate Trading) of which Kea was a member. After joining, Kea would become Mutoh's tag partner and in October 2001 would make a clean sweep. After winning All Japan's World Tag Team Championship, Kea and Mutoh would defeat Tatsumi Fujinami and Osamu Nishimura in a title vs. title match to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship on October 28, 2001 at New Japan's Survival 2001 tour. With the win, Kea and Mutoh became the first to hold New Japan's IWGP Tag Team Championship and All Japan's World Tag Team Championship simultaneously. Unfortunately, the two would make no title defenses but not because of losing the titles but rather, Mutoh would shock the wrestling world by jumping to All Japan in January 2002 and eventually taking it over thus briefly ending the alliance. With the alliance done, Kea and Mutoh were stripped of the titles.
Sabu
Title Held: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
With a guy with an insane style as Sabu, it's kind of hard to believe he was once in New Japan Pro Wrestling, let alone a champion but he was. Sabu, of course, made a name for himself as an innovative, high flying daredevil willing to take almost any bump imaginable. A longtime journeyman who wrestled just about every major promotion since the 90s, Sabu became especially known in hardcore/deathmatch promotions like ECW in the United States and FMW in Japan. His toughness and working through bad injuries is legendary. However, during his travels Sabu would make his way to the King of Sports in 1995. After signing with New Japan, Sabu would work in the company's famous junior heavyweight division and would be among the legends to have held the junior heavyweight title. On May 3, 1995, Sabu would face fellow legend Koji Kanemoto at New Japan's Wrestling Dontaku 1995 event and would defeat him to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Sabu would ultimately make one successful title defense as he retained over Black Tiger II (Eddie Guerrero) on June 12th during New Japan's Fighting Spirit Legend tour. He would lose the title back to Kanemoto only 2 days later on June 14th during the same tour in a title vs. title match with Kanemoto defending the UWA World Welterweight Championship.
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| Dick Togo (left) with TAKA Michinoku |
Title Held: IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship
This should be an interesting one given Togo's current involvement in New Japan. A junior heavyweight legend, Dick Togo was a successful talent during the 90s and 00s specifically in promotions like Michinoku Pro Wrestling, DDT, and Pro Wrestling ZERO1 where he won many championships. American fans may be familiar with him for his appearance at ECW's first Pay-Per-View Barely Legal in 1997 followed by a brief run in the WWF as part of Kaientai from 1998-1999. Though nowadays he's known in New Japan as a manager for EVIL, this current run wasn't Togo's first for New Japan as he's competed in the promotion before and even snatched a title. On May 2, 2007, during New Japan's 35th Anniversary Tour ~ Brave New World ~ Hall2Days tour, Togo would team with fellow Kaientai member TAKA Michinoku and would defeat Gedo and Jado to win the IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship. Togo and TAKA would hold the titles for the remainder of 2007 and make three successful title defenses. Their first would be against Koji Kanemoto and Wataru Inoue during New Japan's 35th Anniversary Tour ~ Circuit 2007 New Japan Soul ~ CTU Farewell Tour. Their second would a rematch against Gedo and Jado on November 11th at Destruction 2007. Their third would be in TAKA's then promotion Kaientai Dojo where they defeated Kota Ibushi and Madoka on December 1st at K-DOJO CLUB-K SUPER Overthrow 2007. They would finally lose the titles to Minoru and Prince Devitt during the Circuit 2008 New Japan ISM tour on January 27, 2008.
Genichiro Tenryu
Title Held: IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Tag Team Championship
Like Stan Hansen, it's almost impossible to talk about Japanese Wrestling without Mr. Puroresu himself: Genichiro Tenryu. Originally gaining fame in All Japan Pro Wrestling where he spent the first fourteen years of his career, Tenryu later would also be a promoter for promotions like SWS, WAR, and Tenryu Project, all the while making special appearances for New Japan, NOAH, and FMW enhancing his legend. During the late 90s, Tenryu began making frequent appearances for the King of Sports and he not only became a champion twice but made history. On July 15, 1998, Tenryu teamed with Shiro Koshinaka to defeat Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship during the Summer Struggle 1998 tour. They would make two successful title defenses as they retained over Brian Adams and nWo Sting on September 23rd on Big Wednesday and then against Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Keiji Mutoh on October 18th during the nWo Typhoon 1998 tour. Tenryu and Koshinaka would finally lose to titles to Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima on January 4, 1999 at Wrestling World 1999. Less than a year later, Tenryu would once again become a champion as he defeated Keiji Mutoh on December 10, 1999 at the Battle Final 1999 tour to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. With the win, Tenryu became the first Japanese (second overall after Vader) to have held the New Japan IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the All Japan Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. Tenryu would ultimately make no successful title defenses as he lost the title to Kensuke Sasaki on January 4, 2000 at Wrestling World 2000.
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| Davey Richards (top) with Rocky Romero |
Title Held: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (2x)
Davey Richards was one wrestling's best talents from around 2008-2017 where he had classics in many promotions as well as both a single and tag team wrestler. Richards would gain success in promotions like TNA, Ring of Honor, and PWG during this time mostly by himself and with tag teams like the No Remorse Corp. with Rocky Romero and The American Wolves/The Wolves with Eddie Edwards. During his travels, Richards would wind up in New Japan Pro Wrestling with his team with Romero. On October 10, 2011, at Destruction 2011, Richards and Romero would defeat Apollo 55 of Prince Devitt (Finn Balor) and Ryusuke Taguchi to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships for the first time. They would make one successful title defense as they defeated KUSHIDA and Tiger Mask IV on November 12th at Power Struggle 2011 before eventually dropping them back to Apollo 55 at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2012. Not done yet, the No Remorse Corp. would bounce back and regain the championship at The New Beginnings 2012 event on February 12th. However, they would be stripped of the titles on May 2nd when Richards was unable to show up due to travel issues.
Kazuyuki Fujita
Title Held: IWGP Heavyweight Championship (3x)
I'm not sure if I should put this one since I think many know but Fujita's big moments were while he was going back and forth in MMA and during the dark days of Inokism (Antonio Inoki's philosophy of combining pro wrestling and mixed martial arts), so I decided to put it in. To some, Kazuyuki Fujita is well known for his run in Mixed Martial Arts, specifically in PRIDE, where he was a solid gatekeeper type fighter with some great wins on his record and being one of the toughest guys in the sport. Fujita has also made a comeback lately in promotions like Pro Wrestling NOAH and Real Japan where he captured titles in both promotions. Prior to his recent run, Fujita was a top star in New Japan Pro Wrestling and was a face of Inokism. After enjoying big initial success in PRIDE in 2000, Fujita began his ascent to the top in 2001. On April 9, 2001, Fujita won his first IWGP Heavyweight Championship when he defeated Scott Norton at Strong Style 2001. He made two successful title defenses first against Yuji Nagata on June 6th at Super-Force Group Declaration 2001 and then against Don Frye at Dome-Quake on July 20th. He would vacate the title on January 4, 2002 after suffering a torn achilles tendon. Three years later, Fujita regained the title by winning a decision match against Hiroshi Tanahashi at The Crush II on June 5, 2004. He would make one successful title defense by retaining over Katsuyori Shibata on July 19th during the Summer Struggle 2004 tour before losing the championship to Kensuke Sasaki on October 9th at Pro Wrestlers Be Strongest. Fujita would regain the championship for a third time on July 18, 2005 by defeating Hiroyoshi Tenzan during the Summer Fight Series 2005 tour but made no successful title defenses as he lost it to Brock Lesnar in a three way also involving Masahiro Chono at Toukon Souzou New Chapter on October 8th.
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| Omori (left) with Manabu Nakanishi |
Takao Omori
Title Held: IWGP Tag Team Championship and IWGP Provisional Tag Team Championship
Omori is an interesting case as he's rarely competed in New Japan but largely called other promotions home like All Japan, NOAH, and ZERO1 where he enjoyed championship success in each promotion including world title reigns in All Japan and ZERO1. Some long time fans may remember Omori for his American appearances including participating in the 1996 WWF Royal Rumble. During his run in ZERO1, Omori would make appearances in New Japan in 2006 where he teamed with New Japan's Manabu Nakanishi to form the tag team: Wild Child. The two would enjoy championship gold during their brief time as a team. On July 17, 2006, Omori and Nakanishi defeated Togi Makabe and Shiro Koshinaka to win the IWGP Provisional Tag Team Championship, which was an interim tag title created due to the inactivity of champions Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan. They would make no successful title defenses as they would be promoted to undisputed champions on September 28th after Chono and Tenzan split. They would make one successful title defense by defeating Makabe and Koshinaka in a rematch on December 10th during the Circuit 2006 Final ~ NEXT PROGRESS. They would eventually lose the titles to Giant Bernard (Matt Bloom/A-Train/Tensai) and Travis Tomko on March 11, 2007 during the 35th Anniversary Tour ~ Circuit 2007 New Japan Evolution ~ New Japan Cup 2007 tour.
Brock Lesnar
Title Held: IWGP Heavyweight Championship
I probably saved the most obvious for last. Again, I wasn't sure if I should include Lesnar as I figured many already knew but like Fujita, it was over 15 years ago and during a dark time in New Japan. Lesnar is one of those guys that I don't think I need to go too much into detail as he's had a huge run in the WWF/WWE on and off since 2002 winning world titles and main eventing Wrestlemanias. He also had a short but successful run in Mixed Martial Arts when he won the UFC Heavyweight Championship. After his first WWE run ended but before his MMA career began, Lesnar would have a short run in New Japan but the outcome was the same in title victories and main eventing big shows. Lesnar would capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Toukon Souzou New Chapter on October 8, 2005 by defeating champion Kazuyuki Fujita and fellow challenger Masahiro Chono. Lesnar would make three title defenses and hold the title for the first half of 2006. His first defense was against Shinsuke Nakamura at Toukon Shidou Chapter I on January 4, 2006. His second would be against Akebono on March 19th during the Circuit 2006 Takeoff tour. His third defense was against Giant Bernard on May 3rd during the New Japan Cup 2006 Special tour. Unfortunately, Lesnar's reign would come to an end when he had a fallen out with management and abruptly left the company on July 15th, two days before a scheduled title defense against Hiroshi Tanahashi. Lesnar would take the 3rd version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship with him which forced New Japan to use the previous version. Lesnar would eventually lose it to Kurt Angle in Antonio Inoki's IGF promotion on June 29, 2007 with New Japan eventually getting the belt back in 2008 but retired it in favor of a fourth version.
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