IWGP Heavyweight Championship (original Version)
The original version of was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the initialism of NJPW's governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix. The title was introduced in 1983 for the winner of the IWGP League 1983. Since then, the championship was defended annually against the winner of the IWGP League of the year. The 1987–2021 IWGP Heavyweight Championship debuted in 1987 (replacing this version) and was defended regularly; the original IWGP belt was kept in use until 1997. Title history The inaugural champion was determined in the 1983 edition of the IWGP League, a 10-man round-robin tournament. Wrestlers from several promotions worldwide participated. Participants included World Heavyweight Champions from other international promotions (such as Canek, at the time UWA World Heavyweight Champion or Otto Wanz, at the time CWA World Heavyweight Champion). Hulk Hogan won the tournament, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares of the company. Naoki Sugabayashi has served as the promotion's Chairman since September 2013, while Takami Ohbari has served as the president of the promotion since October 2020. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, NJPW is the largest and longest-running professional wrestling promotion in Japan. It was affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance at various points in its history. NJPW has had agreements with various MMA and professional wrestling promotions around the world, including WWE, World Championship Wrestling, American Wrestling Association, World Class Championship Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, WAR, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, UWFi, Ring of Honor, Pride Fighting Championships, and All Elite Wrestling. NJPW's bigge ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Canek (wrestler)
Felipe Estrada (born June 19, 1952), known as El Canek or simply Canek, is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' or masked professional wrestler best known for the 20 years he worked for the Universal Wrestling Association where he held the UWA World Heavyweight Championship a total of 15 times. As the major heavyweight working for the Universal Wrestling Association promotion, he became one of Lucha Libre's biggest attractions during the 1980s especially through his high-profile matches against non-Mexicans that sold out numerous shows and led to the UWA using the same formula of "Canek vs. the foreigner" for over a decade. He made his debut in 1972 as "El Universitario" at the age of 18 and would later work under the name "Principe Azul" (Spanish for "The Blue Prince"). In 1973 he adopted the ring name El Canek, a name inspired by the Mayan Indian leader Jacinto Canek, that he has used ever since. While he has worked in Mexico for the majority of his career he has also made severa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NWF Heavyweight Championship
The NWF Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling World championship used as part of the National Wrestling Federation and later New Japan Pro-Wrestling. History The NWF (National Wrestling Federation) Heavyweight Championship was created by wrestling promoter Pedro Martinez for his NWF promotion in New York in 1970. The title was mainly defended in the New York/Eastern Canada area, until then-champion Johnny Powers took the belt with him on a tour of Japan with Tokyo Pro Wrestling. Powers would eventually lose the title to Antonio Inoki, who would take the belt with him when he founded New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Inoki became the wrestler most associated with the title due to his high-profile defenses of the title, defeating the likes of Stan Hansen, André the Giant, Tiger Jeet Singh, and Ernie Ladd while champion. Recognized as a four-time NWF Heavyweight champion, between the years of 1973 and 1983, Inoki was champion for all but six months. Inoki's fourth reign ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dick Murdoch
Hoyt Richard Murdoch (August 16, 1946 – June 15, 1996) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Dirty" Dick Murdoch and "Captain Redneck". He was best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation and New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Murdoch started his wrestling career in 1965, and three years later, he began teaming with longtime partner Dusty Rhodes as the Texas Outlaws. After they split up, Murdoch wrestled for several territories including the National Wrestling Alliance, Florida Championship Wrestling, and Mid-South Wrestling, also touring overseas. He would join the World Wrestling Federation in 1984 and teamed with Adrian Adonis to form the North-South Connection, winning the WWF Tag Team Championship. In 1981, Murdoch gained international exposure by joining New Japan Pro-Wrestling and stayed there until 1989. He later wrestled for Jim Crockett Promotions, engaging in feuds with the likes of Ric Flair, Nikita Koloff, and Dusty Rhodes. He a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 million residents ; the city proper has a population of 13.99 million people. Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, the prefecture forms part of the Kantō region on the central coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. Tokyo serves as Japan's economic center and is the seat of both the Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan. Originally a fishing village named Edo, the city became politically prominent in 1603, when it became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate. By the mid-18th century, Edo was one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of over one million people. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the imperial capital in Kyoto was moved to Edo, which was renamed "Tokyo" (). Tokyo was devastate ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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CWA World Heavyweight Championship
The CWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the top title of the German professional wrestling promotion Catch Wrestling Association (CWA). The title was created on August 2, 1973 and deactivated on December 4, 1999. The championship was contested under 15 three-minute rounds. The title changed hands in four countries South Africa, Austria, the United States, and Germany and three continents - Africa, Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ..., and North America. Combined reigns See also * Catch Wrestling Association References External linksWrestling-Titles.com {{Catch Wrestling Association Championships Catch Wrestling Association championships World heavyweight wrestling championships ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Otto Wanz
Otto Wanz (June 13, 1943 – September 14, 2017) was an Austrian professional wrestler and Boxing, boxer. He made his professional wrestling debut in 1968. He is a one time American Wrestling Association champion and former operator of the Catch Wrestling Association, where he was the promotion's inaugural CWA World Heavyweight Championship, World Heavyweight Champion, winning the title CWA World Heavyweight Championship#Title history, four times. He is overall a five-time World Heavyweight Championship (professional wrestling), world champion and the longest reigning world champion in Europe. Professional wrestling career Born in Nestelbach bei Graz, Nestelbach, Austria on June 13, 1943, Wanz made his professional wrestling debut in 1968 in his native Austria. Later on he would work as "Bulldog" Otto in Japan, primarily working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In the early 1970s he created the Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) based in Austria but promoting shows in the surrou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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UWA World Heavyweight Championship
The UWA World Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial peso Completo de UWA'' in Spanish) was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally promoted by Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) until it closed in 1995. After UWA's closure, the title was sporadically, unofficially defended on the Mexican independent circuit. In the past the title has been defended in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) when the champion worked for those companies. Lou Thez was the first UWA World Heavyweight champion, having been awarded the title after wrestling Mil Mascaras to a draw on the very first UWA show. El Canek has held the Championship the most times, 15 reigns all in all, 13 of those before the UWA closed. Canek is also the one that kept the championship active after the UWA closed, defending it on the independent circuit. Dr. Wagner, Jr. was the final UWA World Heavyweight champion having defeated Canek on June ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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IWGP Heavyweight Championship
The was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the final of an IWGP tournament. It was unified with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship on March 4, 2021 to form the new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. The championship was represented by four different belts from 1987 to 2021. The fourth and last generation belt was introduced in March 2008. The title formed what was unofficially called the along with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and the NEVER Openweight Championship. Title history An early version of this championship was introduced in 1983 for the winner ( Hulk Hogan) of the IWGP League 1983. Since then, the championship was defended annually against the winner of the IWGP League of the year. A new IWGP Heavyweight Championship arrived only in 1987, replacing the old version. The 1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Antonio Inoki
Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born ; February 20, 1943 – October 1, 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was best known by the ring name , a homage to fellow professional wrestler Antonino Rocca. Inoki was a twelve-time professional wrestling world champion, notably being the first IWGP Heavyweight Champion and the first Asian WWF Heavyweight Champion – a reign not officially recognized by WWE. Inoki began his professional wrestling career in the 1960s for the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA) under the tutelage of Rikidōzan. Inoki quickly became one of the most popular stars in the history of Japanese professional wrestling. He parlayed his wrestling career into becoming one of Japan's most recognizable athletes, a reputation bolstered by his 1976 fight against world champion boxer Muhammad Ali – a fight that served as a predecessor to modern day mixed martial arts. In ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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G1 Climax
The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually (and currently) held as a round-robin, with winners from two pools wrestling in the final to decide that year's winner. In its current format, the tournament lasts four weeks. The winner of each pool is determined by a points system; two points for a victory, one point for a draw (time limit only), and zero points for a loss, no contest or double decision. Tournament history NJPW had an annual tournament since 1974 under various names: the (1974–1977, based on the World (Big) League tournament from the old Japanese Wrestling Association held between 1959 and 1972); the (1978–1982); the (1983–1988), "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix (インターナショナル・レスリング・グラン・プリ, ''intānashonaru resuringu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Global Force Wrestling (2014–2017)
Global Force Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2014 by Jeff Jarrett, the co-founder and former President of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (now known as Impact Wrestling), and his wife Karen Jarrett. It is owned and operated via its parent company Global Force Entertainment, LLC. The promotion ran several live events and tapings for a potential television show. Jeff Jarrett returned to Impact Wrestling in an executive role in January 2017 and Karen Jarrett announced that GFW had "merged" with Impact on April 20, 2017. Impact Wrestling assumed the GFW name the following month, but it was dropped when Jeff Jarrett departed the company four months later. Jarrett resumed promoting events under the name in December 2017, but has not run any events since October 2018. History Formation and live events With Jeff Jarrett out as minority investor of TNA Wrestling, he debuted the branding of Global Force Wrestling (business name Global Force Entertai ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |