The is a
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
owned and promoted by the
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, 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 ...
(NJPW)
promotion
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The current champion is
Will Ospreay
William Peter Charles Ospreay (born 7 May 1993) is an English professional wrestler who is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion in his first reign and leader of the ...
, who is in his first reign.
History
Background
On May 12, 2017, during the third night of the
War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...
tour, co-produced by
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, 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 ...
(NJPW) and
Ring of Honor (ROH), NJPW United States Ambassador George Carroll announced the creation of the IWGP United States Championship.
The following day, NJPW revealed the title's official name as the IWGP United States Championship. The title is part of an American expansion plan which NJPW had made public in the months before the announcement. Plans had been made to run extended tours in the United States with
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
as the base, starting in 2018. The plan was a direct response to
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
taking four wrestlers from NJPW in January 2016.
Tetsuya Naito
is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' faction.
Tetsuya Naito began training for a professional wrestling career in 2000, initially under Anim ...
noted how the new title had the same concept as the
IWGP Intercontinental Championship
The was a professional wrestling championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was officially announced on January 5, 2011 and the Inaugural Champion MVP was c ...
, which had been established during NJPW's
May 2011 United States tour, promoted in conjunction with
Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW). NJPW chairman Naoki Sugabayashi stated that he wanted the title to be defended at future NJPW events in the United States as well as events held by ROH.
The title belt was made red to distinguish it from the black
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 IW ...
belt and the white IWGP Intercontinental Championship belt.
[ The title has often been defended in non-disqualification/hardcore matches, including at Wrestle Kingdom 12, on night one of Wrestle Kingdom 14, and on night two of Wrestle Kingdom 16.
]
Inaugural tournament
The first champion would be crowned in a single-elimination
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
tournament on the weekend of July 1 and 2, 2017, during NJPW's G1 Special in USA
G1 Special in USA was a two-day professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The two shows took place on July 1 and 2, 2017, in Long Beach, California, United States at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. ...
shows in Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
.[ ]Jay Lethal
Jamar Shipman (born April 29, 1985), better known by the ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Dubbed "The Franchise" of Ring of Honor, Lethal is a two-time ROH World Champio ...
was the first participant announced for the tournament on May 12.[ On May 18, ]Hangman Page
Stephen Blake Woltz (born July 27, 1991), better known by his ring name "Hangman" Adam Page, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former AEW World Champion and AEW World Tag Team Champ ...
was officially added to the tournament. The other six participants as well as the bracket of the tournament, confirmed as a single-elimination tournament, were revealed on June 12. Kenny Omega
Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-ti ...
went on to defeat Tomohiro Ishii
is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He also makes additional appearances for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his work with the independent Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling ( ...
in the final to become the inaugural champion.
Establishment
Since its creation, the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship has been defended in both Japan and the United States with the first Japanese defense taking place on September 24, 2017, at Destruction in Kobe and the first stateside defense taking place on October 15, 2017, at Global Wars: Chicago. After it had been announced in November 2017 that former WWE wrestler Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jerich ...
would be challenging for the title at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome, Omega stated that the title had already surpassed the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as the number two championship in NJPW. However, the promotion ranks the title in the second tier, behind both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships and alongside the NEVER Openweight Championship
The is a professional wrestling championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. NEVER is an acronym of the terms "New Blood", "Evolution", "Valiantly", "Eternal", and "Radical" and was an NJPW-promoted series of events, which ...
.
Throughout 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
prevented the champion Jon Moxley
Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wr ...
from traveling to Japan for NJPW events while keeping his commitments with All Elite Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE.
AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, ...
(AEW), with whom he is also contracted. His AEW contract also prevented him from appearing at NJPW's American events. This resulted in the championship not being defended from February 2020 to February 2021, when an arrangement was made between the two promotions to allow Moxley to appear on NJPW's American television show '' Strong'' in a title defense.
With AEW and New Japan forming a working relationship, Jon Moxley was permitted to defend the title on AEW's flagship television program, AEW Dynamite AEW or aew may refer to:
* Airborne early warning, airborne radar system for detecting aircraft
* Aerosvit Airlines, an airline based in Kyiv, Ukraine (ICAO airline designator: AEW)
* AEW Capital Management, a property investment management company
...
. In May 2021, the title was defended in AEW for the first time, with Moxley defeating Yuji Nagata
is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
A two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, World Heavyweight Champion and a GHC Heavyweight Champion, making him a four-time world champion in major professio ...
in his fourth title defense. In July 2021 at AEW Fyter Fest Night 1, Moxley retained the championship for his record-setting fifth defense against Impact Wrestling's Karl Anderson. The following week on Night 2 of the event, Lance Archer
Lance Hoyt (born February 28, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Lance Archer. He also makes sporadic appearance for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is also known for ...
defeated Moxley for the championship in a Texas Death Match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
for his second reign.
Reigns
As of , , there have been sixteen reigns shared among ten wrestlers with three vacancies. Kenny Omega
Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-ti ...
was the inaugural champion. Hiroshi Tanahashi
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...
and Juice Robinson
Joseph Ryan Robinson (born April 10, 1989), better known by his ring name Juice Robinson, is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Robinson is also a member of the Bullet Club stable and also wrestles ...
are tied for the record of most reigns with three, while Tanahashi was the first Japanese wrestler to win the title. Jon Moxley
Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wr ...
holds two records with the title: his second reign is the longest reign at 564 days with five successful defenses, and he is the only wrestler to have held the title for a consecutive year. Tanahashi’s third reign of 13 days is the shortest in the title's history. Tanahashi was the oldest champion when he won it at 45 years old, while Jay White
Jamie White (born 9 October 1992), better known by the ring name Jay White (ジェイ・ホワイト ''Jei Howaito''), is a New Zealand professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is current IWGP World Heavyweight C ...
was the youngest champion at 25 years old.
Will Ospreay is the current champion in his first reign. He defeated Sanada Sanada is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Asami Sanada (born 1977), Japanese voice actress
*, Japanese shogi player
* Juzo Sanada (1923–1994), Japanese baseball player
* Hiroki Sanada (born 1984), Japanese basebal ...
for the vacant title at Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall
Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on June 12, 2022, in Osaka, Osaka, at the Osaka-jō Hall and is the fourteenth event under the Dominion name and eig ...
in Osaka, Japan
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 ...
.
Combined reigns
As of , .
See also
*Professional wrestling in the United States
Professional wrestling in the United States, until the 1920s, was viewed as a legitimate sport. This view did not endure into the 1930s, as professional wrestling became identified with modern theatrics, or "admitted fakeness" ("kayfabe"), moving ...
References
External links
Official title history at NJPW.co.jp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwgp United States Championship
Heavyweight wrestling championships
New Japan Pro-Wrestling championships
United States professional wrestling championships