The is a

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

owned and promoted by the

Pro Wrestling Land's End (Land's End) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 2016 by Ryoji Sai. History In January 2016, Ryoji Sai left Pro Wrestling Zero1 to launch a new promotion named Land's End. The promotion held its first event on Marc ...

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 ...

. The title was originally created in 1955 in

Japan Wrestling Association The was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan. It operated from 1953 to 1973. History JWA under Rikidōzan (1953–1963) Rikidōzan, a former ''rikishi'' (sumo wrestling practitioner) who had debuted as a Western-st ...

(JWA), with the inaugural champion crowned on November 22, 1955. Being a professional wrestling championship, the title is won as a result of a match with a predetermined outcome. The current champion is Kim Nam-seok, who is in his first reign.

History

This title was contested for originally in JWA where it was known as the Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) All Asia Heavyweight Championship or All Asia Heavyweight Championship for short. When JWA shut down in 1973, the title went inactive until being reactivated in

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

(AJPW) in 1976 after

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 ...

(NJPW) announced the creation of its own version of the title. The NJPW title was retired in 1981, while the AJPW title was retired in 1995, following the retirement of final champion

Kintaro Ohki Kim Il (Korean: 김일; Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) ref ...

. On December 15, 2017, the

promotion announced that it had gotten the blessing of

Pacific Wrestling Federation (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

chairman

Dory Funk Jr. Dorrance Earnest Funk (born February 3, 1941), known professionally as Dory Funk Jr., is an American retired professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. The son of Dory Funk (Dorrance Wilhelm Funk) and brother of Terry Funk, he was the promoter ...

and

Mitsuo Momota (born September 21, 1948) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and executive, known for his work in the Japanese promotions All Japan Pro Wrestling and later in Pro Wrestling NOAH. He is the son of wrestler Rikidōzan. Career Japan Wres ...

, the son of inaugural champion

Rikidōzan (born Kim Sin-rak; ; November 14, 1924 – December 15, 1963), better known as Rikidōzan (), was a Korean-born Japanese wrestler who competed in sumo and professional wrestling. He was known as The Father of Puroresu, and one of the most inf ...

, to revive the Asia Heavyweight Championship with a tournament to crown the new champion set to take place in South Korea on January 21, 2018. This also led to a new name and a new design of the championship. The tournament was won by

Ryoji Sai (born Choi Young-ii June 3, 1980) is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and promoter who currently owns and operates Pro Wrestling Land's End, where he is a former All Asia Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for working fo ...

who defeated

Bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...

in the finals of an eight-man tournament.

Inaugural championship tournament (1955)

Notes

Championship revival tournament (2018)

Reigns

Combined reigns

As of ,

References

External links

Wrestling-Titles.comLand's End official website
{{AJPW All Japan Pro Wrestling championships Continental professional wrestling championships Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance championships