IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP New Japan Pro Wrestling (6/12/1987-Present) No. CHAMPION DATE LOCATION EVENT REIGN 1 Antonio Inoki 6/12/1987 Tokyo, Japan (Summer Big Fight Series) 325 days Antonio Inoki defeated Masa Saito in the finals of a 14 man International Wrestling Grand Prix tournament for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. [5/02/1988] New Japan Pro Wrestling considered the IWGP Heavyweight Championship vacate due to Antonio Inoki being injuired. Antonio Inoki held the following championship inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [12/18/1978-4/24/1989] WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship awarded by Vincent J. McMahon in New York, New Zork. 2 Tatsumi Fujinami 5/08/1988 Tokyo, Japan (Summer Fight Series) 342 days Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Big Van Vader for the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Championship. [5/27/1988-6/24/1988] New Japan considered IWGP Heavyweight Championship held-up do to match between Fujinami and Riki Choshu in Sendai ended in no-contest. (Fujinami defeated Choshu in rematch.) [4/05/1989] Tatsumi Fujinami vacated the IWGP Championship to raise the authority of the championship. Tatsumi Fujinami held the following championship inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [1/18/1988-6/10/1988] IWGP Tag Team Championships w/Kengo Kimura won from Kazuo Yamazaki & Yoshiaki Fujiwara in Takuyama, Japan. [11/15/1988-12/10/1988] NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship won from The Grappler in Portland, Oregon. [12/09/1988-12/10/1988] WCWA World Heavyweight Championship won from Kerry Von Erich in Tokyo, Japan. 3 Big Van Vader 4/24/1989 Tokyo, Japan (Tokyo Dome Battle Satellite) 31 days Big Van Vader defeated Shinya Hashimoto in tournament final for the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Championship. 4 Salman Hashimikov 5/25/1989 Osaka, Japan (Osaka Dome Battle Satellite) 48 days 5 Riki Choshu 7/12/1989 Osaka, Japan (House Show) 29 days Riki Choshu held the following championship inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [7/13/1989-9/20/1989] IWGP Tag Team Championships w/ Takayuki Iizuka won from George Takano & Super Strong Machine in Yokohama, Japan. 6 Big Van Vader (2) 8/10/1989 Tokyo, Japan (House Show) 374 days Big Van Vader held the following championships inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [8/21/1989-6/30/1990] CWA World Heavyweight Championship won from Otto Wanz in Vienna, Austria. [11/22/1989-12/09/1990] UWA World Heavyweight Championship won from El Canek in Naucalpan, México. 7 Riki Choshu (2) 8/19/1990 Tokyo, Japan (House Show) 129 days Riki Choshu held the following championship inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [9/29/1990-8/16/1992] Greatest 18 Championship awarded in Tokyo, Japan. 8 Tatsumi Fujinami (2) 12/26/1990 Hamamatsu, Japan (King of Kings) 22 days 9 Big Van Vader (3) 1/17/1991 Yokohama, Japan (New Year Dash) 46 days 10 Tatsumi Fujinami (3) 3/04/1991 Hiroshima, Japan (Big Fight Series) 306 days Tatsumi Fujinami held the following championship inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [3/21/1991-5/19/1991] NWA World Heavyweight Championship won from Ric Flair in Tokyo, Japan. 11 Riki Choshu (3) 1/04/1992 Tokyo, Japan (Super Warriors) 225 days Riki Choshu held the following championship inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [9/29/1990-8/16/1992] Greatest 18 Championship awarded in Tokyo, Japan. 12 Great Muta [Keiji Mutoh] 8/16/1992 Fukuoka, Japan (G1 Climax Special) 400 days Great Muta held the following championship inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [8/16/1992-9/23/1992] Greatest 18 Championship won from Riki Choshu in Fukuoka, Japan. [1/04/1993-2/21/1993] NWA World Heavyweight Championship won from Masahiro Chono in Tokyo, Japan. 13 Shinya Hashimoto 9/20/1993 Nagoya, Japan (G1 Climax Special) 196 days 14 Tatsumi Fujinami (4) 4/04/1994 Hiroshima, Japan (Battle Line Kyushu) 27 days 15 Shinya Hashimoto (2) 5/01/1994 Fukuoka, Japan (Wrestling Dontaku) 367 days 16 Keiji Mutoh (2) 5/03/1995 Fukuoka, Japan (Wrestling Dontaku) 246 days Keiji Mutoh held the following championship inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [11/25/1994-5/06/1995] IWGP Tag Team Championships w/Hiroshi Hase won from The Hell Raisers in Iwate, Japan. 17 Nobuhiko Takada 1/04/1996 Tokyo, Japan (Wrestling World) 116 days 18 Shinya Hashimoto (3) 4/29/1996 Tokyo, Japan (Battle Formation) 489 days 19 Kensuke Sasaki 8/31/1997 Yokohama, Japan (Final Power Hall) 216 days Kensuke Sasaki held the following championship inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [8/10/1997-10/19/1997] IWGP Tag Team Championships w/Kazuo Yamazaki won from The Bull Powers in Nagoya, Japan. 20 Tatsumi Fujinami (5) 4/04/1998 Tokyo, Japan (Antonio Inoki Retirement Show) 126 days 21 Masahiro Chono 8/08/1998 Osaka, Japan (Rising the Next Generation) 44 days [9/21/1998] New Japan Pro Wrestling considered the IWGP Heavyweight Championship vacant due to Masahiro Chono's injury. 22 Scott Norton 9/23/1998 Yokohama, Japan (Big Wednesday) 103 days Scott Norton defeated Yuji Nagata to win the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Championship. 23 Keiji Mutoh (3) 1/04/1999 Tokyo, Japan (Wrestling World) 340 days 24 Genichiro Tenryu 12/10/1999 Osaka, Japan (Battle Final) 25 days 25 Kensuke Sasaki (2) 1/04/2000 Tokyo, Japan (Wrestling World) 279 days [10/09/2000] Kensuke Sasaki surrendered the IWGP Heavyweight Championship after he lost to Toshiaki Kawada in a non-title match at an All Japan vs. New Japan event called Do Judge. 26 Kensuke Sasaki (3) 1/04/2001 Tokyo, Japan (Wrestling World) 72 days Kensuke Sasaki defeated Toshiaki Kawada in a tournament final to win the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Championship. 27 Scott Norton (2) 3/17/2001 Nagoya, Japan (Hyper Battle) 23 days 28 Kazuyuki Fujita 4/09/2001 Osaka, Japan (Strong Style) 270 days [1/04/2002] New Japan Pro Wrestling considered the IWGP Heavyweight Championship vacant due to Fujita being injured. 29 Tadao Yasuda 2/16/2002 Tokyo, Japan (Fighting Spirit) 48 days Tadao Yasuda defeated Yuji Nagata in a tournament final to win the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Championship. 30 Yuji Nagata 4/05/2002 Tokyo, Japan (Toukon Special) 392 days 31 Yoshihiro Takayama 5/02/2003 Tokyo, Japan (Ultimate Crush) 185 days Yoshihiro Takayama held the following championship inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [1/04/2003-1/04/2004] NWF Heavyweight Championship defeated Tsuyoshi Kosaka in a tournament for the vacant title at Wrestling World in Tokyo, Japan. 32 Hiroyoshi Tenzan 11/03/2003 Yokohama, Japan (Yokohama Dead Out) 36 days 33 Shinsuke Nakamura 12/09/2003 Osaka, Japan (Battle Final) 58 days Shinsuke Nakamura unified the following championship into the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [1/04/2004-Unified] NWF Heavyweight Championship defeated Yoshihiro Takayama in Tokyo, Japan. [2/05/2004] New Japan Pro Wrestling considered the IWGP Heavyweight Championship vacant due to Nakamura's injury. 34 Hiroyoshi Tenzan (2) 2/15/2004 Tokyo, Japan (Fighting Spirit) 26 days Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Genichiro Tenryu in a tournament final to win the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Championship. 35 Kensuke Sasaki (4) 3/12/2004 Tokyo, Japan (Hyper Battle) 16 days 36 Bob Sapp 3/28/2004 Tokyo, Japan (King of Sports) 66 days Bob Sapp vacated IWGP Heavyweight Championship following a K-1 loss to Kazuyuki Fujita. 37 Kazuyuki Fujita (2) 6/05/2004 Osaka, Japan (The Crush II) 126 days Kazuyuki Fujita defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Championship. 38 Kensuke Sasaki (5) 10/09/2004 Tokyo, Japan (Pro-Wrestlers Be Strongest) 64 days Kensuke Sasaki held the following championship inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [9/10/2004-3/06/2005] Tohoku Tag Team Championships w/Katsuhiko Nakajima won from Jinsei Shinzaki & Último Dragón in Tokyo, Japan. 39 Hiroyoshi Tenzan (3) 12/12/2004 Nagoya, Japan (Battle Final) 70 days 40 Satoshi Kojima 2/20/2005 Tokyo, Japan (New Year Gold Series) 83 days Satoshi Kojima held the following championship inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [2/16/2005-7/03/2006] AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship won from Toshiaki Kawada in Tokyo, Japan. 41 Hiroyoshi Tenzan (4) 5/14/2005 Tokyo, Japan (Nexess VI) 65 days 42 Kazuyuki Fujita (3) 7/18/2005 Sapporo, Japan (Summer Fight Series) 82 days 43 Brock Lesnar 10/08/2005 Tokyo, Japan (Toukon Souzou New Chapter) 280 days [7/15/2006] New Japan Pro Wrestling considered IWGP Heavyweight Championship vacant due to Brock Lesnar visa issues. Brock Lesnar was recognized by IGF as the official IWGP Heavyweight Champion; NJPW considered his championship as the IWGP "3rd belt" Championship. 44 Hiroshi Tanahashi 7/17/2006 Sapporo, Japan (Turbulence) 270 days Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Giant Bernard in a tournament final to win the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Hiroshi Tanahashi unified the following championship into the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [6/18/2005-unified] IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship defeated Toru Yano in a six-man round-robin tournament final in Kyoto, Japan. 45 Yuji Nagata (2) 4/13/2007 Osaka, Japan (Brave Tour) 178 days 46 Hiroshi Tanahashi (2) 10/08/2007 Tokyo, Japan (Explosion) 88 days 47 Shinsuke Nakamura (2) 1/04/2008 Tokyo, Japan (Wrestle Kingdom II) 114 days Shinsuke Nakamura unified the following championship into the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [2/17/2008-unified] IWGP "3rd Belt" Championship defeated Kurt Angle in Tokyo, Japan. 48 Keiji Mutoh (4) 4/27/2008 Osaka, Japan (Brave Tour) 252 days Keiji Mutoh held the following championships inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [12/15/2006-12/12/2010] F-1 Tag Team Championships w/Kannazuki defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Akimasa Haraguchi to become the inaugural champions in Tokyo, Japan. [1/03/2008-6/28/2008] AJPW World Tag Team Championships w/Joe Doering won from Satoshi Kojima & TARU in Tokyo, Japan. [9/28/2008-3/14/2009] AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship won from Suwama in Yokohama, Japan. 49 Hiroshi Tanahashi (3) 1/04/2009 Tokyo, Japan (Wrestle Kingdom III) 122 days 50 Manabu Nakanishi 5/06/2009 Tokyo, Japan (Dissidence) 45 days 51 Hiroshi Tanahashi (4) 6/20/2009 Osaka, Japan (Dominion) 58 days [8/17/2009] New Japan Pro Wrestling considered the IWGP Heavyweight Championship vacant due to Hiroshi Tanahashi injury. 52 Shinsuke Nakamura (3) 9/27/2009 Kobe, Japan (Generation Tour) 218 days Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Togi Makabe to win the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Championship. 53 Togi Makabe 5/03/2010 Fukuoka, Japan (Wrestling Dontaku) 161 days 54 Satoshi Kojima (2) 10/11/2010 Tokyo, Japan (Destruction) 85 days 55 Hiroshi Tanahashi (5) 1/04/2011 Tokyo, Japan (Wrestle Kingdom V) 404 days 56 Kazuchika Okada 2/12/2012 Osaka, Japan (The New Beginning) 125 days 57 Hiroshi Tanahashi (6) 6/16/2012 Osaka, Japan (Dominion) 295 days 58 Kazuchika Okada (2) 4/07/2013 Tokyo, Japan (Invasion Attack) 391 days 59 A.J. Styles 5/03/2014 Fukuoka, Japan (Wrestling Dontaku) 163 days 60 Hiroshi Tanahashi (7) 10/13/2014 Tokyo, Japan (King of Pro-Wrestling) 121 days 61 A.J. Styles (2) 2/11/2015 Osaka, Japan (The New Beginning) 144 days A.J. Styles held the following championships inconjuction with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: [3/11/2015-Current] FWE Heavyweight Championship won from John Hennigan in Brooklyn, New York. [6/14/2015-1/16/2016] RPW British Heavyweight Championship won from Marty Scurll in Bethnal Green, Greater London, England. 62 Kazuchika Okada (3) 7/05/2015 Osaka, Japan (Dominion) 280 days 63 Tetsuya Naito 4/10/2016 Tokyo, Japan (Invasion Attack) 70 days 64 Kazuchika Okada (4) 6/19/2016 Osaka, Japan (Dominion) Current