IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world junior heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix . Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may hold the championship. NJPW currently controls two junior heavyweight championships: the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. The weight-limit for the title is 100 kg (220 lb). The current champion is Sho, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating El Desperado at The New Beginning in Sapporo on February 23, 2024.
Inaugural and three-time champion Shiro Koshinaka
Current champion, Sho.
Record eleven-time champion Jushin Thunder Liger also holds the records for longest reign at 628 days, longest combined reign at 2,245 days, and most combined defenses at 31.
Four-time champion Minoru Tanaka, as Heat, holds the record for most defenses in one reign at 11
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently owned by card game company Bushiroad, while TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares of the company. Naoki Sugabayashi has served as the promotion's Chairman since September 2013, while Hiroshi Tanahashi has served as the president of the promotion since December 2023.
NJPW headquarters in Nakano, Tokyo
Image: Jon Moxley Oct 2021
Image: 2023.11.04 David Finlay (cropped)
Image: SHO (wrestler)
