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64-700: 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 "New Japan Triple Crown " ( 新日本トリプルクラウン , Shin Nihon Toripuru Kuraun ) along with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and the NEVER Openweight Championship . An early version of this championship

128-589: A Grand Slam Champion after her win, having also held the NXT Women's Championship . Asuka has to date completed the Women's Triple Crown the fastest, with 486 days between her first qualifying title win and Triple Crown achieving win. WWE's NXT Triple Crown consists of the NXT Championship , NXT North American Championship , and NXT Tag Team Championship . The NXT brand was originally established as

192-635: A decade. Following the first brand extension between 2002 and 2011, the (now defunct) World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championship became alternate titles that could compose part of WWE's Triple Crown. After the respective unifications of the two world championships and two tag team championships, the only three eligible Triple Crown championships of WWE became the WWE Championship, Intercontinental Championship, and WWE Tag Team Championship (later called

256-595: A developmental territory for WWE's main roster in 2012, was elevated to the third global brand in 2019, but after being rebooted as NXT 2.0 in 2021, was returned to its original status as a developmental brand. Johnny Gargano became the first to be recognized as the NXT Triple Crown Champion, winning his first NXT Championship, and having previously held the NXT North American and NXT Tag Team championships. Adam Cole has completed

320-590: A few matches, but as it declined rapidly, he switched back and forth aimlessly between New Japan and All Japan. In 2005, he entered Noah, and began feuds with Misawa, Kenta Kobashi , and other wrestlers he knew from his first All Japan stint, as well as new faces he's never met in the ring before, such as Jun Akiyama . Tenryu has also been with the Hustle promotion and was a part of the main heel group led by Generalissimo Takada . During this time, he teamed with Toshiaki Kawada mainly. At Hustle Aid 2007, however, Tenryu

384-575: A multipromotional "Retirement Road" tour, including matches in Kyushu Pro-Wrestling , DDT , BJW , Wrestle-1 and Pro Wrestling Freedoms . On November 15, Tenryu was defeated by Okada in his retirement match. Tokyo Sports named Tenryu's retirement match the 2015 Match of the Year. Tenryu appears as a gang member in the 2017 video game Yakuza Kiwami 2 , alongside Keiji Mutoh, Masahiro Chono, Riki Choshu and Tatsumi Fujinami. Tenryu

448-597: A new champion, while Lesnar kept the physical belt. He signed with Antonio Inoki 's Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) in 2007, and lost the championship to Kurt Angle on the promotion's inaugural event. Angle later lost the belt in a unification match to the NJPW-recognized champion Shinsuke Nakamura in 2008. On January 5, 2020, Tetsuya Naito won the Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships. Both titles kept their individual history, but were defended at

512-535: A new circuit. To date, A.J. Styles and Eddie Edwards have won the Impact Triple Crown on more than one occasion, and Styles is the only wrestler to hold all of the eligible championships. Kurt Angle completed the Triple Crown the fastest, achieving it in a mere 92 days, between May and August 2007, and is the only wrestler to hold all the required championships at once. Jordynne Grace became

576-488: A strong case [that Tenryu was] between the fourth and sixth biggest native star" in the history of Japanese professional wrestling. As a sumo wrestler, Tenryu was ranked as a sekitori for 27 tournaments, 16 of them in the top makuuchi division. His highest rank was maegashira 1. Upon the death of his stablemaster at Nishonoseki stable he wanted to join former stablemate Daikirin 's newly established Oshiogawa stable, which had just broken off from Nishonoseki, but

640-766: A suitable accolade for the Triple Crown. It is also unknown if it considers the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship as a part of the accolade, although it is considered part of their Grand Slam. The Ring of Honor (ROH) Triple Crown originally was defined as the ROH World Championship , the ROH World Tag Team Championship , and the ROH World Television Championship . It was later amended so that

704-961: Is a joshi puroresu ( women's professional wrestling ) promotion . Their version consists of the ICE×60/ICE×∞ Championship , the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship and the Triangle Ribbon Championship . Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) is a British wrestling promotion based in Glasgow, Scotland. Their version consists of the ICW World Heavyweight Championship , the ICW Tag Team Championship , and ICW Zero-G Championship . Melbourne City Wrestling (MCW)

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768-789: Is a British independent women's professional wrestling promotion. Their version consists of the Pro-Wrestling: EVE Championship, Pro-Wrestling: EVE International Championship, and the Pro-Wrestling: EVE Tag Team Championship. Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW) is a United Kingdom based promotion. Their version consists of the British Heavyweight Championship , the Undisputed British Tag Team Championship and

832-712: Is an Australian independent professional wrestling promotion founded in October 2010, in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia . Their version consists of the MCW Heavyweight Championship, the MCW Tag Team Championship, and MCW Intercommonwealth Championship. Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an independent regional promotion that at various points served as a developmental territory for WWE and Impact Wrestling (with whom OVW

896-925: Is an Australian independent regional promotion. Their version consists of the EPW Heavyweight Championship , the EPW Tag Team Championship , and the EPW Coastal Championship . Full Impact Pro (FIP) is an independent regional promotion. Their version consists of the FIP World Heavyweight Championship , the FIP Florida Heritage Championship and the FIP Tag Team Championship . Ice Ribbon ( アイスリボン , Aisuribon )

960-464: Is an accomplishment recognized by various professional wrestling promotions . It is a distinction made to a professional wrestler who has won three of a single promotion's championships ; specifically, a world championship, another singles championship, and a tag team championship. Promotions to officially recognize Triple Crown winners include WWE , All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and Ring of Honor (ROH) as well as

1024-967: Is once again currently affiliated). Their version consists of the OVW Heavyweight Championship , the OVW Television Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship . Philippine Wrestling Revolution (PWR) is an independent promotion based in the Philippines. Their version consists of the PWR Championship , the PWR Tag Team Championship and the Philippine Excellence (PHX) Championship . Pro-Wrestling: EVE (EVE)

1088-539: The British Cruiserweight Championship . Genichiro Tenryu Genichiro Shimada ( 嶋田 源一郎 , Shimada Gen'ichirō , born February 2, 1950) , better known as Genichiro Tenryu ( 天龍 源一郎 , Tenryū Gen'ichirō ) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu"

1152-909: The Chaotic Wrestling Heavyweight Championship , the Chaotic Wrestling New England Championship and the Chaotic Wrestling Tag Team Championship . Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an independent regional promotion. Their version consists of the CZW World Heavyweight Championship , the CZW World Tag Team Championship , CZW Wired Championship and CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship . Explosive Pro Wrestling (EPW)

1216-734: The ECW World Heavyweight Championship , the ECW World Television Championship and the ECW World Tag Team Championship . ECW was founded in 1992 as Eastern Championship Wrestling until the name was changed to Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1994. While Johnny Hotbody won all three titles before 1994, sources consider Mikey Whipwreck the first Triple Crown Champion. In Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA – known as Impact Wrestling from 2017 to 2023),

1280-592: The G1 Climax , winner Kazuchika Okada asked for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt to be awarded to him for winning the G1 instead of the typical briefcase and contract for an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 16 . On October 25 at Road to Power Struggle, Okada's request was approved and he appeared with the championship; despite holding the championship belt, Okada

1344-706: The IWGP Heavyweight Championship , the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and the NEVER Openweight Championship . The NJPW Triple Crown is unique as it consists of three singles championships, instead of a tag team championship in addition to two singles. The IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental championships were retired in 2021, and it is unknown if NJPW considers their replacement, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship , as

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1408-587: The IWGP Tag Team Championship from Team Wolf, Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan . In December 1999, Tenryu made history as the first native to win the top two distinctions of professional wrestling in Japan (All Japan's Triple Crown and New Japan's IWGP Heavyweight title) by beating Mutoh for the IWGP title. (The first man to win both titles was Big Van Vader , an American.) In 2000, following

1472-787: The Japan Sumo Association insisted he stay at Nishonoseki whose new stablemaster, Kongō , he did not get along with. He finished one more tournament, and even though his career still showed promise, he decided to leave the sumo world at the young age of 26 in September 1976. Scouted by Giant Baba , the All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) owner, Tenryu was sent to Amarillo, Texas to be trained by Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk , and debuted in Texas in 1976, against Ted DiBiase . After returning to Japan, he stayed in

1536-623: The NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Champions with the Road Warriors after the Road Warriors turned heel against their former co-holder of the title, Dusty Rhodes . However, the relationship between All Japan Pro Wrestling and the NWA was significantly strained when Tenryu and the Road Warriors were scheduled to compete in a match Baba had advertised to his Japanese audience, but American booking decisions prevented

1600-481: The World Tag Team Championship . For a span of nearly 18 years, from 1979 up through 1997, these were the only three championships of the company, and a wrestler who won all three championships (not necessarily concurrently) was considered a "Triple Crown Champion". Until the 1990s, the accomplishment was extremely rare, with Pedro Morales remaining the sole Triple Crown winner for more than

1664-824: The AAA Triple Crown the fastest, achieving it in 1,098 days between March 2019 and June 2022. Lucha Underground had three established titles in its promotion, the Lucha Underground Championship , the Gift of the Gods Championship and, uniquely, Trios Championship . Johnny Mundo completed the Lucha Underground Triple Crown the fastest, achieving it in a mere 85 days between January and April 2016. The New Japan Pro-Wrestling Triple Crown consisted of

1728-540: The Men's Tag Team Triple Crown the fastest, with 499 days between their first qualifying title win and Triple Crown achieving win. With his NXT Tag Team Championship win with New Day teammate Xavier Woods , Kofi Kingston became the first (and thus far only) wrestler to have won both the traditional and tag team version of the WWE Triple Crown. In the list below, dates indicate the wrestler's first reign with

1792-708: The NXT Triple Crown the fastest, doing so within 420 days, between April 2018 and June 2019. The NXT UK Triple Crown consisted of the NXT UK Championship , the NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship and the NXT UK Tag Team Championship . Tyler Bate was the only wrestler to achieve the feat, completing it on December 9, 2021, after winning the tag team titles with Trent Seven . He previous became

1856-779: The Pacific Wrestling Federation World tag team titles and later with their replacement, the World Tag Team Championship (a combination of the PWF World and NWA International tag belts). Hara was kicked out of the promotion in late 1988, and Tenryu replaced him with Stan Hansen , with whom he held the World Tag Team Championship as well. 1989 was Tenryu's banner year. Tsuruta became the first Triple Crown champion on April 18 of that year, and just two days later Tenryu became his first challenger. The Tsuruta-Tenryu series that ensued set

1920-1136: The ROH World Championship in March 2003, and finally winning the ROH World Television Championship in April 2022. The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Triple Crown consisted of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship , the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (now the WWE United States Championship) and the WCW World Tag Team Championship . When Bret Hart and Goldberg won the WCW World Tag Team Championship, they both became Triple Crown winners at

1984-735: The Raw Tag Team Championship, now the World Tag Team Championship). A total of nine men have won all five eligible championships; Edge , Chris Jericho , Cody Rhodes , Shawn Michaels , Triple H , Kane , Big Show , Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton . Although the United States Championship is the counterpart to the Intercontinental Championship, it has not been designated as an acceptable substitute for

IWGP Heavyweight Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue

2048-453: The Raw Women's Championship), Women's World Championship (previously known as the SmackDown Women's Championship), and the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship . With the announcement, Bayley - who had won the SmackDown Women's Championship for the first time three days prior - was recognized as the inaugural WWE Women's Triple Crown Champion, after having previously held the Raw and Women's Tag Team championships. Bayley has been referred to as

2112-399: The SmackDown Tag Team Championship, but these wrestlers had already held the required titles in those tiers). At WrestleMania 36 , Braun Strowman won the Universal Championship after previously holding the Intercontinental and Raw Tag Team Championships, but WWE did not recognize him as a Triple Crown winner. Since then, Kevin Owens and Finn Bálor have also completed WWE's Grand Slam with

2176-453: The Triple Crown was an accolade bestowed upon those who won (not necessarily concurrently) all three championships regularly contested in TNA between 2002 and 2007: the NWA World Heavyweight Championship , the TNA X Division Championship , and one-half of the NWA World Tag Team Championship . It was unknown whether or not those who won the NWA World Heavyweight and NWA World Tag Team Championships before or after TNA's acquisition and usage of

2240-432: The Triple Crown, as well as the NWA International tag team title with Tsuruta. Their combination was called "Kakuryu" ( 鶴 = kaku = tsuru (the "tsuru" in Tsuruta) + 龍 = ryū in Tenryū). The team feuded with Riki Choshu and Yoshiaki Yatsu , who were the leaders in an "invasion" angle by the Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, an All Japan satellite made up of former New Japan Pro-Wrestling talent. In 1987, following

2304-479: The Triple Crown, though in 2015, it became a required championship for WWE's Grand Slam . In July 2016, a second brand extension period began and two new titles were introduced: the Universal Championship and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship (now known as the WWE Tag Team Championship). In January 2017, these were designated as acceptable substitutes for their counterpart titles in the Grand Slam, but WWE have not yet confirmed if they are acceptable substitutes for

2368-416: The Triple Crown. Only five wrestlers have become a Triple Crown winner since the new titles were established, and for three of them, although they have held one of the newer titles, their Triple Crown designation is recognized by their previous titles held ( Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns have each held the Universal Championship while Kofi Kingston , The Miz , Jeff Hardy , and Daniel Bryan have each held

2432-406: The Universal championship, but neither is recognized as Triple Crown winners as well. In May 2023, WWE introduced a new version of the World Heavyweight Championship , the lineage of which does not share with the previous WWE World Heavyweight Championship that was retired in 2013. It has not been confirmed if this title would serve as an acceptable substitute for the Triple Crown. CM Punk holds

2496-525: The World Championship and any combination of the Television, Tag Team or ROH Pure Championship would qualify. The ROH World Six Man Tag Team Championship is not part of the Triple Crown, but when added to the Triple Crown it forms the ROH Grand Slam. Eddie Edwards completed the ROH Triple Crown the fastest, and Samoa Joe completed it in the longest amount of time. Edwards completed it in 709 days, between April 2009 and March 2011, while Samoa Joe completed it in 6,962 days (19 years and 22 days), first winning

2560-565: The defunct promotions World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and Lucha Underground . The All Elite Wrestling (AEW) Triple Crown was established on September 4, 2022, defined by company CEO Tony Khan as consisting of the AEW World Championship , the AEW World Tag Team Championship and the AEW World Trios Championship . Kenny Omega became the first Triple Crown winner after becoming part of inaugural Trios Championship team at All Out . The Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) Triple Crown consisted of

2624-462: The departure of the Japan Pro talent, Kakuryu broke up after losing the tag team titles to The Road Warriors , which led to Tenryu forming his own stable, " Revolution ", with former International Pro Wrestling wrestlers Ashura Hara and Hiromichi Fuyuki , as well as All Japan rookies Toshiaki Kawada , and Yoshinari Ogawa ; Tatsumi Kitahara would join the group upon his debut in 1988. Tenryu and Hara feuded with Tsuruta and his new partner Yatsu over

IWGP Heavyweight Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue

2688-478: The first Knockouts Triple Crown winner after winning the TNA Knockouts World Championship , the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship and the TNA Digital Media Championship - which is an open title for both male and female wrestlers. Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide had eight established titles in its promotion, but recognises the AAA Mega Championship , the AAA Latin American Championship and, World Tag Team Championship as its Triple Crown. Fenix completed

2752-429: The first UK Champion in 2017 (the title was then known as the WWE United Kingdom Championship) and later won the Heritage Cup in May 2021. All American Wrestling (AAW) is an independent regional promotion. Their version consists of the AAW Heavyweight Championship , the AAW Heritage Championship and the AAW Tag Team Championship . Chaotic Wrestling is an independent regional promotion. Their version consists of

2816-410: The history of the championship, several wrestlers were forced to relinquish the title due to an inability to participate in title defenses. When a wrestler had been injured or unable to compete for other reasons, tournaments were held to determine the new champion. In 2006, Brock Lesnar was stripped of the title for refusing to defend it, claiming he was owed money by NJPW. The company went on to crown

2880-554: The match from taking place. This created an uncomfortable situation where Giant Baba had to apologize to his Japanese audience for a match he had promoted not taking place, and was a key factor in All Japan Pro Wrestling's ultimate withdrawal from the NWA. This also resulted in the six man championship being vacated and abandoned until 1991, when it was temporarily resurrected as a World Championship Wrestling championship. In April 1990, Tenryu left All Japan Pro Wrestling to form Super World of Sports (SWS). He wrestled his first match for

2944-974: The nascent promotion in September 1990, teaming with Takashi Ishikawa as "Revolution" to defeat Dojo Geki ( Isao Takagi and Yoshiaki Yatsu ). In 1991, as part of a working agreement between Super World of Sports and the World Wrestling Federation , Tenryu appeared at WrestleMania VII , where he teamed with Koji Kitao to defeat Demolition . Tenryu wrestled his final match for SWS in June 1992, teaming with Ashura Hara and Último Dragón to defeat Jerry Estrada , King Haku , and The Great Kabuki . After Super World of Sports collapsed in June 1992, Tenryu, aided by Masatomo Takei (brother of his wife Makiyo) formed Wrestling and Romance (WAR). WAR became his base from where he would take on top wrestlers from other promotions, such as Atsushi Onita , Nobuhiko Takada , The Great Muta , Shinya Hashimoto and Masahiro Chono , all of whom he defeated. He also traded victories with Tatsumi Fujinami and Antonio Inoki , thus becoming

3008-533: The near-collapse of All Japan due to the Pro Wrestling Noah split, Tenryu closed WAR and rejoined All Japan, eager to test his mettle against the remaining ace , his former disciple Kawada. Tenryu beat Kawada in the subsequent tournament for the vacant Triple Crown, winning the belts for a second time. In his second stay in All Japan, he would capture the belts a third time and also the World Tag Team Championship with former WAR– UWFI feud rival Yoji Anjo . In 2003, he joined Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling for

3072-636: The only Japanese wrestler to defeat both Inoki and Baba by pinfall. Tenryu made brief returns to the World Wrestling Federation at the 1993 Royal Rumble and 1994 Royal Rumble ; in the latter he made it to the final five but was eliminated by eventual co-winners Lex Luger and Bret Hart . An angle had he and The Great Kabuki hired as mercenaries by Yokozuna 's manager, Mr. Fuji , to attack The Undertaker and prevent him from winning. In 1998, as WAR went into decline, Tenryu began an earnest comeback, this time in New Japan. He first joined Heisei Ishingun , allied with its leader Shiro Koshinaka , and they won

3136-407: The record for completing the Triple Crown in the shortest amount of time between the first and third title. It took him 203 days between June 2008 and January 2009. The wrestler holding the record for most time between the first and third title is Cody Rhodes , for whom it took 5,963 days between December 2007 and April 2024. The following is a list of WWE Triple Crown winners with dates indicating

3200-399: The respective championship. Only tag teams who have completed the triple crown are included, individuals such as Jason Jordan and Chad Gable (who won the NXT and SmackDown Tag Team championships as a team, but won the Raw Tag Team Championship separately) are excluded. On May 22, 2019, a women's Triple Crown was established, consisting of the WWE Women's Championship (previously known as

3264-405: The same time. Chris Benoit completed the WCW Triple Crown the fastest, completing it in 309 days between March 1999 and January 2000. In WWE (formerly known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation/WWWF and World Wrestling Federation/WWF), the term Triple Crown Champion has traditionally been used to describe a wrestler who has won the WWE Championship , the Intercontinental Championship , and

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3328-405: The same time. Sometimes, they were called "Double Championship". One year after Naito's victory, Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi announced the unification of both titles, deactivating the Intercontinental title and forming the new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. On March 4, 2021, the Double Champion Kota Ibushi defeated El Desperado to unify and retire both titles. On October 21, 2021, after winning

3392-434: The second Triple Crown Champion". This indicates that the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and the TNA World Tag Team Championship are part of the existing Triple Crown accolade. The following is a list of TNA Triple Crown winners with dates indicating the wrestler's first reign with the respective championship. Under TNA's definition of the Triple Crown, wrestlers are eligible to win the Triple Crown each time they complete

3456-419: The standard for all Triple Crown matches and feuds to follow. When Tenryu won the belts on June 5, the match was so spectacular it was deemed Match of the Year by major Japanese publications. The same year saw him finally pin his mentor Baba, albeit in a tag match - but still a major success for a Japanese wrestler. Only Mitsuharu Misawa would duplicate this feat. In addition, Tenryu was chosen to be one-third of

3520-813: The title 12 times, more defenses than any other title holder. Kensuke Sasaki 's fourth reign of 16 days is the shortest in the title's history. Over his five reigns, Okada successfully defended the title 30 times, the most of any champion. Big Van Vader's first and third reigns, Salman Hashimikov's only reign, Riki Choshu 's first reign, Tatsumi Fujinami 's third and fifth reigns, Masahiro Chono 's only reign, Genichiro Tenryu 's only reign, Scott Norton 's second reign, Hiroyoshi Tenzan 's first and third reigns, Kensuke Sasaki's fourth reign, Kazuyuki Fujita 's third reign, Manabu Nakanishi 's only reign, Hiroshi Tanahashi 's eighth reign, and Jay White 's only reign are all tied for least successful defenses at zero. Triple Crown (professional wrestling) The Triple Crown

3584-485: The title belts would qualify for the Triple Crown. In May 2007, TNA lost the rights to the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Tag Team Championship and introduced the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and the TNA World Tag Team Championship . On July 8, 2007, Impact Wrestling (then known as TNA) stated that, should the then- X Division Champion Samoa Joe win the TNA World Tag Team Championship, this would leave him "just one step shy of becoming only

3648-458: The title, with Vader being the first American champion, Hashimikov being the only Soviet-born champion, Omega is the only Canadian champion and White the only New Zealand champion. Antonio Inoki was the first champion in the title's history. Hiroshi Tanahashi held the record for most reigns with eight. Kazuchika Okada held the record for the longest reign in the title's history at 720 days during his fourth reign, over which he successfully defended

3712-412: The undercard until about 1982 when he began to get a slight push in that year's Champion Carnival tournament. In 1983, following a brief stint in Jim Crockett Promotions , his push began in earnest when Jumbo Tsuruta pursued the NWA International heavyweight title, now the main title in the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship . 1984 saw Tenryu winning the NWA United National title, now also part of

3776-426: The wrestler's first or only reign with the respective championship. Since 2019, WWE has recognized the winners of all three tag team championships currently available (Raw, Smackdown and, since 2013, NXT) as Tag Team Triple Crown winners. The Revival were the first team to complete the Tag Team Triple crown by winning the SmackDown Tag Team Championships in September 2019. The Street Profits has to date completed

3840-403: The year. Tenryu held a press conference two days later to confirm the report, announcing that his retirement event would be taking place in November and would feature participation from All Japan, New Japan and Noah. On August 16, Tenryu made a surprise return to New Japan, having a confrontation with Kazuchika Okada to set up his retirement match on November 15. In the meantime, he embarked on

3904-448: Was defeated by Razor Ramon HG and joined the main face group led by Razor Ramon HG, Hustle Army. In December 2009, following the folding of Hustle, Tenryu began running his own Tenryu Project promotion. He continued to make forays into other promotions, remaining active even past age 60. On February 7, 2015, it was reported that Tenryu had decided to retire from professional wrestling with his final match scheduled to take place later in

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3968-432: Was his shikona . He had two stints with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he spent the majority of his career while also promoting Super World of Sports (SWS), Wrestle Association R (WAR) and Tenryu Project . He is widely considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. At the time of his retirement, professional wrestling journalist and historian Dave Meltzer wrote that "one could make

4032-433: 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 1987 version was defended regularly and was the top championship of NJPW until the introduction of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in 2021. Throughout

4096-439: Was not recognized as the official IWGP Heavyweight Champion and the belt is still considered deactivated. There were seventy three reigns shared among thirty-one wrestlers with ten vacancies . Title changes happen at NJPW-promoted events. Big Van Vader , Salman Hashimikov , Scott Norton , Bob Sapp , Brock Lesnar, A.J. Styles , Kenny Omega and Jay White were the eight non-Japanese wrestlers (billed as gaijin ) to have held

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