The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling

Professional wrestling

Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

 junior heavweight championship

Championship (professional wrestling)

A Championship or "title" in professional wrestling is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations.Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in scripted rivalries...

 owned by the New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling

is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...

 (NJPW) promotion

Professional wrestling promotion

A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...

. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix. The title was introduced on February 6, 1986 at a NJPW show

House show

A house show is a professional wrestling show run by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive during televised events, as well as test reactions to matches, wrestlers, and...

. 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 tag team title is 220 lb (99.8 kg); it is assumed that this title has the same weight-limit. From August 5, 1996 until November 5, 1997 the title was part of the J-Crown

J-Crown

-Title history:-External links:*...

, or J-Crown Octuple Unified

Championship unification

Championship unification is the act of combining two or more separate professional wrestling championships into a single title.-History:In professional wrestling, championships may be unified to consolidate the number of championships in a given promotion, or to add legitimacy and prestige to a...

 Championship. The J-Crown was an assembly of eight different championships from several different promotions. It was created on August 5, 1996 when The Great Sasuke won an eight-man tournament. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, the British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship

British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship

The British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that although being created in England, it gained its biggest notoriety in Japan...

, the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship

NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship

The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship and secondary title in the National Wrestling Alliance that was for the lighter wrestlers. It started in 1945 and still exists today. The title was unified with the National Boxing/Wrestling Association's...

, the NWA World Welterweight Championship

NWA World Welterweight Championship

The NWA World Welterweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship governed by the National Wrestling Alliance . For the majority of its existence, the title has been promoted by Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre , where it was known as the Campeonato Mundial Welter de...

, the UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship

UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship

The UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship that was originally promoted by the Mexican lucha libre Professional wrestling) promotion Universal Wrestling Association...

, the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship

WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship

The WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship was a title contested for in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Wrestle Association R , which closed in 2000. It was part of New Japan Pro Wrestling's short-lived J-Crown Championship in 1996 and 1997. The title was revived in April...

, the WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship

WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship

The WWA World Light Heavyweight Championship is a singles professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling based promotion World Wrestling Association since 1989. In the 1990s the title was taken to Japan when reigning champion Gran Hamada returned to his home...

, and the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship

WWF Light Heavyweight Championship

The World Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship. The title was challenged by light heavyweights at a maximum weight of 220 lbs.- History :...

 were the eight championships that were involved. On November 5, 1997, then-champion Shinjiro Otani vacated all J-Crown belts but the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship after the World Wrestling Federation

World Wrestling Entertainment

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

 (WWF) retook control of its Light Heavyweight title, effectively ending the J-Crown. Being a professional wrestling championship, the title is won as a result of a predetermined outcome.

Overall, there have been 62 reigns shared among 31 wrestlers. Title changes happen mostly at NJPW-promoted events, as it has only changed hands at non-NJPW events twice. Reigns 36 and 37 occurred on World Championship Wrestling

World Championship Wrestling

World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...

's Nitro

WCW Monday Nitro

WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001...

television broadcast, when Juventud Guerrera

Juventud Guerrera

Eduardo Aníbal González Hernández , better known as Juventud Guerrera, is a Mexican professional wrestler who is best known for his work in many wrestling promotions worldwide, including all the major American wrestling promotions, such as World Wrestling Entertainment, World Championship...

 defeated Jushin Liger

Jushin Liger

, better known as and later, is a Japanese professional wrestler who primarily works for New Japan Pro Wrestling.He has wrestled and beaten many of the top smaller wrestlers in both Japan and the United States, and is frequently cited as one of the greatest and most revolutionary junior...

 on November 29, 1999, and on December 6, 1999 when Liger retrieved the championship by defeating Guerrera's stand-in Psychosis. The inaugural champion was Shiro Koshinaka

Shiro Koshinaka

is a Japanese professional wrestler who has competed in All Japan Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Wrestle Association "R" during the 1980s and 1990s...

, who defeated The Cobra

George Takano

George Takano is a professional wrestler who hailed from Uganda under the alias The Cobra, a masked wrestler persona...

 on February 6, 1986 in the finals of a tournament. Liger holds the record of most reigns, with 11. At 628 days, Liger's sixth reign is the longest in the title's history. Liger, with a combined 11 reigns, holds the record for most days as champion at 2,245. Guerrera's only reigns holds the record for shortest reign at one week. With 11 successful defenses, Minoru Tanaka's reign under the ring name

Ring name

A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...

 "Heat" had the most during a single reign. Over his 11 reigns, Liger successfully defended the title 31 times, the most of any champion. With zero, El Samurai's second reign, Hiroshi Hase's second reign, Tiger Mask IV

Tiger Mask IV

Yoshihiro Yamazaki , best known by his ring name Tiger Mask , is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Yamazaki is the fourth wrestler to portray the Tiger Mask image / persona; having used it since 1995...

's fourth and sixth reigns, Liger's fourth reign, Guerrera's only reign, and Pegasus Kid

Chris Benoit

Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...

's only reign are all tied for least successful defenses. Guerrera and Pegasus Kid are the only champions to not successfully defend the title once. Prince Devitt

Fergal Devitt

Fergal Devitt is an Irish professional wrestler currently contracted by New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is currently in his second reign as the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion...

 is the current champion in his second reign, after defeating Kushida

Yujiro Kushida

is a Japanese professional wrestler. He currently competes in New Japan Pro Wrestling as KUSHIDA. He won the ZST Genesis Lightweight Tournament and AJPW's U-30 Tag Team Tournament in 2008 with T28-Early years:...

 on September 19, 2011 at NJPW's Kantaro Hoshino Memorial Show to win the vacant title.

Title history

#	Order in reign history
Reign	The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed
Event	The event in which the title was won
Successful defenses	The number of successful defenses the champion had during his reign
—	Used for vacated reigns so as not to count it as an official reign
N/A	The information is not available or is unknown
+	Indicates the current reign is changing daily

#	Wrestlers	Reign	Date	Days held	Location	Event	Successful defenses	Notes
								Koshinaka defeated The Cobra George Takano George Takano is a professional wrestler who hailed from Uganda under the alias The Cobra, a masked wrestler persona...  in a tournament final to become the first champion.
								Koshinaka vacated the championship due to injuring his right ankle.
								Kobayashi defeated Nobuhiko Takada Nobuhiko Takada Nobuhiko Takada is a Japanese mixed martial arts fighter and professional wrestler. He is best known for helping to popularize shoot-style professional wrestling, as one of the biggest stars of the Universal Wrestling Federation and Union of Wrestling Force International in the '80s and '90s. He...  to win the vacant championship.
								Liger vacated the championship so a new champion could be decided in the Top of the Super Juniors tournament.
								Honaga defeated Jushin Liger Jushin Liger , better known as and later, is a Japanese professional wrestler who primarily works for New Japan Pro Wrestling.He has wrestled and beaten many of the top smaller wrestlers in both Japan and the United States, and is frequently cited as one of the greatest and most revolutionary junior...  in the finals of the Top of the Super Juniors tournament.
								Liger's WCW World Light Heavyweight Championship was also on the line.
								Liger vacated the championship due to fracturing his left ankle.
								Honaga defeated Wild Pegasus Chris Benoit Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...  in a tournament final to win the vacant championship.
								This match was also for Kanemoto's UWA World Welterweight Championship UWA World Welterweight Championship The UWA World Welterweight Championship is a championship in professional wrestling that is primarily contested for in various Lucha Libre promotions in Mexico. In 1993, the championship was recognized by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Michinoku Pro, following Super Delfin's victory... .
								On August 5, 1996, Sasuke won an 8-man tournament to form the J-Crown J-Crown -Title history:-External links:*... , an octuple-belt championship that includes the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title; these titles were still considered separate, but were defended together.
								Liger lost the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship The WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship was a title contested for in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Wrestle Association R , which closed in 2000. It was part of New Japan Pro Wrestling's short-lived J-Crown Championship in 1996 and 1997. The title was revived in April...  from the J-Crown on June 6, 1997, but continued to defend the other 7 belts.
								On November 5, 1997, Otani vacated all J-Crown belts but the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title after the WWF World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...  retook control of its Light Heavyweight title WWF Light Heavyweight Championship The World Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship. The title was challenged by light heavyweights at a maximum weight of 220 lbs.- History :... , effectively ending the J-Crown.
								Psychosis replaced Guerrera in the match due to Guerrera suffering a fractured right arm.
								The championship was vacated so it could be contested for in a battle royal Battle royal (professional wrestling) In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner... .
								Jado defeated Dick Togo, El Samurai, Gedo, Heat, Jushin Liger Jushin Liger , better known as and later, is a Japanese professional wrestler who primarily works for New Japan Pro Wrestling.He has wrestled and beaten many of the top smaller wrestlers in both Japan and the United States, and is frequently cited as one of the greatest and most revolutionary junior... , Katsushi Takemura, Koji Kanemoto Koji Kanemoto is a professional wrestler. He is of Zainichi Korean descent.-Career:Kanemoto practiced Judo during his high school days and won a few championships as a professional before being recruited by the New Japan Dojo. He debuted in November 1990, wrestling against Michiyoshi Ohara. In March 1992, he... , Masahito Kakihara, Masayuki Naruse Masayuki Naruse is a Japanese professional wrestler and Professional mixed martial artist.-Career:Naruse debuted in Fighting Network RINGS in 1992 where he was displayed as a scrappy junior heavyweight willing to take on opponents twice his size. He and other RINGS wrestlers made the transition to mixed martial...  and Tiger Mask IV Tiger Mask IV Yoshihiro Yamazaki , best known by his ring name Tiger Mask , is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Yamazaki is the fourth wrestler to portray the Tiger Mask image / persona; having used it since 1995...  in a battle royal Battle royal (professional wrestling) In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...  to win the vacant championship.
								This match was also for Black Tiger IV's NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship and secondary title in the National Wrestling Alliance that was for the lighter wrestlers. It started in 1945 and still exists today. The title was unified with the National Boxing/Wrestling Association's... .
								This match was also for Black Tiger IV's NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship and secondary title in the National Wrestling Alliance that was for the lighter wrestlers. It started in 1945 and still exists today. The title was unified with the National Boxing/Wrestling Association's... .
								The championship was vacated when Inoue moved to the heavyweight division.
								Tiger Mask IV defeated Prince Devitt Fergal Devitt Fergal Devitt is an Irish professional wrestler currently contracted by New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is currently in his second reign as the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion...  in a tournament final to win the vacant championship.
								The championship was vacated after Ibushi was sidelined with a shoulder injury.
				+				Devitt defeated Kushida Yujiro Kushida is a Japanese professional wrestler. He currently competes in New Japan Pro Wrestling as KUSHIDA. He won the ZST Genesis Lightweight Tournament and AJPW's U-30 Tag Team Tournament in 2008 with T28-Early years:...  to win the vacant championship.

Combined reigns

Symbol	Meaning
†	Indicates the current champion(s)

Rank	Wrestler	# of reigns	Combined defenses	Combined days
	†

External links

• New Japan Pro Wrestling.co.jp