The WWF International Heavyweight Championship is a former championship recognized by NWA Northeast

National Wrestling Alliance

The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...

, 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...

, 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...

 and the Japanese UWF

Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan)

The original Japanese-based Universal Wrestling Federation was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1984 to 1986, formed by wrestlers who had left New Japan Pro Wrestling. It was a pioneer in the shoot-style of pro-wrestling, which emphasized realistic moves. It was revived as the...

.

The title existed from 1959 through 1963 and again from 1982 through 1985.

Main branch (New Japan Pro Wrestling)

Wrestler:	Times:	Date:	Place:
Antonino Rocca Antonino Rocca Antonino Rocca was an Italian-born Argentine professional wrestler. Rocca was a popular face and in some cities with both Italian-American and especially Hispanic audiences, his following was exceptionally large and loyal.He had a love for opera and was apparently described as having an excellent... 1	1	July 1959	New York City, New York New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
The title was then vacated in 1963 and became inactive.
Tony Parisi Antonio Pugliese Antonio Pugliese , born in Cosenza, Italy, was a professional wrestler. He is better known by his ring name Tony Parisi. Pugliese was primarily a tag team wrestler, and he won tag team titles in several organizations, including the National Wrestling Alliance , World Wide Wrestling Federation , and...	1	1982	Buffalo, New York Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
Gino Brito Gino Brito Louis Gino Acocella , better known by his ring name Gino Brito is a Canadian professional wrestler. He was a popular wrestler in Montreal, and was one of the promoters in the city in the 1980s...	1	August 1982	Buffalo, New York
Tatsumi Fujinami Tatsumi Fujinami is a Japanese professional wrestler who is famous for his gimmick as "The Dragon." He is the one who is credited for inventing the Dragon Sleeper and the Dragon Suplex...	1	August 30, 1982	New York City, New York
Riki Chōshū Riki Choshu Mitsuo Yoshida , better known by his stage name Riki Chōshū , is a Korean-Japanese professional wrestler who is most known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro Wrestling as a wrestler and a booker...	1	April 3, 1983	Tokyo, Japan Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
Tatsumi Fujinami²	2	August 4, 1983	Tokyo, Japan
Fujinami gave up the title after a double disqualification against Super Strong Machine Junji Hirata is a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestles for the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, and currently uses the ring name .-Career:Hirata made his debut in New Japan on August 26, 1978 against Yoshiaki Fujiwara...  on July 19, 1985 in Sapporo, Japan Sapporo, Hokkaido is the fourth-largest city in Japan by population, and the largest city on the island of Hokkaido. It is the capital of Hokkaidō Prefecture, located in Ishikari Subprefecture, and an ordinance-designated city of Japan.... . The title was then abandoned on October 31, 1985 when New Japan and the WWF split.
Akira Maeda Akira Maeda is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, also known as Kwik-kik-Lee for his time on the British Wrestling show World of Sport. He helped develop the shoot-style of professional wrestling during the late 1980s....	1	March 25, 1984	New York City, New York New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Maeda defeated Pierre Lefebvre at Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...  to be recognized by WWF. He returned to UWF during April 1984 and defended it until July 23, 1984, when UWF President Hisashi Shinma jumped to All Japan Pro Wrestling All Japan Pro Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972. All Japan Pro Wrestling still remains one of the most popular puroresu promotions still in operation.-The Giant Baba Era :... , and thus UWF and the WWF split.

¹ Defeated Buddy Rogers to become the first champion.

² Fujinami won the match by countout but refused to accept the belt. Chōshū couldn't
get into Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 for the rematch in Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

on August 12, 1983, and Fujinami was recognized as champion.

External links

• WWF International Heavyweight Title History