IWA World Heavyweight Championship (IWA Japan)

The IWA World Heavyweight Championship (Japanese: IWA世界ヘビー級王座, Hepburn: IWA Sekai Hebī-kyū Ōza) was a title used on the Japanese independent circuit. The title was the world heavyweight championship of the International Wrestling Association of Japan (IWA Japan).[1] It was later revived in the women's wrestling promotion Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling, where it became part of the IWA Triple Crown Championship (Japanese: IWA三冠統一王座, Hepburn: IWA Sankan Tōitsu Ōza) with a separate reign history.[2]

IWA World Heavyweight Championship
Details
Promotion
Date establishedJuly 20, 1994
Date retiredAugust 5, 2017
Other name(s)
  • IWA Triple Crown Championship
Statistics
First champion(s)Doug Gilbert
Final champion(s)Emi Sakura
Most reignsEmi Sakura
(4 reigns)
Longest reignDoug Gilbert
(455 days)
Shortest reignEmi Sakura
(<1 day)

Title history

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IWA World Heavyweight Championship

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Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
<1 Reign lasted less than a day
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days
International Wrestling Association of Japan
1 Dick Slater July 20, 1994 Who Is the Best Iwate Prefecture, Japan 1 391 Defeated Nobutaka Araya to become the inaugural champion. [1][3]
Vacated August 15, 1995 Vacated due to Slater leaving Japan to return to the United States because of his mother's illness. [1]
2 Tarzan Goto August 15, 1995 Kawasaki★Dream: The Indie Dream Yokkaichi, Japan 1 438 Defeated Leatherface to win the vacant title. [1][4]
Vacated October 26, 1996 Vacated when Goto left the promotion. [1]
3 Doug Gilbert January 13, 1998 House show Tokyo, Japan 1 455 Won a 15-man Battle Royal Deathmatch by last eliminating Keisuke Yamada to win the vacant title. [1][5]
4 Ghost Face April 13, 1999 House show Tokyo, Japan 2 129 Previously held the title under the name Tarzan Goto. Reverted to this name on June 27, 1999. [1]
Vacated August 20, 1999 Vacated due to unknown circumstances. [1]
5 Hacksaw Jim Duggan August 31, 2004 IWA Japan 10th Anniversary Show Tokyo, Japan 1 239 Defeated Big Boss Man in a six-man tournament final to win the vacant title. [1]
Vacated April 27, 2005 Vacated due to unknown circumstances. [1]
6 Black Buffalo July 2, 2009 House show Tokyo, Japan 1 156 Defeated Keizo Matsuda to win the vacant championship. [1]
7 Keizo Matsuda December 5, 2009 House show Tokyo, Japan 1 531 [1]
Vacated May 20, 2011 Vacated when Matsuda left the promotion. [1]
Deactivated July 30, 2011
8 Emi Sakura November 16, 2013 House show Tokyo, Japan 1 <1 Defeated Kyonin Shihan to win the vacant title. This match was also contested for the AWF World Women's Championship and the IWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. [1]
Unified November 16, 2013 Unified with the AWF World Women's Championship and the IWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship to create the IWA Triple Crown Championship. [1]

IWA Triple Crown Championship

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Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Defenses Number of successful defenses
<1 Reign lasted less than a day
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Defenses
Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling
1 Emi Sakura November 16, 2013 IWA Japan house show Tokyo, Japan 1 41 0 Defeated Kyonin Shihan to unify the vacant IWA World Heavyweight Championship, the IWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship and the AWF World Women's Championship. [1]
2 Antonio Honda December 27, 2013 Japan Tour #79: Last Itabashi Of 2013 Tokyo, Japan 1 29 0 This was an Ogiri Deathmatch. [2]
3 Emi Sakura January 25, 2014 Japan Tour #87 Tokyo, Japan 2 197 2 This was a Wasabi Cream Deathmatch. [2]
4 Konaka Pahalwan August 10, 2014 Japan Tour #122: Sakura 7 Days War Tokyo, Japan 1 55 1 [2]
5 Emi Sakura October 4, 2014 Japan Tour #131 Tokyo, Japan 3 29 1 [2]
6 Riho November 2, 2014 Japan Tour #135: Thinking of Culture Tokyo, Japan 1 323 4 [2]
7 DJ Nira September 21, 2015 Japan Tour #187: First Time in Yokohama Tokyo, Japan 1 92 2 [2]
8 Kaori Yoneyama December 22, 2015 Japan Tour #202: Last Itabashi of 2015 Tokyo, Japan 1 183 1 [2]
9 Riho June 22, 2016 Riho 10th Anniversary: Flowers Blooming for 10 Years Tokyo, Japan 2 150 0 [2]
10 Makoto November 19, 2016 Japan Tour #258 Tokyo, Japan 1 224 2 [2]
Vacated July 1, 2017 Vacated due to Makoto suffering a neck injury. [2]
11 Emi Sakura August 5, 2017 Japan Tour #303 Nagoya, Japan 4 <1 0 Defeated Riho to win the vacant title. [2]
Deactivated August 5, 2017 Sakura immediately retired the title and returned the belt to IWA Japan. Gatoh Move then introduced the Super Asia Championship to take its place. [2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "I.W.A. World Heavyweight Title (I.W.A. Japan)". Puroresu Dojo.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "International Wrestling Association Triple Crown Title". Wrestling-Titles.com.
  3. ^ "International Wrestling Association Japan - "WHO IS THE BEST"". PuroLove.com (in German). Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  4. ^ "International Wrestling Association Japan - "KAWASAKI★DREAM ~THE INDIE DREAM~"". PuroLove.com (in German). Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  5. ^ Hoops, Brian (January 13, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/13): TNA Genesis 2013". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.