New Japan Pro Wrestling
From Pro Wrestling
| New Japan Pro Wrestling | |
| |
| Acronym | NJPW |
|---|---|
| Established | 1972 |
| Folded | |
| Style | |
| Location | Tokyo, Japan |
| Founder | |
| Owner | Naoki Sugehayashi |
| Parent | |
| Sister | |
| Formerly | |
| Website | NJPW.co.jp |
New Japan Pro-Wrestling is a major federation in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in 1972. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it is the largest wrestling promotion in Japan and one of the largest in the world. Although attendance has declined in recent years, it still recorded a yearly attendance of approximately 50,000 fans higher than their closest rival Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2005 according to Weekly Fight. In October 2005, 51.5% of NJPW was sold to YUKE's Future Media Creators, an Osaka based company that markets home videos and video games. NJPW has working agreements with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, National Wrestling Alliance and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. It previously had a working agreement with World Championship Wrestling.
It has also been named Wrestling Observer Newsletter's "Promotion of the Year" 8 times, more than any other wrestling promotion in the world.
Contents |
Current champions
| Championship | Champion(s) | Defeated | Date Won | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IWGP Heavyweight Champion | Keiji Mutoh | Shinsuke Nakamura | April 27, 2008 | Osaka, Japan |
| IWGP Tag Team Champions | Togi Makabe & Toru Yano | Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko | February 17, 2008 | Tokyo, Japan |
| IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion | Wataru Inoue | Ryusuke Taguchi | December 8, 2007 | Osaka, Japan |
| IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions | AKIRA & Jushin Liger | Minoru & Prince Devitt | February 17, 2008 | Tokyo, Japan |
| IWGP U-30 Openweight Champion | Vacant | Hiroshi Tanahashi | June 7, 2006 | N/A |
Defunt champions
| Championship | Last champion(s) | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| IWGP Provisional Tag Team Championship | Manabu Nakanishi & Takao Omori | September 29, 2006 | N/A |
| NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship | Hirooki Goto | September 8, 2007 | N/A |
| NWF Heavyweight Championship | Shinsuke Nakamura | January 5, 2004 | N/A |
| UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship | Shinjiro Otani | October 5, 1997 | N/A |
| WWF International Heavyweight Championship | Tatsumi Fujinami | July 19, 1985 | N/A |
| WWF International Tag Team Championship | Kengo Kimura & Tatsumi Fujinami | October 31, 1985 | N/A |
| WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship | The Cobra | October 31, 1985 | N/A |
Annual tournaments
| Toutnament | Last winner(s) | Date Won |
|---|---|---|
| G1 Climax | Hiroyoshi Tenzan | August 13, 2006 |
| New Japan Cup | Yuji Nagata | March 21, 2007 |
| G1 Climax Tag League | Masahiro Chono & Shinsuke Nakamura | November 6, 2006 |
| Best of the Super Juniors | Minoru | June 18, 2006 |
