Greatest 18 Club Championship

Not to be confused with WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship.
Greatest 18 Club Championship
Details
PromotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling
Date establishedSeptember 29, 1990
Date retiredAugust 16, 1992
Statistics
First champion(s)Riki Choshu
Final champion(s)The Great Muta
Longest reignRiki Choshu
(538 days)
Shortest reignThe Great Muta
(<1 day)
Oldest championRiki Choshu
(39 years, 84 days)
Youngest championThe Great Muta
(29 years, 237 days)

The Greatest 18 Club Championship (グレーテスト18クラブ王座, Gurētesuto Eitīn Kurabu Ōza) was a championship created and promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling.[1]

History

The title, represented by the old WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship belt, was established on September 29, 1990 during Antonio Inoki's career 30th anniversary as an addition to creation of the Greatest 18 Club (a hall of fame) consisting of Lou Thesz, Karl Gotch, Nick Bockwinkel, Johnny Powers, Johnny Valentine, André the Giant, Stan Hansen, Wim Ruska, Billy Robinson, Hiro Matsuda, Bob Backlund, Verne Gagne, Strong Kobayashi, Hulk Hogan, Muhammad Ali, Seiji Sakaguchi, Antonio Inoki and initially Tiger Jeet Singh later replaced by Dusty Rhodes.[2]

Riki Choshu was the first champion, being awarded the title by Lou Thesz[3] on February 25, 1991. He successfully defended his title against Tiger Jeet Singh at Starrcade in Tokyo Dome,[4] Shinya Hashimoto on day 3 of Tokyo 3 Days Battle[5][6] and Tatsumi Fujinami at Super Warriors in Tokyo Dome.[2][7]

The Great Muta retired the championship moments after winning it, in order to focus on his IWGP Heavyweight Championship title defenses.

Reigns

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Defences Number of successful defences
N/A Unknown information
<1 Reign lasted less than a day
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Defences
1 Riki Choshu February 25, 1991 N/A N/A 1 538 3 He was awarded the title. [8]
2 The Great Muta August 16, 1992 G1 Climax Special 1992 Fukuoka, Japan 1 <1 0 This match was also for Riki Choshu's IWGP Heavyweight Championship. [9]
— Deactivated August 16, 1992 — — — — — Muta retired the championship in order to focus on his IWGP Heavyweight Championship title defenses.

References

  1. ^ "The Greatest 18 Club Title (Japan)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
  2. ^ a b NJPW. "Double Gold Dash: Five Double Title matches in NJPW Tokyo Dome history 【WK14】 | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  3. ^ "猪木が巻いたベルトの歴史 ＷＷＦ格闘技世界ヘビー級選手権". Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  4. ^ "NJPW G1 Climax Special 1992 - Tag 2 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  5. ^ "NJPW Tokyo 3Days Battle - Tag 3 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  6. ^ "NJPW Budokan Hall Show (Nov '91) at Budokan Hall wrestling results - Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  7. ^ "NJPW/WCW Starrcade 1992 In Tokyo Dome « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.com. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  8. ^ Schadler, Kyle. "Abandoned: WWF Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship in Retrospect". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  9. ^ "NJPW G1 Climax Special 1992 - Tag 2 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2020-06-11.