Strong Openweight Championship
The Strong Openweight Championship (STRONG無差別級王座, STRONG musabetsu-kyū ōza) is a professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. The title was officially announced on April 2, 2021.[1] The title is exclusively featured on NJPW's American television program NJPW Strong Live, which includes American wrestlers.[2] The inaugural champion was Tom Lawlor. The current champion is Hikuleo, who is in his first reign.
| Strong Openweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||
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 The Strong Openweight Championship belt | |||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) | ||||||||||||||||
| Date established | April 2, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Hikuleo | ||||||||||||||||
| Date won | May 3, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||
| Other name(s) | |||||||||||||||||
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History
Inaugural tournament
| Qualifying March 5, 12, 19, 26 | Round 1 April 9 | Semi-finals April 16 | Final April 23 | ||||||||||||
| Clark Connors | Pin[3] | ||||||||||||||
| TJP | 9:27 | ||||||||||||||
| Clark Connors | 9:57 | ||||||||||||||
| Lio Rush | Pin[4] | ||||||||||||||
| Rocky Romero | 13:57 | ||||||||||||||
| Lio Rush | Pin[5] | ||||||||||||||
| Lio Rush | 7:38 | ||||||||||||||
| Brody King | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Brody King | Pin[6] | ||||||||||||||
| Bateman | 13:25 | ||||||||||||||
| Brody King | Pin[4] | ||||||||||||||
| Chris Dickinson | 10:42 | ||||||||||||||
| Blake Christian | 8:53 | ||||||||||||||
| Chris Dickinson | Pin[3] | ||||||||||||||
| Brody King | 20:05 | ||||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Ren Narita | Pin[6] | ||||||||||||||
| Misterioso | 11:12 | ||||||||||||||
| Ren Narita | 13:19 | ||||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | Sub[4] | ||||||||||||||
| The DKC | 9:13 | ||||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | Pin[5] | ||||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Hikuleo | 8:58 | ||||||||||||||
| Jordan Clearwater | 7:57 | ||||||||||||||
| Hikuleo | Pin[7] | ||||||||||||||
| Hikuleo | Pin[4] | ||||||||||||||
| Fred Rosser | 6:22 | ||||||||||||||
| Fred Rosser | Pin[7] | ||||||||||||||
| J. R. Kratos | 14:16 | ||||||||||||||
Reigns
As of May 10, 2023, there have been four reigns between four champions. Tom Lawlor was the inaugural champion. Kenta is the oldest champion when he won it at 41 years old while Hikuleo is the youngest champion at 32 years old.
Hikuleo is the current champion in his first reign. He defeated Kenta on May 3, 2023 at Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka, Japan.
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Days recog. | Number of days held recognized by the promotion |
| Defenses | Number of successful defenses |
| N/A | Unknown information |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Days recog. | Defenses | ||||
| 1 | Tom Lawlor | April 23, 2021 (air date) |
New Japan Cup USA 2021 | Port Hueneme, CA | 1 | N/A | 387 | 9 | Defeated Brody King in the finals of an 16-man single-elimination tournament to become the inaugural champion. The exact date this event was taped is unknown. It aired on April 23, 2021 on tape delay. | [8][1] |
| 2 | Fred Rosser | May 15, 2022 | Strong: Collision in Philadelphia | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 279 | 238 | 7 | Aired on tape delay on June 25, 2022. | [9] |
| 3 | Kenta | February 18, 2023 | Battle in the Valley | San Jose, CA | 1 | 74 | 74 | 2 | [10] | |
| 4 | Hikuleo | May 3, 2023 | Wrestling Dontaku | Fukuoka, Japan | 1 | 7+ | 7+ | 0 | [11] | |
References
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling (April 3, 2021). "Strong Openweight Championship revealed 【NJoA】". njpw1972.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- Solowrestling (2021-04-03). "NJPW anuncia la creación del Campeonato STRONG Openweight". solowrestling.mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-04-24.
- "Road to STRONG STYLE EVOLVED". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. March 26, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- Lambert, Jeremy (April 9, 2021). "NJPW Strong Results (4/9): New Japan Cup USA First Round Action". Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- "Road to STRONG STYLE EVOLVED". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. March 6, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- "Road to STRONG STYLE EVOLVED". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. March 20, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
- "Road to STRONG STYLE EVOLVED". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. March 13, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- HBN Staff (April 3, 2021). "NJPW Unveils New NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship". heelbynature.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- Defelice, Robert (May 15, 2022). "Spoiler: New NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Crowned At Collision In Philadelphia On 5/15". Fightful. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- Lambert, Jeremy (February 18, 2023). "NJPW Battle In The Valley Results (2/18): Mercedes Mone vs. KAIRI, Tanahashi vs. Okada, Loser Leaves NJPW". Fightful. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- Vetter, Chris (May 3, 2023). "5/3 NJPW "Wrestling Dontaku 2023" results: Vetter's review of Sanada vs. Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Tama Tonga vs. David Finlay for the Never Openweight Title Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, and Ren Narita vs. Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, and Hiroshi Tanahashi for the Never Openweight Six-Man Titles, Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jeff Cobb for the NJPW TV Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
External links
- Championship history on official website (in Japanese)
- Championship history on official website (in English)
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