IWGP Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||
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Details | |||||||||||||||||
Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) | ||||||||||||||||
Date established | June 2, 1983 | ||||||||||||||||
Date retired | May 11, 1987 | ||||||||||||||||
Other name(s) | |||||||||||||||||
IWGP Championship | |||||||||||||||||
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The original version of IWGP Heavyweight Championship (IWGPヘビー級王座, IWGP hebī-kyū ōza) was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) professional wrestling promotion. "IWGP" is the initialism of NJPW's governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix.[1]
The title was introduced in 1983 for the winner of the IWGP League 1983. Subsequently, the championship was defended annually against the winner of the IWGP League of the year. The 1987–2021 IWGP Heavyweight Championship debuted in 1987 (replacing this version) and was defended regularly; the original IWGP belt was kept in use until 1997.[2]