Held by legends like Antonio Inoki and The Great Muta as well as modern titans like Hiroshi Tanahashi and AJ Styles, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship is not only New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s top title but also one of pro wrestling’s most prestigious championships. For many, that belt represents being the best wrestler on the planet. But what if there was another belt in NJPW that rivaled it?
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Enter the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Despite lasting less than a decade, this secondary title would be elevated by NJPW’s top stars and became such a success that its popularity and importance actually surpassed that of the Heavyweight Title.
The IWGP Intercontinental Championship Had A Bad Start
Recent NJPW fans might be surprised to find out how the title started out. The inaugural champion was determined in a tournament held during a three-show tour of the US in partnership with Jersey All Pro Wrestling. Mostly made up of on-excursion NJPW up-and-comers and regional talent, the finals would come down to former WWE star MVP beating Toru Yano in the ECW Arena.
After MVP, Masato Tanaka and Hirooki Goto would enjoy respectable several-month reigns with some underrated gems of title defenses. However, the new belt was strictly a mid-card affair, without the history or sense of importance or NJPW’s other titles.
Shinsuke Nakamura Elevates The Belt
All it takes to elevate a championship is the right champion, and Shinsuke Nakamura was a perfect choice. A three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion holding the belt made it feel important, and he further legitimized the Intercontinental Championship thanks to title defenses against international talent. On top of that, the belt got a redesign, adopting the white strap that served to further distinguish it from NJPW’s other championships.
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Nakamura would be a definitive IC champion, capturing it five times in his career and delivering classic title bouts. His Wrestle Kingdom defenses against Kota Ibushi and AJ Styles are the stuff of legend, but he also had great matches with La Sombra (a.k.a. Andrade El Idolo), Katsuyori Shibata, and Minoru Suzuki.
Wrestle Kingdom 8 Is Where The Belt Hit The Big Time
With 2014’s Wrestle Kingdom 8 came a turning point for the Intercontinental Championship. The main event was supposed to be Tetsuya Naito challenging Kazuchika Okada for the Heavyweight Championship, but Naito was proving to be an unpopular babyface.
In an unprecedented move, NJPW let a fan poll decide the main event, which resulted in the Intercontinental Title match between Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi headlining the show. This would kick off a narrative that would define the championship for the rest of its existence.
Tetsuya Naito And The Double Gold Dash
For Tetsuya Naito, the IWGP Intercontinental Championship was a curse. Not only did it steal his main event spot at the Tokyo Dome, but Naito also lost the match against Okada. That embarrassment worked to facilitate a heel turn that would make him a star as leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon. Soon enough, Naito would win the IC Title but would label it a burden, often physically abusing it during his entrances.
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The main event of January 2020’s two-night Wrestle Kingdom 14, would be the “Double Gold Dash,” where both the Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles would be defended on Night 1, and the ensuing champions would fight in a winner-take-all match on Night 2. Naito would beat IC Champion Jay White on Night 1 and then beat Kazuchika Okada to get the Heavyweight Title, finally coming full circle and making up for what happened six years earlier.
With that win, Naito would redefine the title, defending both the Intercontinental Championship and Heavyweight Championship at the same time as the “Double Championship.” What was once a burden became so important to Naito that after he lost the belts to Kota Ibushi, he attempted to win back only the IC Title at February 2021’s Castle Attack.
The NJPW Title Unification
Naito’s failure to win back the Intercontinental Championship would lead to the end of the title. A week later, Ibushi would defend the Double Championship, after which the two belts would finally be unified to form the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, represented by a brand new (singular) belt design.
The decision to unify the belts would be a controversial one among fans. Not only did fans balk at the design of the new strap, but they also lamented the history and lineage of two of pro wrestling’s top titles coming to the end. Which one of the two is the most prestigious, however, is up for debate.
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