The International Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1, formerly Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max), contested exclusively among junior heavyweight (<100 kg (220 lb)) wrestlers. It was originally created on June 29, 2002, as the NWA/UPW/Zero-One International Junior Heavyweight Championship, symbolizing Pro Wrestling Zero-One (Zero-One)'s relationship with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW); Leonardo Spanky defeated Smelly to become the first champion.[1] When Zero-One left the NWA on October 31, 2004, the title was renamed to incorporate Steve Corino's Pro Wrestling World-1 (Word-1), becoming the Zero-One/UPW/World-1 International Junior Heavyweight Championship. The name was again altered when the newly renamed Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (Zero1-Max) joined the AWA Superstars of Wrestling (AWA) alliance on February 28, 2005, with the title becoming known as the AWA/Zero1-Max/UPW/World-1 International Junior Heavyweight Championship. On August 26, 2006, after Minoru Fujita won the annual Tenkaichi Jr. tournament, Fujita renamed the championship to the AWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. When Zero1-Max left the AWA on December 15, 2007, it was renamed again to the Zero1-Max International Junior Heavyweight Championship. Finally, when the company changed its name to Pro Wrestling Zero1 in 2008, the championship followed and became known as the Zero1 International Junior Heavyweight Championship.
| International Junior Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Leo Isaka holding the International Junior Heavyweight title in his left hand | |||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||
| Promotion | Pro Wrestling Zero1 | ||||||||||
| Date established | June 29, 2002 | ||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Seiki Yoshioka | ||||||||||
| Date won | March 3, 2024 | ||||||||||
| Other name(s) | |||||||||||
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There have been a total of 27 recognized champions, who have had a combined 37 official reigns. The current champion is Seiki Yoshioka who is in his first reign.
Title history
edit| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Defenses | Number of successful defenses |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defenses | |||||
| National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / (UPW) Ultimate Pro Wrestling / Pro Wrestling Zero-One (Zero-One) | ||||||||||
| 1 | Leonardo Spanky | June 29, 2002 | Creation Tour | Sapporo, Japan | 1 | 79 | 3 | Spanky defeated Smelly to become the inaugural champion. | ||
| 2 | Low Ki | September 16, 2002 | Genesis II | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 349 | 8 | |||
| 3 | Wataru Sakata | August 31, 2003 | Summer Festival Tour | Gifu, Japan | 1 | 225 | 1 | This match was also for Sakata's World-1 Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| — | Vacated | April 12, 2004 | — | — | — | — | — | Sakata vacated the championship so he could focus on the defenses of his World-1 title. | ||
| 4 | Tatsuhito Takaiwa | May 16, 2004 | Cashonor | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 216 | 5 | Takaiwa defeated Tony Stradlin for the vacant championship. | ||
| AWA Superstars of Wrestling (AWA) / Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (Zero1-Max) / Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) / Pro Wrestling World-1 (World-1) | ||||||||||
| 5 | Super Crazy | December 18, 2004 | AWA Heavyweight Title Contender Tournament Tour | Chiba, Japan | 1 | 117 | 0 | Crazy later unifies the World-1 Junior Heavyweight Championship into the International Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| 6 | Ikuto Hidaka | April 14, 2005 | Outburst Revolution Tour | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 318 | 4 | |||
| 7 | Takuya Sugawara | February 26, 2006 | Happening Tour | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 151 | 1 | |||
| 8 | Tatsuhito Takaiwa | July 27, 2006 | Fire Festival Tour | Osaka, Japan | 2 | <1 | 0 | This match was also for Takaiwa's WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| — | Vacated | July 27, 2006 | — | — | — | — | — | Takaiwa vacated the championship so it could be decided in the 2006 Tenkaichi Jr. tournament. | ||
| AWA Superstars of Wrestling (AWA) / Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (Zero1-Max) | ||||||||||
| 9 | Minoru Fujita | August 26, 2006 | Tenkaichi Junior | Kyoto, Japan | 1 | 146 | 2 | Fujita defeated Takuya Sugawara in the finals of the 2006 Tenkaichi Jr. tournament to become the new champion. | ||
| 10 | Ikuto Hidaka | January 19, 2007 | Over the Max Tour | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 30 | 0 | |||
| 11 | Tatsuhito Takaiwa | February 18, 2007 | Make the Emotion Tour | Tokyo, Japan | 3 | 77 | 0 | |||
| — | Vacated | May 6, 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated due to Takaiwa suffering a knee injury. | ||
| 12 | Dick Togo | June 20, 2007 | Dynamo Tour | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 128 | 1 | Togo won a 9-man battle royal to become the new champion. | ||
| 13 | Ikuto Hidaka | October 26, 2007 | Innovation Tour | Tokyo, Japan | 3 | 89 | 1 | |||
| Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (Zero1-Max) | ||||||||||
| 14 | Masaaki Mochizuki | January 23, 2008 | Zero1-Max 3rd Anniversary | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 155 | 3 | |||
| 15 | Ikuto Hidaka | June 26, 2008 | Dauntless Tour | Tokyo, Japan | 4 | 262 | 5 | |||
| 16 | Sonjay Dutt | March 15, 2009 | Wrestler's 1 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 259 | 0 | |||
| — | Vacated | November 29, 2009 | — | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated so it could be contested in the 2009 Tenkaichi Jr. tournament. | ||
| 17 | Ikuto Hidaka | November 29, 2009 | Wrestler's 7 ~ Grant Me My Wish! | Tokyo, Japan | 5 | 540 | 6 | Hidaka defeated Prince Devitt in the finals of the 2009 Tenkaichi Jr. tournament to become the new champion. | ||
| National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1) | ||||||||||
| 18 | Takuya Sugawara | May 23, 2011 | House show | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 712 | 10 | |||
| Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1) | ||||||||||
| 19 | Jonathan Gresham | May 4, 2013 | Big Bang | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 135 | 1 | This match was also contested for Sugawara's NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. During his reign, Gresham additionally held the Zero1 USA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| — | Vacated | September 16, 2013 | — | — | — | — | — | Gresham vacated both the International and NWA Junior Heavyweight titles so they could be contested in the 2013 Tenkaichi Jr. tournament. | ||
| 20 | Hub | September 16, 2013 | 11th Tenkaichi Jr.: Finals | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 174 | 3 | Hub defeated Mineo Fujita in the finals of the 2013 Tenkaichi Jr. tournament to become the new champion. Hub additionally won the vacant NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| 21 | Jason Lee | March 9, 2014 | Zero1_Thirteen | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 194 | 3 | This match was contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| 22 | Mineo Fujita | September 19, 2014 | Tenkaichi Junior | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 45 | 1 | This match was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| 23 | Takuya Sugawara | November 3, 2014 | Hi no Kokudai Hanabi | Kumamoto, Japan | 3 | 55 | 1 | This match was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| 24 | Jason Lee | December 28, 2014 | Winter Fever 4 | Hong Kong | 2 | 63 | 1 | This match was promoted by Zero1 Hong Kong and was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| 25 | Minoru Tanaka | March 1, 2015 | Zero1_Fourteen | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 222 | 3 | This match was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| 26 | Shinjiro Otani | October 11, 2015 | Change the World | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 481 | 2 | This match was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| 27 | Kotaro Suzuki | February 3, 2017 | Shinsei Zero1 Dream Series: Hakai no Jin | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 265 | 3 | This match was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| 27 | Sean Guinness | October 26, 2017 | Dream Series Aki no Jin Korakuen Taikai | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 129 | 1 | This match was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| 28 | Isami Kodaka | March 4, 2018 | Dream Series Sozo no Jin | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | [Note 1] | 2 | This match was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| — | Vacated | November 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | Kodaka was stripped of both the International and NWA Junior Heavyweight titles due to an injury. | ||
| 29 | Sugi | November 24, 2018 | Dream Series ~ Nenotsuki No Jin ~ Tenka-Ichi Junior Tournament 2018 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 403 | 2 | Sugi defeated Hayata in the finals of the 2018 Tenkaichi Jr. tournament to become the new champion. Sugi additionally won the vacant NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| 30 | HUB | January 1, 2020 | Happy New Year | Tokyo, Japan | 2 | 247 | 1 | This match was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| 31 | Shoki Kitamura | September 4, 2020 | Youth Playback! It All Started Here! Shinjiro Otani To Asakura! | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 58 | 0 | This match was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | ||
| 32 | El Lindaman | November 1, 2020 | 2020 Fire Festival Finals | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 310 | 1 | This match was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | [3] | |
| — | Vacated | September 7, 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | Lindaman was stripped of both the International and NWA Junior Heavyweight titles after Gleat, Lindaman's home promotion, ends its working relationship with Zero1. | ||
| 33 | Fuminori Abe | September 9, 2021 | Zero1 20th Anniversary Year - 18th Tenkaichi Junior Tournament 2021 Final | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 213 | 5 | Abe defeated Shoki Kitamura in the finals of the 2021 Tenkaichi Jr. tournament to become the new champion. Abe additionally won the vacant NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | [4] | |
| 34 | Astroman | April 10, 2022 | Zero1 Osu Premium Show Zero1 20th & 21st Anniversary Pro Wrestling | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 266 | 2 | This match was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | [5] | |
| 34 | Leo Isaka | January 1, 2023 | Zero1 Happy New Year 2023 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 195 | 4 | This match was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | [6] | |
| 35 | Takumi Baba | July 15, 2023 | Zero1 23rd Midsummer Festival | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 232 | 2 | This match was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | [7] | |
| 36 | Seiki Yoshioka | March 3, 2024 | Zero1 23rd Anniversary | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 267+ | 0 | This match was also contested for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. | [8] | |
Combined reigns
edit
As of November 25, 2024.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
|---|---|
| ¤ | The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest length is considered. |
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ikuto Hidaka | 5 | 16 | 1,239 |
| 2 | Takuya Sugawara | 3 | 12 | 918 |
| 3 | Shinjiro Otani | 1 | 2 | 481 |
| 4 | Hub | 2 | 4 | 421 |
| 5 | Sugi | 1 | 2 | 403 |
| 6 | Low Ki | 1 | 8 | 349 |
| 7 | El Lindaman | 1 | 1 | 310 |
| 8 | Tatsuhito Takaiwa | 3 | 5 | 293 |
| 9 | Astroman | 1 | 2 | 266 |
| 10 | Kotaro Suzuki | 1 | 3 | 265 |
| 11 | Sonjay Dutt | 1 | 0 | 259 |
| 12 | Jason Lee | 2 | 4 | 257 |
| 13 | Seiki Yoshioka † | 1 | 0 | 267+ |
| 14 | Isami Kodaka | 1 | 2 | ¤242 |
| 15 | Takumi Baba | 1 | 2 | 232 |
| 16 | Wataru Sakata | 1 | 1 | 225 |
| 17 | Minoru Tanaka | 1 | 3 | 222 |
| 18 | Fuminori Abe | 1 | 5 | 213 |
| 19 | Leo Isaka | 1 | 4 | 195 |
| 20 | Masaaki Mochizuki | 1 | 3 | 155 |
| 21 | Jonathan Gresham | 1 | 1 | 135 |
| 22 | Sean Guinness | 1 | 1 | 129 |
| 23 | Dick Togo | 1 | 1 | 128 |
| 24 | Super Crazy | 1 | 0 | 117 |
| 25 | Leonardo Spanky | 1 | 3 | 79 |
| 26 | Shoki Kitamura | 1 | 0 | 58 |
| 27 | Minoru Fujita | 1 | 1 | 45 |
See also
edit
Footnotes
edit- ^ The exact date on which Kodaka were stripped of the championship is not known, which means that his reign lasted between 242 and 265 days.
References
edit- ^ a b "AWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship official title history". ZEROONEUSA.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
- ^ "ZERO1-MAX International Junior Heavyweight Championship title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
- ^ Dark Angel (November 10, 2020). "Zero1: "Fire Festival 2020" Hartley Jackson is the winner". superluchas.com. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
- ^ Pro Wrestling Zero1 (September 9, 2021). ZERO1・20周年記念イヤー 新木場大会～第18回 天下一ジュニアトーナメント2021 決勝戦～. z-1.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved September 13, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Daly, Wayne (April 11, 2022). "ZERO1 Results: 20th & 21st Anniversary Show – Tokyo, Japan (4/10)". wrestling-news.net. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (January 1, 2023). "ZERO1 Happy New Year 2023". cagematch.net. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 15, 2023). "ZERO1 23rd Midsummer Festival ~ Fire Festival 2023 - Tag 5". cagematch.net. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (March 3, 2024). "ZERO1 23rd Anniversary". cagematch.net. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
External links
edit- ZEROONEUSA title history
- Wrestling-Titles.com title history (International Junior Heavyweight Championship)
- Wrestling-Titles.com title history (AWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship)
- TitleHistories.com title history (International Junior Heavyweight Championship)
- TitleHistories.com title history (AWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship)