Wikipedia

Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship

The Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship (STRONG無差別級王座, STRONG musabetsu-kyū ōza) is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. The title is exclusively featured on NJPW's United States based television program NJPW Strong Live. The current champions are Grizzled Young Veterans who are in their first reign. They defeated TMDK at Fighting Spirit Unleashed on November 8, 2024 in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship
Current design of the titles (2022–present)
Details
PromotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW)
Date establishedJune 8, 2022
Current champion(s)Grizzled Young Veterans
(James Drake and Zack Gibson)
Date wonNovember 8, 2024
Other name(s)
  • Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship
    (2022-present)
  • NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship
Statistics
First champion(s)Aussie Open
(Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis)
Most reignsAs a team (2 reigns):

As individual (2 reigns):

Longest reignGuerrillas of Destiny
(Hikuleo and El Phantasmo)
(1st reign, 186 days)
Shortest reignTMDK
(Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste)
(29 days)
Oldest championHirooki Goto
(43 years, 11 months and 10 days)
Youngest championKyle Fletcher
(23 years and 7 months)
Heaviest championBishamon
(Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi)
(452 lbs combined)
Lightest championThe Motor City Machine Guns
(Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin)
(420 lbs combined)

History

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On June 8, 2022, NJPW announced the creation of the championship, with it being contested in an eight-team tournament that was then scheduled to determine the inaugural champions, culminating in a final match at Strong: High Alert on July 24, 2022. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) defeated Christopher Daniels and Yuya Uemura in the tournament final to become the inaugural champions.

Inaugural championship tournament (2022)

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Tournament bracket

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Quarterfinals
Strong: Ignition (6/19)[1][2] 		Semifinals
Strong: Ignition (6/19)[3][4] 		Final
Strong: High Alert (7/24)[5]
         
Stray Dog Army
(Barrett Brown and Misterioso) 		Pin
Midnight Heat
(Eddie Pearl and Ricky Gibson) 		8:28
Stray Dog Army 7:27
Aussie Open Pin
Aussie Open
(Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) 		Pin
The Dark Order
(Alan Angels and Evil Uno) 		12:44
Aussie Open Pin
Christopher Daniels and Yuya Uemura 11:57
Christopher Daniels and Yuya Uemura Pin
The Factory
(Aaron Solo and Nick Comoroto) 		9:17
Christopher Daniels and Yuya Uemura Pin
TMDK 10:02
West Coast Wrecking Crew
(Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs) 		10:21
TMDK
(Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste) 		Pin

Reigns

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Current champions Grizzled Young Veterans - Zack Gibson (left) and James Drake (right)

As of November 15, 2024, there have been a total of ten reigns shared between seve different teams composed of fourteen individual champions. The inaugural champions were Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis). Guerrillas of Destiny (El Phantasmo and Hikuleo) first reign is longest reign at 186 days, while TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste)'s first reign was the shortest at 29 days. Chris Sabin is the oldest champion at 40 while Kyle Fletcher is the youngest at 23.

The current champions are Grizzled Young Veterans who are in their first reign. They defeated TMDK at Fighting Spirit Unleashed on November 8, 2024 in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific team—reign numbers for the individuals are in parentheses, if different
Days Number of days held
Days recog. Number of days held recognized by the promotion
Defenses Number of successful defenses
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Days recog. Defenses
1 Aussie Open
(Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) 		July 24, 2022 Strong: High Alert Charlotte, NC 1 96 76 3 Defeated Christopher Daniels and Yuya Uemura in the finals of an eight-team tournament to become the inaugural champions. New Japan Pro-Wrestling recognizes this reign as beginning on August 13, 2022, when the match aired on tape delay. [5]
2 The Motor City Machine Guns
(Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) 		October 28, 2022 Rumble on 44th Street New York, NY 1 169 169 3 This was a three-way tag team match, which also involved The DKC and Kevin Knight. [6]
3 Aussie Open
(Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) 		April 15, 2023 Capital Collision Washington, D.C. 2 36 36 1 This was a three-way tag team match, which also involved Dream Team (Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada). [7]
— Vacated May 21, 2023 Resurgence Long Beach, CA — — — — Kyle Fletcher vacated the Strong and the IWGP Tag Team Championship after Mark Davis suffered an injury. [8]
4 Bishamon
(Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) 		June 4, 2023 Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall Osaka, Japan 1 30 30 0 Defeated House of Torture (Evil and Yujiro Takahashi) and United Empire (Great-O-Khan and Aaron Henare) in a three-way tag team match to win the vacant titles. The match was also disputed for the vacant IWGP Tag Team Championship. [9]
5 Bullet Club War Dogs
(Alex Coughlin and Gabe Kidd) 		July 4, 2023 Independence Day
Night 1 		Tokyo, Japan 1 97 97 0 [10]
6 Guerrillas of Destiny
(Hikuleo and El Phantasmo) 		October 9, 2023 Destruction in Ryōgoku Tokyo, Japan 1 186 186 5 [11]
7 TMDK
(Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste) 		April 12, 2024 Windy City Riot Chicago, IL 1 29 29 1 This was a four-corners tag team match also involving Fred Rosser and Tom Lawlor and West Coast Wrecking Crew (Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson). [12]
8 Guerrillas of Destiny
(Hikuleo and El Phantasmo) 		May 11, 2024 Resurgence Ontario, CA 2 29 29 0 [13]
9 TMDK
(Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste) 		June 9, 2024 Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall Osaka, Japan 2 152 152 2 This was a Four-way tornado tag team elimination Winners Take All match also disputed for the IWGP Tag Team Championship which also involved the teams of Bullet Club (Kenta and Chase Owens) and Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi). [14]
10 Grizzled Young Veterans
(James Drake and Zack Gibson) 		November 8, 2024 Fighting Spirit Unleashed Lowell, MA 1 7+ 7+ 0

Combined reigns

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As of November 15, 2024.

† Indicates the current champions

By team

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Rank Team No. of
reigns 		Combined
defenses 		Combined
days 		Combined days
rec. by NJPW
1 Guerrillas of Destiny
(Hikuleo and El Phantasmo)		 2 5 215
2 TMDK
(Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste)		 2 3 181
3 The Motor City Machine Guns
(Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin)		 1 3 169
4 Aussie Open
(Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis)		 2 4 132 112
5 Bullet Club War Dogs
(Alex Coughlin and Gabe Kidd)		 1 0 97
6 Bishamon
(Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi)		 1 0 30
7 Grizzled Young Veterans †
(James Drake and Zack Gibson)		 1 0 7+

By wrestler

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Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns 		Combined
defenses 		Combined
days 		Combined days
rec. by NJPW
1 Hikuleo 2 5 215
El Phantasmo 2 5 215
3 Mikey Nicholls 2 3 181
Shane Haste 2 3 181
5 Alex Shelley 1 3 169
Chris Sabin 1 3 169
7 Kyle Fletcher 2 4 132 112
Mark Davis 2 4 132 112
9 Alex Coughlin 1 0 97
Gabe Kidd 1 0 97
11 Hirooki Goto 1 0 30
Yoshi-Hashi 1 0 30
13 James Drake † 1 0 7+
Zack Gibson † 1 0 7+

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 19, 2022). "NJPW STRONG #98 - Ignition 2022 - Tag 1 - TV-Show @ The Vermont Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  2. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 19, 2022). "NJPW STRONG #99 - Ignition 2022 - Tag 2 - TV-Show @ The Vermont Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  3. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 19, 2022). "NJPW STRONG #100 - Ignition 2022 - Tag 3 - TV-Show @ The Vermont Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  4. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 19, 2022). "NJPW STRONG #101 - Ignition 2022 - Tag 4 - TV-Show @ The Vermont Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Haulotte, Kylie (July 24, 2022). "** SPOILERS ** NJPW Strong: High Alert Tapings From 7/24". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  6. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (October 28, 2022). "NJPW Rumble On 44th Street - Pay Per View @ Palladium Times Square in New York City, New York, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  7. ^ Jeremy, Lambert (April 15, 2023). "Aussie Open Win NJPW STRONG Tag Titles At NJPW Capital Collision". Fightful. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  8. ^ Tessier, Colin (May 21, 2023). "Mark Davis Injured, New IWGP And NJPW STRONG Tag Team Champions To Be Crowned At NJPW Dominion". Fightful. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  9. ^ Simon, Tyriece (June 4, 2023). "NJPW Dominion 6.4 In Osaka-Jo Hall Results: Sanada vs. Yota Tsuji, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match". sescoops.com. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  10. ^ "LEC presents NJPW STRONG INDEPENDENCE DAY TUE. JULY. 4. 2023 / DOOR 17:30 / BELL 18:30". njpw1972.com. NJPW. July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  11. ^ "DESTRUCTION in RYOGOKU MON. OCTOBER. 9. 2023". njpw1972.com. NJPW. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  12. ^ Renner, Ethan (April 13, 2024). "NJPW Windy City Riot live results: Moxley vs. Naito IWGP title match". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  13. ^ Fritta, Chick (May 11, 2024). "NJPW Resurgence live results: Jon Moxley vs. Shota Umino IWGP World title match". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  14. ^ Fritts, Chick (June 9, 2024). "NJPW Dominion live results: Double main event". f4wonline.com. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
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