Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship

The Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship (Japanese: インディペンデントワールド世界ジュニアヘビー級王座, Hepburn: Indipendento Wārudo Sekai Junia Hebī-kyū Ōza) is a professional wrestling championship that is being defended in various independent promotions in Japan. The title was originally created in 1993 by Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling.

Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Current belt design
Details
Promotion
  • FMW (1993–1999)
  • Battlarts (1999–2001)
  • MPW (2002)
  • K-Dojo (2008–2010; 2011–2017)
  • OPW (2010–2011)
  • DDT (2017–2021)
  • JTO (2021–2023)
  • Dove (2023–present)
Date establishedOctober 28, 1993
StatusVacant
(as of August 30, 2023)
Other name(s)
FMW Junior Heavyweight Championship
Statistics
First champion(s)The Great Sasuke
Most reignsTaka Michinoku and Atsushi Maruyama (3 reigns)
Longest reignShiori Asahi (503 days)
Shortest reignYasu Urano (<1 day)
Oldest championYasu Urano (47 years, 101 days)
Heaviest championHideki Hosaka (253 lb (115 kg))
Lightest championAsuka (147 lb (67 kg))

There have been a total of 47 reigns spread over three lineages and shared among 32 different wrestlers. The title is currently vacant.

History

The title was created in 1993 by Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and it stayed with FMW from its inception to mid-1999, when FMW retired it. In 1998, the title was renamed FMW Junior Heavyweight Championship (FMW認定ジュニアヘビー級王座, FMW-nintei Junia Hebī-kyū Ōza) with the launch of the FMW Unified Organization. It was considered a different title with a new lineage.

On May 31, 1999, Kodo Fuyuki became the FMW commissioner and withdrew the recognition of the title following the introduction of the WEW Single Championship which he awarded to himself on September 24. Yuhi Sano was then recognized as the first Independent World Junior Heavyweight Champion, in continuation of his FMW Junior Heavyweight Championship reign, thus starting a third lineage. Since then, the title has been defended in various Japanese promotions including Big Japan Wrestling, DDT Pro-Wrestling, Kaientai Dojo, Union Pro Wrestling, Osaka Pro Wrestling and Michinoku Pro Wrestling.

Even with the belt being dropped by FMW, the original title belt is still used, which bears the "FMW" name on it. In May 2010, a new championship belt was made, as Tarzan Goto's Super FMW promotion briefly revived the FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship to determine its final champion.

Reigns

Original Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Defenses Number of successful defenses
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign DaysDefenses
1 The Great Sasuke October 28, 1993 Kankuran! Tokyo, Japan 1 [lower-alpha 1]5 Defeated Battle Ranger Z to become the inaugural champion. [1][2]
— Vacated October 1994 — — — —— Sasuke vacated the title to concentrate on a death match against Atsushi Onita. [1]
2 Ricky Fuji December 20, 1994 FMW vs. W*ING Alliance Full War in Nagoya Nagoya, Japan 1 481 Defeated The Great Sasuke to win the vacant title. [1][3]
3 Hideki Hosaka February 6, 1995 Japan Nationwide Atsushi Onita Memorial Retirement Tour Last Fight – Final Chapter – February Series Okazaki, Japan 1 521 [1][4]
4 Koji Nakagawa March 30, 1995 Japan Nationwide Atsushi Onita Memorial Retirement Tour Last Fight – Final Chapter – March Series Yokohama, Japan 1 [lower-alpha 2]0 [1][5]
— Vacated 1995 — — — —— Vacated due to unknown circumstances. [1]
5 Koji Nakagawa November 20, 1995 Scramble Survivor Fukuoka, Japan 2 1671 Defeated Ricky Fuji to win the vacant title. [1][6]
6 Taka Michinoku May 5, 1996 FMW 7th Anniversary Show Kawasaki, Japan 1 42010 [1]
7 El Satánico June 29, 1997 CMLL Domingos de Coliseo Mexico City 1 570 This was a best two-out-of-three falls match held at a Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre house show. [1][7]
8 Taka Michinoku August 25, 1997 Live event Puebla, Mexico 2 1151 [1]
— Vacated December 18, 1997 — — — —— Taka Michinoku vacated the title right after defending against Shoichi Funaki. [1]

FMW Junior Heavyweight Championship
Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Defenses Number of successful defenses
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign DaysDefenses
1 Minoru Tanaka May 5, 1999 FMW Strongest Tag League Yokohama, Japan 1 90 Defeated Ricky Fuji to win the vacant title. [8]
2 Yuhi Sano May 14, 1999 Battlarts Live event Sapporo, Japan 1 17[lower-alpha 3]2 FMW no longer recognized the title after May 31, 1999, and continued to be defended in the Battlarts promotion. [8]
— Deactivated May 31, 1999 — — — —— Kodo Fuyuki becomes the FMW commissioner and withdraws the recognition of the title. [8]

New Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Defenses Number of successful defenses
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign DaysDefenses
Battlarts
1 Yuhi Sano May 31, 1999 Live event Sapporo, Japan 1 244[lower-alpha 3]3 Battlarts recognizes Sano's reign as beginning on May 14, 1999, when he won the FMW Junior Heavyweight Championship. [9]
2 Minoru Tanaka January 30, 2000 Live event Tokyo, Japan 1 1022 [9]
3 Katsumi Usuda May 11, 2000 Live event Tokyo, Japan 1 380 [9]
4 Naoyuki Taira June 18, 2000 Live event Tokyo, Japan 1 1613 [9]
5 Katsumi Usuda November 26, 2000 Live event Tokyo, Japan 2 3735 [9]
— Vacated December 4, 2001 — — — —— Vacated after Battlarts became inactive. [9]
Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW)
6 Ikuto Hidaka February 17, 2002 Live event Yokohama, Japan 1 871 Defeated Kazuya Yuasa in a tournament final to win the vacant title. [9]
— Deactivated May 15, 2002 — — — —— Retired due to FMW closing. [9]
Various indies
7 Kota Ibushi August 26, 2007 Pro-Wrestling Summit In Ariake Tokyo, Japan 1 3497 Defeated Madoka to revive the title. [9]
Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo)
8 Madoka August 9, 2008 Super Big Show Chiba Hakkenden Chiba, Japan 1 360 [9]
9 Makoto Oishi September 14, 2008 Club-K Super Downtown 2008 Tokyo, Japan 1 3747 [9]
10 Gentaro September 23, 2009 Club-K Super Downtown 2009 Chiba, Japan 1 1916 [9]
11 Marines Mask (II) April 2, 2010 Club-K Super Evolution 8 Tokyo, Japan 1 1602 [9]
12 Tigers Mask September 9, 2010 Club-K Shinkiba #4 Tokyo, Japan 1 170 [9]
Osaka Pro Wrestling (OPW)
13 Orochi September 26, 2010 Osaka Pro Sumire September Series Osaka, Japan 1 481 [9]
14 Tigers Mask November 13, 2010 Osaka Pro Fuyu Ga Hajimaru Yo Series Osaka, Japan 2 2173 [9]
Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo)
15 Daigoro Kashiwa June 18, 2011 Club-K Super Take Tokyo, Japan 1 1414 [9]
16 Hiroki November 6, 2011 Club-K Super Joke 2011 Tokyo, Japan 1 44715 [9]
17 Ricky Fuji January 26, 2013 Club-K 3000 Chiba, Japan 1 781 [9]
18 Hayato Nanjyo April 14, 2013 CLUB-K SUPER Evolution 11 - K-DOJO 11th Anniversary Tokyo, Japan 1 270 [9]
19 Taka Michinoku May 11, 2013 Club-K Tour In Osaka Osaka, Japan 1 48316 This match was also for Taka Michinoku's UWA World Middleweight Championship. [9]
20 Teppei September 6, 2014 Club-K 3000 Chiba, Japan 3 1692 Formerly held the title under the name Tigers Mask and began working under the name Atsushi Maruyama during this reign. [9]
21 Hi69 February 22, 2015 Club-K Super In TKP Garden City Osaka, Japan 2 490 Formerly held the title under the name Hiroki. [9]
22 Isami Kodaka April 12, 2015 Club-K Super Evolution 13 Tokyo, Japan 1 2038 [9]
23 Shiori Asahi November 1, 2015 Club-K Super In Korakuen Tokyo, Japan 1 50311 [9][10]
24 Ken Ohka March 18, 2017 Club-K Super In Blue Field Chiba, Japan 1 1903 [9][11]
DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT)
25 Daisuke Sasaki September 24, 2017 Who's Gonna Top? DDT Dramatic General Election 2017 - Last Request Special! Tokyo, Japan 1 875 This was a three-way match, where Sasaki defended the DDT Extreme Championship and Konosuke Takeshita defended the KO-D Openweight Championship. [9][12]
(DDT) DDT Pro-Wrestling: Ganbare☆Pro-Wrestling (GanPro)
26 Ken Ohka December 20, 2017 Burning'X'mas 2017 Tokyo, Japan 2 1290 [9]
27 Keisuke Ishii April 28, 2018 Dreaming I Was Dreaming 2018 Tokyo, Japan 1 2536 [9]
28 Shuichiro Katsumura January 6, 2019 Do It On Your Own Hands 2019 Tokyo, Japan 1 2655 [9]
29 Keisuke Ishii September 28, 2019 I Do Not Need A Comic Magazine! 2019 Tokyo, Japan 2 3027 [9]
30 Hagane Shinno July 26, 2020 Killer Queen 2020 Tokyo, Japan 2 270 Formerly held the title under the name Madoka. [9]
31 Asuka August 22, 2020 Heaven's Door 2020 Tokyo, Japan 1 1262 [9]
32 Shota December 26, 2020 The World 2020 Tokyo, Japan 1 202 [9]
Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out (JTO)
33 Arata January 15, 2021 JTO Hatsu Tokyo, Japan 1 3105 [9]
34 Naoki Tanizaki November 21, 2021 JTO in Osaka Osaka, Japan 1 4546 [13]
Dove Pro-Wrestling
35 Oji Shiiba February 18, 2023 Live event Kobe, Japan 1 1021 [14]
36 Yasu Urano May 31, 2023 Indie Junior Festival: We Are All Alive 2 Tokyo, Japan 1 <10 [15]
37 Oji Shiiba May 31, 2023 Indie Junior Festival: We Are All Alive 2 Tokyo, Japan 2 912 [15]
— Vacated August 30, 2023 — — — —— Oji Shiiba vacated the title when he went into a hiatus in order to treat his injured knee. [16]

Combined reigns
Taka Michinoku (left) and Atsushi Maruyama (right) are both record three-time champions. Michinoku also holds the record for longest combined reign at 1,018 days.
Shiori Asahi holds the record for the longest individual reign at 503 days.

As of October 25, 2023.

† Indicates the current champion
¤ The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used.
Rank WrestlerNo. of
reigns		Combined
defenses		Combined
days
1 Taka Michinoku3271,018
2 Keisuke Ishii213555
3 Shiori Asahi111503
4 Hiroki/Hi69215496
5 Naoki Tanizaki16454
6 Katsumi Usuda25411
7 Tigers Mask/Teppei35403
8 Makoto Oishi17374
9 Kota Ibushi17349
10 The Great Sasuke15338¤
11 Ken Ohka23319
12 Arata15310
13 Shuichiro Katsumura15265
14 Yuhi Sano15261
15 Oji Shiiba23193
16 Gentaro16191
17 Koji Nakagawa21168¤
18 Naoyuki Taira13161
19 Marines Mask (II)12160
20 Daigoro Kashiwa14141
21 Ricky Fuji22126
Asuka12126
23 Minoru Tanaka22111
24 Ikuto Hidaka1187
Daisuke Sasaki1587
26 Madoka/Hagane Shinno2063
27 El Satánico1057
28 Hideki Hosaka1152
29 Orochi1148
30 Hayato Nanjyo1027
31 Shota1220
32 Yasu Urano10<1

Footnotes
  1. The date of at least one of the title changes in this reign is uncertain, which means that the reign lasted between 338 and 368 days.
  2. The date of at least one of the title changes in this reign is uncertain, which means that the reign lasted between 1 and 235 days.
  3. Sano's two separate reigns are generally being counted as one 261 days reign.

See also

References
  1. ""Independent World" World Junior Heavyweight Title [FMW] (Japan)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  2. "Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling - "KANKURAN!"". PuroLove.com (in German). Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  3. "Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Results: 1994 (unvollständig)". PuroLove.com (in German). Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  4. "Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling - "JAPAN NATIONWIDE ATSUSHI ONITA MEMORIAL RETIREMENT TOUR LAST FIGHT ~ FINAL CHAPTER ~ FEBRUARY SERIES"". PuroLove.com (in German). Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  5. "Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling - "JAPAN NATIONWIDE ATSUSHI ONITA MEMORIAL RETIREMENT TOUR LAST FIGHT ~ FINAL CHAPTER ~ MARCH SERIES"". PuroLove.com (in German). Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  6. "Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling - "SCRAMBLE SURVIVOR 1995""". PuroLove.com (in German). Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  7. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "CMLL Domingos De Coliseo". Cagematch.com. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  8. "FMW Junior Heavyweight Title (Japan)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  9. "Independent World Junior Heavyweight Title (Japan)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  10. "CLUB-K SUPER in 後楽園ホール | KAIENTAI DOJO". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  11. "CLUB-K SUPER in Blue Field | KAIENTAI DOJO". Archived from the original on 2017-03-19. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  12. "DDT ProWrestling".
  13. Just Tap Out (November 21, 2021). "大会名：（株）村上製作所 プレゼンツ JUST TAP OUT in OSAKA". pwjto.com (in Japanese). Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  14. Saalbach, Axel. "DOVE @ Kobe". Wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  15. Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 31, 2023). "Indie Junior Festival ~ We Are All Alive 2". cagematch.net. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  16. Shiiba, Oji [@ojishiiba0714] (August 30, 2023). "I have decided to vacate the Independent World Junior belt as previously discussed" 協議中でしたインディペンデントワールド世界ジュニアのベルトですが返上するかたちになりました。 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved August 31, 2023 – via Twitter.
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