NJPW World Television Championship | |||||||||||||||||
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Details | |||||||||||||||||
Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) | ||||||||||||||||
Date established | October 10, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||
Current champion(s) | Zack Sabre Jr. | ||||||||||||||||
Date won | April 12, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
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The NJPW World Television Championship ( Japanese: NJPW WORLD認定TV王座, Hepburn: Nyū Japan Wārudo-nintei Tī Vī Ōza) is a professional wrestling championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. [2] [3] The inaugural and current champion is Zack Sabre Jr., who is in his record-setting second reign.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling president and CEO Takami Ohbari and TV Asahi representative Hiroyoki Mihira announced the creation of the title at Declaration of Power on October 10, 2022. [2] The championship is seen as a celebration of both the upcoming 50-year anniversary of the partnership between the two companies, as well as the continued growth of NJPW World, New Japan Pro-Wrestling's online streaming service. Ohbari also expressed encouragement for younger wrestlers on the roster to compete for the championship. [2] [4]
All matches contested for the championship will be held with a 15-minute time limit. [2] Furthermore, due to its nature as a television championship, all championship matches (including all matches in the inaugural tournament) will be available for free through the NJPW World service, as well as through New Japan Pro-Wrestling's social media platforms. [2]
The first champion was determined in a sixteen-man single-elimination tournament, which began on October 14, 2022, at Battle Autumn (Night 1) and concluded on January 4, 2023, at Wrestle Kingdom 17. [5] [6] In the event of a time limit draw during the tournament, the winner (and thus, person advancing) was decided by a coin toss. [5]
First round Battle Autumn (Nights 1-3, 9) (October 14, 15, 16 & 26, 2022) | Second round Battle Autumn (Nights 10, 12) (October 27 & 30, 2022) | Semifinals Battle Autumn (Night 16) (November 5, 2022) | Final Wrestle Kingdom 17 (Night 1) (January 4, 2023) | ||||||||||||
David Finlay | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 11:52 [7] | ||||||||||||||
David Finlay | 13:03 [11] | ||||||||||||||
Zack Sabre Jr. | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Alex Zayne | 14:55 [7] | ||||||||||||||
Zack Sabre Jr. | Sub | ||||||||||||||
Zack Sabre Jr. | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Evil | 4:48 [13] | ||||||||||||||
Yoshi-Hashi | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Jeff Cobb | 12:14 [8] | ||||||||||||||
Yoshi-Hashi | 9:48 [11] | ||||||||||||||
Evil | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Aaron Henare | 10:55 [8] | ||||||||||||||
Evil | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Zack Sabre Jr. | Sub | ||||||||||||||
Ren Narita | |||||||||||||||
Sanada | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Taichi | 14:57 [9] | ||||||||||||||
Sanada | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Kenta | 13:05 [12] | ||||||||||||||
Hirooki Goto | 9:32 [9] | ||||||||||||||
Kenta | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Sanada | 14:31 [13] | ||||||||||||||
Ren Narita | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Ren Narita | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Tomohiro Ishii | 14:33 [10] | ||||||||||||||
Ren Narita | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Toru Yano | 8:47 [12] | ||||||||||||||
Toru Yano | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Great-O-Khan | 11:20 [10] |
As of April 27, 2024, there have been four reigns. Zack Sabre Jr. is the former inaugural and current champion in his record-setting second reign. He won the title by defeating Matt Riddle at Windy City Riot on April 12, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois.
No. | Overall reign number |
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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. | ||||
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Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defenses | ||||
1 | Zack Sabre Jr. | January 4, 2023 |
Wrestle Kingdom 17 Night 1 |
Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 365 | 16 | Defeated Ren Narita in the finals of an 16-man single-elimination tournament to become the inaugural champion. | [2] [1] |
2 | Hiroshi Tanahashi | January 4, 2024 | Wrestle Kingdom 18 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 50 | 1 | [14] | |
3 | Matt Riddle | February 23, 2024 |
The New Beginning in Sapporo Night 1 |
Sapporo, Japan | 1 | 49 | 2 | ||
4 | Zack Sabre Jr. | April 12, 2024 | Windy City Riot | Chicago, Illinois | 2 | 15+ | 0 |
† | Indicates the current champion |
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Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Zack Sabre Jr. † | 2 | 16 | 380+ |
2 | Hiroshi Tanahashi | 1 | 1 | 50 |
3 | Matt Riddle | 1 | 2 | 49 |