| World Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) | ||||||||||
| Date established | 1972 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
TheWorld Heavyweight Championship (世界ヘビー級王座,sekai hebī-kyū ōza), also referred to as theReal World Championship was a championship established and promoted byNew Japan Pro-Wrestling.[1]Karl Gotch was billed as a first champion byNew Japan Pro-Wrestling. It used the belt (or belt replica) of American Wrestling Alliance (Ohio)'s AWA World Heavyweight Championship,[a] which was held byKarl Gotch fromSeptember 11, 1962 toSeptember 7, 1964.[2] The title was successfully defended only once, by Antonio Inoki againstRed Pimpernel on day 12 of New Golden Series onOctober 9, 1972.[3] Karl Gotch was the final champion in his second reign,[4] winning the title fromAntonio Inoki onOctober 10, 1972.[5]
Over the championship's one-year history, there were only two reigns between two champions.Karl Gotch was the inaugural champion with most reigns, at two times. Gotch was also the final champion.
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Defences | Number of successful defences |
| N/A | Unknown information |
| (NET) | Championship change took place "no earlier than" the date listed |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defences | ||||||
| New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) | |||||||||||
| 1 | Karl Gotch | January 13, 1972 (NET) | N/A | N/A | 1 | N/A | 0 | Recognized as a champion by NJPW using the belt (or its replica) of AWA World Heavyweight Championship. | |||
| 2 | Antonio Inoki | October 4, 1972 | New Golden Series | Tokyo,Japan | 1 | 6 | 1 | Won the title viacount-out.Lou Thesz was thespecial guest referee. | [6][7] | ||
| 3 | Karl Gotch | October 10, 1972 | New Golden Series | Osaka,Japan | 2 | N/A | 0 | [5] | |||
| — | Deactivated | October 10, 1972 (NET) | — | — | — | — | — | The championship was abandoned without any formal announcement. | |||
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by First | New Japan Pro-Wrestling's top heavyweight championship 1972 | Succeeded by |
