| IWGP Tag Team Championship | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The IWGP Tag Team Championship belts | |||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) | ||||||||||||||
| Date established | December 12, 1985[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Current champions | Knock Out Brothers (Oskar andYuto-Ice) | ||||||||||||||
| Date won | September 28, 2025 | ||||||||||||||
| Other names | |||||||||||||||
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TheIWGP Tag Team Championship (IWGPタッグ王座,IWGP taggu ōza) is aprofessional wrestlingworld tag team championship owned by theNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW)promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, theInternational Wrestling Grand Prix (インターナショナル・レスリング・グラン・プリ,intānashonaru resuringu guran puri). The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPWlive event.[1] The IWGP Tag Team Championship is one of two weight-specific tag team titles contested for in NJPW; theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship is also sanctioned by NJPW.[2] According to NJPW's official website, the IWGP Tag Team Championship is considered the "IWGP Heavyweight [Tag] Class", while the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship is listed as the "IWGP Jr. Tag Class".[2] The current champions areKnock Out Brothers (Oskar andYuto-Ice), who are in their first reign as a team and individually. They won the titles by defeatingTaichi andTomohiro Ishii atDestruction in Kobe on September 28, 2025, inKobe, Japan.
Before the IWGP championship system was created, New Japan Pro-Wrestling featured theNWA North American Tag Team Championship, a title originally based inLos Angeles, and theWWF International Tag Team Championship, a title licensed from theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF), which was abandoned when the WWF working relationship ended.
The inaugural champions wereKengo Kimura &Tatsumi Fujinami, who defeatedAntonio Inoki &Seiji Sakaguchi in the final of a tournament to win the championship on December 12, 1985, at an NJPW live event.[1] In addition to NJPW, the IWGP Tag Team Championship was also contested in the United States–based promotionsWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) (now defunct) in the early 1990s, andTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2009,[3] and in the Mexicanlucha libre promotionConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in 2005.[4]
On October 30, 2005, inKobe, Japan,Hiroyoshi Tenzan &Masahiro Chono defeatedHiroshi Tanahashi &Shinsuke Nakamura to begin their fifth overall reign as a team.[5] On July 2, 2006, an interim tag team title was created when Tenzan & Chono showed signs of inactivity.[5]Shiro Koshinaka &Togi Makabe defeated the teams ofYuji Nagata &Naofumi Yamamoto andGiant Bernard &Travis Tomko in aThree-Way Match to become the first interim champions. NJPW president Simon Kelly Inoki stripped Tenzan & Chono of the IWGP Tag Team Championship on September 20, 2006, after Tenzan & Chono ceased teaming.Manabu Nakanishi &Takao Omori, who defeated Koshinaka & Makabe on July 17, 2006, to become the interim champions, were recognized as the IWGP Tag Team Champions on September 28, 2006, by NJPW.[6]
In 2009,The British Invasion defeated Team 3D on July 21, 2009, at a TNA television taping for the championship.[7][8] Afterwards, NJPW released a statement announcing that they did not sanction the defense nor the title change, and as such did not recognize the reign.[9] They continued to recognize Team 3D as the current champions and proclaimed that the next title defense would be by Team 3D and would be sanctioned by NJPW.[10] On August 10, 2009, NJPW issued another press release stating that they were now recognizing The British Invasion ofBrutus Magnus &Doug Williams as the current IWGP Tag Team Champions, making the reign official.[11][12]
Overall, there have been 110 reigns shared among 97 different wrestlers, who made up 72 different teams.Hiroyoshi Tenzan holds the record for most reigns by an individual wrestler at 12, with his combined reigns adding up to 1,988 days. At seven reigns, theGuerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga &Tanga Loa) hold the record for most by a team. Tenzan &Masahiro Chono's combined five reign lengths add up to 1,010 days (the most of any team). At564 days,Bad Intentions' (Giant Bernard &Karl Anderson) only reign is the longest in the title's history and has the most defenses at 10.Keiji Mutoh &Shiro Koshinaka's only reign is the shortest at six days. There are 20 reigns shared between 18 teams that are tied for the fewest successful defenses, with zero.
The current champions areKnock Out Brothers (Yuto-Ice andOskar), who are in their first reign as a team and individually. They won the titles by defeatingTaichi andTomohiro Ishii atDestruction in Kobe on September 28, 2025, inKobe, Japan.
The British Invasion's IWGP World Team Team Title victory over Team 3D on last week's TNA iMPACT! is not being recognized by New Japan Pro Wrestling. Team 3D will continue to defend the titles in Japan.
