Kota Ibushi became the inaugural champion when he unified the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles.
In 2019, when he wasIWGP Intercontinental Champion,Tetsuya Naito declared his intention of making history by becoming the first to hold theIWGP Heavyweight Championship and the Intercontinental Championship at the same time.[2] By the end of the year,Jay White, who had won the Intercontinental Championship from Naito, andKota Ibushi, who was the next challenger for the Heavyweight Championship, also expressed the same desire. After a fan vote, it was decided that Naito, White, Ibushi, and Heavyweight ChampionKazuchika Okada would compete atWrestle Kingdom 14 on January 4–5, 2020, where one would end up with both titles.[3] Naito achieved the feat to become the first "Double Champion" and the two titles were defended together since (apart from one time). During 2020, Naito said his original intention was for the titles to be defended separately. He requested for this, or otherwise for the titles to be unified, but no change happened.[4]
After Ibushi won the titles from Naito atWrestle Kingdom 15 on January 4, 2021, he expressed his desire for the titles to be unified.[5] On March 1, 2021, with Ibushi still champion, the unification of the titles to create the new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship was officially announced, with Ibushi as the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion. After the announcement, Ibushi, who was scheduled to faceEl Desperado at theNJPW 49th Anniversary Show on March 4, 2021 in a non-title match, requested for the match to be for the Double Championship.[6] His request was granted with the title unification delayed until after the match, of which the winner would be final Double Champion and, therefore, the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion.[7] Ibushi won the match.[8]
With the announcement of the new championship was the announcement of a new championship belt.[5] Until the new belt was ready, Ibushi continued to hold the old IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championship belts. The new belt was eventually revealed and presented to the champion Ibushi in a presentation ceremony on March 30, 2021.[9] Its design incorporated the past belt designs of the two old titles.[10]
As of November 16, 2025, there have been 14 reigns shared among 11 wrestlers with one vacancy.Kota Ibushi was the inaugural champion.Sanada's singular reign is the longest at 271 days, while Ibushi's reign is the shortest at 31 days.Hirooki Goto had the most successful defenses of the title at seven and was the oldest champion when he won it at 45 years old, whileWill Ospreay was the youngest, winning it at 27 years old.Tetsuya Naito,Kazuchika Okada, andZack Sabre Jr. are tied with the most reigns at two.
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