| Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship belt (2025–present) | |||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||
| Promotion | CyberFight | ||||||||||||
| Brand | DDT Pro-Wrestling | ||||||||||||
| Date established | June 29, 2000 | ||||||||||||
| Current champion | Rika Tatsumi | ||||||||||||
| Date won | October 26, 2025 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
TheIronman Heavymetalweight Championship (Japanese:アイアンマンヘビーメタル級王座,Hepburn:Aianman Hebīmetaru-kyū Ōza) is aprofessional wrestlingchampionship created and promoted by the JapanesepromotionCyberFight in itsDDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) brand. Open to anyone, regardless of gender or DDT employment status, the championship is defended "24/7", as in any time,anywhere, as long as areferee is there to confirm the win. Because of this rule, not only is the championship winnable regardless of gender or number of individuals (in case of a common pinfall or submission), it is also available to "unconventional" champions such as animals or inanimate objects, with title changes regularly occurring outside of regular shows, often with videos posted on the promotion's social media accounts.[1][2]
The championship was introduced on the June 29, 2000 TV taping, during whichPoison Sawada Black created the title and awarded it to himself.[3] It was created as a parody of the now-defunctWWE Hardcore Championship, which also had a "24/7 rule". The title is often defended during a 10-minutebattle royal, with the current holder not being allowed to leave the match until the end of the time limit; as per 24/7 rules, the championship can change hands during, and not only as the result, of the match. Despite its name and similarly titled championships, it is not specific toIron Man matches.[1]
On November 2, 1998,Mr. McMahon awardedMankind theWorld Wrestling Federation(WWF) Hardcore Championship. As Mankind andhardcore wrestling became more popular with audiences, the Hardcore Championship became a more serious title. Its popularity led competitorWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) to createits own Hardcore Championship, a move followed by numerousindependent promotions. WhenCrash Holly won the belt on February 22, 2000, he introduced the "24/7 rule" that the belt was to be defended at all times as long as a referee was present.
On June 29, 2000,Poison Julie Sawada introduced theIronman Heavymetalweight Championship in DDT as a parody of the WWF Hardcore title and recognized himself as the first champion. Minutes after the unveiling,Mitsunobu Kikuzawa demanded he had a look at the title belt. He then used it to attack Sawada and pinned him to become the second champion.[3]
The 1,000th Ironman Heavymetalweight Champion was crowned on April 29, 2014, when the title belt itself became the champion by pinningSanshiro Takagi.[4] AtUltimate Party 2023, the championship belt was won by a different title, theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, which pinned its holder at the time,Hiromu Takahashi, only to lose the Ironman title seconds later toKazuki Hirata.[5]
On May 31, 2025,Poison Sawada Julie won the title back for a tenth time. He announced that he would unveil a new belt for the title atKing of Kings, on June 29, for the 25th anniversary of the title.[6]
The original championship belt design featured three glittery silver plates on a black leather strap which had a snake skin pattern on the back. The central plate featuredbrass knuckles surrounded by chains in the center. The word "IRONMAN" was written along the edge of the top half and the word "CHAMPION", though partially erased by years of wear and tear, was written along the bottom edge. The two side plates, on either side of the central plate, were rectangular and identically stated "24 HOURS" ("24" in silver bordered with black; "HOURS" in red).
The new design, which was introduced for the title's 25th anniversary, features five gray plates. The center plate has golden brass knuckles in the middle. "DDT IRONMAN" is written along the top edge, and "HEAVYMETALWEIGHT CHAMPION" is written along the bottom edge. The inner side plates feature "365" in black on top of a globe on one side, and "24/7" surrounded by a sun and a moon on the other. The two outer side plates depict wrestlers performing submission holds.
As of November 24, 2025, there have been 1,766 officially recognized reigns between 431 different human individuals, 8 teams and 57 inanimate objects and animals. The record for most reigns is held byShinobu, who won it 216 times, including by trading the title back-and-forth with 215-time championYuko Miyamoto a total of 303 times on the same night.Danshoku Dino holds the record for longest combined reign with at least 534 days and counting (the exact date of when he won his tenth title is uncertain).Masa Takanashi's sixth reign is the longest singular reign at 333 days. Only 155 individuals have held the title for longer than a day. The title has occasionally been won by unusual means, such as an auction for the belt,rock paper scissors, and even a title change that occurred in a dream.
Non-wrestlers to have held the title includeAV idolNao Saejima, TV personalityLiLiCo,J-pop idolsAkari Suda,Kaori Matsumura, Rise Shiokawa, Aika Sawaguchi, Misaki Natsumi, Momomi Wagatsuma andLingling,Tokyo Metropolitan Assemblyman Shinichiro Kawamatsu, a cat named Bunny, a monkey, a three-time champion ladder,Vince McMahon'sHollywood Walk of Fame star, a copy ofThe Young Bucks' autobiographyKilling the Business, and the title belt itself.
As of November 2024, there have been over 1,700 title changes for the belt, which has been won by numerous male and female wrestlers and non-wrestlers, including children, animals, entire audiences and inanimate objects.
Links to related articles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
