| WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Details | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Federation (WWWF / WWF) New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | December 18, 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date retired | December 31, 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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TheWWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship was aprofessional wrestlingheavyweightchampionship in theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) and later inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It was created on December 18, 1978, and awarded to NJPW mainstayAntonio Inoki byVincent J. McMahon, upon Inoki's arrival inAmerica.[1] The title was known for being contested in matches billed asshoot wrestling fights. The WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship was contested solely in NJPW after the promotion became unaffiliated with the WWF in 1985.
The WWWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship was first established on December 18, 1978 during aWorld Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF)house show inNew York,New York. At the event, WWWF promoterVincent J. McMahon awarded the championship toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promoterAntonio Inoki for Inoki's achievements against fighters from othercombat sports, including his fight against Dutch judokaWillem Ruska and his1976 fight against world champion boxerMuhammad Ali. Inoki made his first defense of the Martial Arts Championship on the December 18 house show, defeatingTexas Red.[2] Inoki would continue to defend the championship against both professional wrestlers, likeLarry Sharpe duringShowdown at Shea, and martial artists like karatekaWillie Williams. In 1979, the WWWF was renamed the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), with the championship adopting the new initials and becoming known as the WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship. The championship was retired on December 31, 1989 during NJPW'sinaugural event in theSoviet Union.
During the thirtieth anniversary of Inoki's career, NJPW created the "Greatest 18 Club", ahall of fame. NJPW then created a new title, theGreatest 18 Club Championship, which was intended to complement theIWGP Heavyweight Championship. The Greatest 18 Championship was represented by the former Martial Arts Championship belt and was awarded toRiki Choshu in 1990. Choshu lost the title toThe Great Muta in 1992. Muta retired the title on September 23 of that year, in order to focus on his IWGP Heavyweight Championship title defenses. The title was subsequently officially retired by NJPW.[3][4]
Over the championship's 11-year history, there were only two reigns between two champions.Antonio Inoki was the inaugural and last champion. Inoki's first reign was the longest at 3,780, whileShota Chochishvili's reign was the shortest at 31 days. Chochishvili was the oldest champion at 38 years old, while Inoki was the youngest at 35 years old.
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | |||||||
| National Wrestling Alliance:World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) | |||||||||||
| 1 | Antonio Inoki | December 18, 1978 | WWWFhouse show | New York,NY | 1 | 3,780 | Inoki was awarded the championship byVincent J. McMahon for his achievements in matches against fighters from othercombat sports. Inoki makes his first defense of the title at this event againstTexas Red.[2] | [1] | |||
| World Wrestling Federation (WWF) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Shota Chochishvili | April 24, 1989 | Battle Satellite in Tokyo Dome | Tokyo,Japan | 1 | 31 | This was ano rope martial arts match; Chochishvili won in the fifth round viaknockout. | [1] | |||
| 3 | Antonio Inoki | May 25, 1989 | Battle Satellite 1989 in Osaka | Osaka,Japan | 2 | 220 | This was ano rope martial arts match; Inoki won in the second round viasubmission. | [1] | |||
| — | Deactivated | December 31, 1989 | Martial Arts Festival | Moscow,Russia,Soviet Union | — | — | Inoki gives the belt to Soviet judokaShota Chochishvili, the only man to defeat him for the championship, as a sign of friendship between the Japanese and Soviet peoples during NJPW's inaugural event in the Soviet Union. Inoki was then recognized as the final champion after NJPW abandoned the title on December 31, 1989. The physical belt was later used to represent NJPW'sGreatest 18 Club Championship. | [5][6][1] | |||
| Rank | Champion | No. of reigns | Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antonio Inoki | 2 | 4,000 |
| 2 | Shota Chochishvili | 1 | 31 |
