Introduced to New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1987, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship is considered by many fans to be one of the most prestigious pro wrestling titles in the world. In the decades since, it’s been held by some of the greatest wrestlers in the world, including Hiroshi Tanahashi, The Great Muta, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and even Brock Lesnar.
Of course, not every champion can have a lengthy reign full of successful title defenses. There have been a number of IWGP Heavyweight Champions who have suffered surprisingly brief reigns, often losing on their first defense, many of whom also rank among the best.
10 Hiroyoshi Tenzan - 36 Days (2003)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan had the misfortune of reaching his peak as NJPW founder Antonio Inoki started pushing MMA fighters and wrestlers with shooting abilities in an era that has come to be known as Inoki-ism. As a result, Tenzan became a bit of a loser in the early 2000s, so much so that “Tenzan must suffer” was an oft-used phrase by fans. In 2003, he managed to beat Yoshihiro Takayama in a 27-minute battle for the IWGP Heavyweight belt only to lose it slightly more than a month later to young “Super Rookie” Shinsuke Nakamura.
9 Big Van Vader - 31 Days (1989)
Big Van Vader isn’t just the first gaijin to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship — he’s also the gaijin with the most reigns with the belt. In 1989, Tatsumi Fujinami vacated the belt so it could be fought for in a tournament, with the finals coming down to Vader defeating Shinya Hashimoto to capture the title for the first time. However, he would lose it a month later to legitimate Russian amateur wrestler Salman Hashimikov.
8 Riki Choshu - 29 Days (1989)
Salman Hashimikov’s title reign would last a mere 48 days before he dropped the belt to Riki Choshu on his first title defense. Western fans may not be aware of Choshu, but they’ve certainly seen his influence, as he innovated the Scorpion Deathlock (a.k.a The Sharpshooter) submission hold used by Sting and Bret Hart.
However, Riki Choshu would be no more successful with the IWGP Heavyweight belt in this reign than his predecessor, as he would hold it for 29 days before dropping it to Big Van Vader on his first defense.
7 Tatsumi Fujinami - 27 Days (1994)
When the legendary Tatsumi Fujinami captured the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Shinya Hashimoto in 1994, Fujinami became a five-time champion and had not held the belt since his 306-day reign in 1991. But Shinya Hashimoto was on the come-up as one of the “Three Musketeers” who would define the company in the ‘90s along with The Great Muta (a.k.a. Keiji Mutoh) and Masahiro Chono, so Hashimoto was able to win back the belt in less than a month.
6 Hiroyoshi Tenzan - 26 Days (2004)
As an established star, Shinsuke Nakamura had defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan in 2003. Nut by early 2004, Nak had some injuries getting the best of him, so he vacated the title. A tournament was held to crown a new champion, and Tenzan was able to beat Genichiro Tenryu in the finals to win the IWGP Heavyweight Title for a second time. But once again, Tenzan was to suffer, so he dropped it to Kensuke Sasaki after 26 days — but not before scoring one successful defense against Minoru Suzuki.
5 Genichiro Tenryu - 25 Days (1999)
Genichiro Tenryu debuted way back in 1976, so by 1999 he was already a well-seasoned veteran pushing 50 — albeit one who had never won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship because he often made All Japan Pro Wrestling his home. In December of ‘99, Tenryu managed to end Keiji Mutoh’s nearly year-long reign in a 26-minute effort to capture the title for the first time ever. However, this run would last less than a month before he dropped it to Kensuke Sasaki on his first title defense.
4 Scott Norton - 23 Days (2001)
Western fans mostly know Scott “Flash” Norton as a former arm wrestling champion who was one of the dozens of guys in the nWo. But, at the same time, he was also a force in New Japan, where he enjoyed two reigns with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. In fact, he defended the title a couple of times on Nitro.
While his first reign lasted a more-than-respectable 104 days and included four title defenses, his second run was far less successful. After defeating Kensuke Sasaki, Norton only held the belt for a matter of weeks before losing it to Kazuyuki Fujita in his first defense.
3 Tatsumi Fujinami - 22 Days (1990)
If it wasn’t already obvious, the early days of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship were just as tumultuous as the infamous Inoki-ism era, with lots of surprisingly brief title runs. In 1990, top wrestler Tatsumi Fujinami beat Riki Choshu to capture the title for a third time, enjoying zero successful title defenses in a 22-day reign. Instead, he would drop the belt to Big Van Vader, which would mark Vader’s record third reign with the heavyweight belt — and a 374-day run, at that.
2 Tatsumi Fujinami - 19 Days (1988)
Antonio Inoki was the first IWGP Heavyweight Champion, holding the belt for 325 days before vacating it in May of 1988 due to injury. A tournament for a new champion came down to Tatsumi Fujinami beating Big Van Vader to become the second-ever champion, but the run only lasted 19 days after a title match with Riki Choshu ended in a no contest. However, a month later the two had a rematch for the vacant belt, which Fujinami won.
1 Kensuke Sasaki - 16 Days (2004)
Kensuke Sasaki already had three runs with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship when he defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan to win the belt for a fourth time in 2004. However, this reign would be Sasaki’s shortest ever, lasting only 16 days before losing the title to MMA fighter/kickboxer Bob Sapp. While Sasaki was a victim of Inoki-ism here, Sapp would end up being forced to vacate the title after two months when he lost a legitimate fight against former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuyuki Fujita.