Greatest 18 Club Championship
New Japan Pro-Wrestling championship (1990–1992)
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The Greatest 18 Club Championship (グレーテスト18クラブ王座, Gurētesuto Eitīn Kurabu Ōza) was a championship created and promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling.[1]
| Greatest 18 Club Championship | |||||||||||||||
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| Details | |||||||||||||||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||||||||||||||
| Date established | September 29, 1990 | ||||||||||||||
| Date retired | August 16, 1992 | ||||||||||||||
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History
The title, represented by the old WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship belt, was established on September 29, 1990, during Antonio Inoki's career 30th anniversary as an addition to creation of the Greatest 18 Club (a hall of fame) consisting of Lou Thesz, Karl Gotch, Nick Bockwinkel, Johnny Powers, Johnny Valentine, André the Giant, Stan Hansen, Wim Ruska, Billy Robinson, Hiro Matsuda, Bob Backlund, Verne Gagne, Strong Kobayashi, Hulk Hogan, Muhammad Ali, Seiji Sakaguchi, Antonio Inoki and initially Tiger Jeet Singh later replaced by Dusty Rhodes.[2]
Riki Choshu was the first champion, being awarded the title by Lou Thesz[3] on February 25, 1991. He successfully defended his title against Tiger Jeet Singh at Starrcade in Tokyo Dome,[4] Shinya Hashimoto on day 3 of Tokyo 3 Days Battle[5][6] and Tatsumi Fujinami at Super Warriors in Tokyo Dome.[2][7]
The Great Muta retired the championship moments after winning it, in order to focus on his IWGP Heavyweight Championship title defenses.
Reigns
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Defences | Number of successful defences |
| N/A | Unknown information |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defences | |||||
| New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) | ||||||||||
| 1 | Riki Choshu | February 25, 1991 | N/A | N/A | 1 | 538 | 3 | He was awarded the title. | [8] | |
| 2 | The Great Muta | August 16, 1992 | G1 Climax Special 1992 | Fukuoka, Japan | 1 | <1 | 0 | This match was also for Riki Choshu's IWGP Heavyweight Championship. | [9] | |
| — | Deactivated | August 16, 1992 | — | — | — | — | — | Muta retired the championship in order to focus on his IWGP Heavyweight Championship title defenses. | ||