10 Longest Reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champions Ever
Only 27 men have held the prestigious title, but who held it for the longest time?
The IWGP Heavyweight Championship may well be the most prestigious championship in the world today. Since 4 January 2011, only four different men have held the famous championship, a fact that becomes all the more staggering when you consider that three different men have held the WWE Championship this year alone, not to mention that 16 men have held the WWE Championship since that fateful day in 2011.
The IWGP Heavyweight Championship came into being in 1987 and is the top belt in NJPW. Whilst those acronyms might be confusing to new fans one shouldn't be too scared as IWGP simply refers to New Japan's governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix.
The title was first held by Antonio Inoki, and has since been held by 27 men over 65 reigns. The shortest reign clocks in at just 16 days and belongs to Kensuke Sasaki, a reign that isn't too short when you consider that there have been 23 shorter WWE Championship reigns.
But who has held the famous belt for the longest time? For the sake of argument only an individual's longest reign is listed, although you may be interested to know that Kazuchika Okada currently averages 260 days per reign.