10 Greatest IWGP Heavyweight Champions

This shotgun lariat throwing powerhouse held back to back to back IWGP title match victories over the Three Musketeers of New Japan: Shinya Hashimoto, Keiji Mutoh and Masahiro Chono. Ending Hashimoto’s lengthy reign in August 1997, Sasaki cemented himself as top dog by retaining against the others shortly thereafter.

Bagging his second IWGP title with a win over Genichiro Tenryu in January 1999, Sasaki went on to win the G1 Climax, becoming the first (and only) man in history to win the tournament whilst holding the championship.

A 5 time IWGP Heavyweight champion by the end of his journey in New Japan, Sasaki is also one of only two men to have held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the All Japan Triple Crown and the GHC Heavyweight Championship (the other being Yoshihiro Takayama).

With seemingly every accolade and major victory his generation had to offer under his belt, Sasaki was never quite the leading man New Japan hoped for but was a monumentally successful figure all the same.