IWGP Heavyweight Championship
| IWGP Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
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The "V4" IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt (2008 – 2021, 2026 – present) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | June 12, 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current champion | Yota Tsuji | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | January 4, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | |||||||||||||||||||
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The IWGP Heavyweight Championship (IWGPヘビー級王座, IWGP hebī-kyū ōza) is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The current champion is Yota Tsuji, who is in his first reign; he became champion after defeating the incumbent Konosuke Takeshita at Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4, 2026.
The title was first introduced on June 12, 1987 as the prize of that year's IWGP League tournament, which won by Antonio Inoki. It was later unified with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship on March 4, 2021, to form the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. The World Heavyweight Championship was originally recognized as a new separate title, and both the Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles retired; after Tsuji's win, the Heavyweight Championship was reactivated, and all former World Heavyweight Champions were retroactively recognized as Heavyweight Champions.
The championship has been primarily represented by five different belt designs from 1987 to 2026, including the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. The fourth design, or the V4, was introduced in March 2008, previously retired in 2021, and reintroduced in 2026. The IWGP Heavyweight Championship is regularly defended as the primary heavyweight championship in NJPW.