Title History
| #: | Name(s): | Reigns: | Date: | Location: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lou Thesz | 1 | November, 1957 | n/a | Thesz was awarded the championship by the NWA. Houston NWA promoter Morris Sigel claimed that Thesz has won the title by defeating Antonino Rocca in 1949. |
| 2 | Rikidōzan | 1 | August 27, 1958 | Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Vacated on December 15, 1963 following Rikidōzan's death from stab wounds suffered one week earlier in Tokyo, Japan. | |||||
| 3 | Giant Baba | 1 | November 24, 1965 | Osaka, Japan | Defeated Dick the Bruiser for the vacant title. |
| 4 | Bobo Brazil | 1 | June 25, 1968 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| 5 | Giant Baba | 2 | June 27, 1968 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| 6 | Gene Kiniski | 1 | December 3, 1970 | Osaka, Japan | |
| 7 | Giant Baba | 3 | December 19, 1970 | Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Vacated on September 2, 1972 when Baba left the Japan Wrestling Association to start All Japan Pro Wrestling. | |||||
| 8 | Bobo Brazil | 2 | December 1, 1972 | Yokohama, Japan | Defeated Kintaro Ohki for the vacant title. |
| 9 | Kintaro Ohki | 1 | December 4, 1972 | Hiroshima, Japan | |
| After the JWA closed in 1973, Ohki took the belt to South Korea from where he defended it. He vacated the title on April 13, 1981 under orders from the NWA. | |||||
| 10 | Dory Funk, Jr. | 1 | April 30, 1981 | Matsudo, Japan | Won tournament for the vacant title when Bruiser Brody was injured and unable to wrestle in the finals. Defeated Terry Funk for his first title defense instead. |
| 11 | Bruce Reed | 1 | 1981 | Florida, United States | Title reign not recognized in Japan. |
| 12 | Dory Funk, Jr. | 2 | 1981 | Florida, United States | |
| 13 | Bruiser Brody | 1 | October 9, 1981 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| 14 | Dory Funk, Jr. | 3 | November 1, 1981 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| 15 | Bruiser Brody | 2 | April 21, 1982 | Osaka, Japan | |
| 16 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 1 | August 31, 1983 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| 17 | Stan Hansen | 1 | July 31, 1986 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| 18 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 2 | October 21, 1986 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| 19 | Bruiser Brody | 3 | March 27, 1988 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| 20 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 3 | April 18, 1988 | Sendai, Japan | |
| Unified with PWF Heavyweight Championship and NWA United National Championship to create the AJPW Triple Crown Championship. | |||||
Read more about this topic: NWA International Heavyweight Championship
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