Greatest 18 Club Championship

The Greatest 18 Club Championship (グレーテスト18クラブ王座, Gurētesuto 18 kurabu ōza) was a championship created and promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling.[1]

Greatest 18 Club Championship
Details
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Date established	September 29, 1990
Date retired	August 16, 1992
Statistics First champion(s) Riki Choshu Final champion(s) The Great Muta Most reigns All titleholders (1) Longest reign Riki Choshu (538 days) Shortest reign The Great Muta (<1 day) Oldest champion Riki Choshu (39 years, 84 days) Youngest champion The Great Muta (29 years, 237 days)

History

The title 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

Key

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
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 champonship in order to focus on his IWGP Heavyweight Championship title defenses.

References

1. "The Greatest 18 Club Title (Japan)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
2. NJPW. "Double Gold Dash: Five Double Title matches in NJPW Tokyo Dome history 【WK14】 | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
3. "猪木が巻いたベルトの歴史　ＷＷＦ格闘技世界ヘビー級選手権". Retrieved 2021-01-03.
4. "NJPW G1 Climax Special 1992 - Tag 2 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
5. "NJPW Tokyo 3Days Battle - Tag 3 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
6. "NJPW Budokan Hall Show (Nov '91) at Budokan Hall wrestling results - Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
7. "NJPW/WCW Starrcade 1992 In Tokyo Dome « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.com. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
8. Schadler, Kyle. "Abandoned: WWF Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship in Retrospect". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
9. "NJPW G1 Climax Special 1992 - Tag 2 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2020-06-11.