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NEVER Openweight Championship History

Complete list of every NEVER Openweight Championship reign — who held it, when they won it, and how long they kept it. Established Nov 19, 2012.

Current Champion
Ren Narita
Since Feb 11, 2026 · 122+ days
51
Total Reigns
27
Champions
314
Longest (days)
Masato Tanaka
6×
Most Reigns
Tomohiro Ishii

Full Title Lineage

#ChampionWonReign
51 Ren Narita CURRENT Feb 11, 2026 122+ days
50 Aaron Wolf Jan 4, 2026Wrestle Kingdom 20Tokyo, Japan 38 days
49 EVIL4th reign Oct 13, 2025King of Pro-Wrestling 2025Tokyo, Japan 83 days
48 Boltin Oleg Jun 15, 2025Dominion 6.15 in Osaka-jo Hall (2025)Osaka, Japan 120 days
47 Konosuke Takeshita A Winner Takes All match that also put Takeshita’s AEW International Championship on the line. Jan 4, 2025Wrestle Kingdom 19Tokyo, Japan 162 days
46 Shingo Takagi5th reign Sep 29, 2024Destruction in Kobe 2024Kobe, Japan 97 days
45 HENARE Jun 16, 2024New Japan Soul 2024Sapporo, Japan 105 days
44 Shingo Takagi4th reign Apr 6, 2024Sakura Genesis 2024Tokyo, Japan 71 days
43 EVIL3rd reign Jan 20, 2024The New Beginning 2024Nagoya, Japan 77 days
42 Tama Tonga4th reign Jan 4, 2024Wrestle Kingdom 18Tokyo, Japan 16 days
41 Shingo Takagi3rd reign Oct 28, 2023Strong Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2023Las Vegas, NV 68 days
40 Tama Tonga3rd reign Oct 9, 2023Destruction 2023Tokyo, Japan 19 days
39 David Finlay May 3, 2023Wrestling Dontaku 2023Fukuoka, Japan 159 days
38 Tama Tonga2nd reign Jan 4, 2023Wrestle Kingdom 17Tokyo, Japan 119 days
37 Karl Anderson A 206-day reign. Jun 12, 2022Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall (2022)Osaka, Japan 206 days
36 Tama Tonga1st reign May 1, 2022Wrestling Dontaku 2022Fukuoka, Japan 42 days
35 EVIL2nd reign Jan 4, 2022Wrestle Kingdom 16Tokyo, Japan 117 days
34 Tomohiro Ishii6th reign Nov 13, 2021Battle in the ValleySan Jose, CA 52 days
33 Jay White A 194-day reign. May 3, 2021Wrestling Dontaku 2021Fukuoka, Japan 194 days
32 Hiroshi Tanahashi Jan 30, 2021The New Beginning 2021Nagoya, Japan 93 days
31 Shingo Takagi2nd reign Nov 7, 2020Power Struggle 2020Osaka, Japan 84 days
30 Minoru Suzuki2nd reign Aug 29, 2020Summer Struggle in Jingu (2020)Tokyo, Japan 70 days
29 Shingo Takagi1st reign A 210-day reign. Feb 1, 2020The New Beginning 2020Sapporo, Japan 210 days
28 Hirooki Goto5th reign Jan 5, 2020Wrestle Kingdom 14Tokyo, Japan 27 days
27 KENTA Aug 31, 2019Royal QuestLondon, England 127 days
26 Tomohiro Ishii5th reign Jun 9, 2019Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall (2019)Osaka, Japan 83 days
25 Taichi2nd reign May 3, 2019Wrestling Dontaku 2019Fukuoka, Japan 37 days
24 Jeff Cobb Won at the ROH and NJPW co-promoted show at Madison Square Garden. Apr 6, 2019G1 SupercardNew York, NY 27 days
23 Will Ospreay The first junior heavyweight to win the title. Jan 4, 2019Wrestle Kingdom 13Tokyo, Japan 92 days
22 Kota Ibushi Dec 9, 2018World Tag League 2018 FinalsIwate, Japan 26 days
21 Hirooki Goto4th reign Nov 3, 2018Power Struggle 2018Osaka, Japan 36 days
20 Taichi1st reign Sep 17, 2018Destruction 2018Beppu, Japan 47 days
19 Hirooki Goto3rd reign Jun 17, 2018Kizuna Road 2018Tokyo, Japan 92 days
18 Michael Elgin Jun 9, 2018Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall (2018)Osaka, Japan 8 days
17 Hirooki Goto2nd reign Jan 4, 2018Wrestle Kingdom 12Tokyo, Japan 156 days
16 Minoru Suzuki1st reign A 252-day reign. Apr 27, 2017Road to Wrestling Dontaku 2017Hiroshima, Japan 252 days
15 Hirooki Goto1st reign Jan 4, 2017Wrestle Kingdom 11Tokyo, Japan 113 days
14 Katsuyori Shibata3rd reign Nov 15, 2016Wrestling World 2016 in SingaporeSingapore 50 days
13 EVIL1st reign Nov 5, 2016Power Struggle 2016Osaka, Japan 10 days
12 Katsuyori Shibata2nd reign Jun 19, 2016Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall (2016)Osaka, Japan 139 days
11 Yuji Nagata May 3, 2016Wrestling Dontaku 2016Fukuoka, Japan 47 days
10 Katsuyori Shibata1st reign Jan 4, 2016Wrestle Kingdom 10Tokyo, Japan 120 days
9 Tomohiro Ishii4th reign Oct 12, 2015King of Pro-Wrestling 2015Tokyo, Japan 84 days
8 Togi Makabe2nd reign Apr 29, 2015Wrestling HinokuniMashiki, Japan 166 days
7 Tomohiro Ishii3rd reign Defeated Tomoaki Honma for the vacant title. Feb 14, 2015The New Beginning 2015Sendai, Japan 74 days
6 Togi Makabe1st reign ↳ Vacated after Makabe was sidelined with influenza. Jan 4, 2015Wrestle Kingdom 9Tokyo, Japan 41 days
5 Tomohiro Ishii2nd reign Oct 13, 2014King of Pro-Wrestling 2014Tokyo, Japan 83 days
4 Yujiro Takahashi Jun 29, 2014Kizuna Road 2014Tokyo, Japan 106 days
3 Tomohiro Ishii1st reign Feb 11, 2014The New Beginning 2014Osaka, Japan 138 days
2 Tetsuya Naito Sep 29, 2013Destruction (2013)Kobe, Japan 135 days
1 Masato Tanaka Defeated Karl Anderson in a tournament final to become the inaugural champion; a 314-day reign, the longest in the title history. Nov 19, 2012NEVER TournamentTokyo, Japan 314 days

New Japan's hard-hitting openweight title, established in 2012 with Masato Tanaka as the inaugural champion. Open to both heavyweights and junior heavyweights, it has become the promotion’s proving ground for stiff, physical wrestling. Tomohiro Ishii holds the record with six reigns, and Tanaka’s inaugural 314-day run remains the longest.

NEVER Openweight Championship — FAQ

Ren Narita is the current NEVER Openweight Championship, having won the title on Feb 11, 2026.

Masato Tanaka was the inaugural NEVER Openweight Championship, winning it on Nov 19, 2012 at NEVER Tournament.

Tomohiro Ishii has the most reigns with 6.

Masato Tanaka's reign beginning Nov 19, 2012 is the longest at 314 days.

There have been 51 reigns across 27 different champions since the title was established.

← All current champions