Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada: Who's the Greater Champion?
Tale of the tape from tracked title-lineage data. The Index gives it to Kazuchika Okada, 83–76. Screenshot it, share it, argue with it.
SCORE76◂ ▸83
The case for Hiroshi Tanahashi
8 world title reigns across NJPW, totalling 1,396 days at the top. Longest run: 404 days as IWGP Heavyweight Championship. From 2006 to 2019, 30% of the days in that championship span were spent as a world champion. Major honors: Wrestler of the Year 2011, Wrestler of the Year 2012, Wrestler of the Year 2013, G1 Climax 2007, G1 Climax 2015, G1 Climax 2018 and 2 more. Full Hiroshi Tanahashi title record →
The case for Kazuchika Okada
7 world title reigns across NJPW, totalling 2,043 days at the top. Longest run: 720 days as IWGP Heavyweight Championship. From 2012 to 2023, 50% of the days in that championship span were spent as a world champion. Major honors: Wrestler of the Year 2017, PWI 500 No. 1 2017, G1 Climax 2012, G1 Climax 2014, G1 Climax 2021, G1 Climax 2022 and 3 more. Full Kazuchika Okada title record →
How the GOAT Score works
Every number is derived from dated reigns in the tracked title lineages — no projections, no vibes. The score is capped at 99 and built from six published components:
| Volume0–32 · log-scaled total days as a world champion |
| Reigns0–18 · 2.0 points per world title reign |
| Peak0–12 · longest single reign, maxing at 1,400 days |
| Era Share0–12 · world-title days ÷ days in the wrestler's championship span — the inflation adjustment that lets the territory era and the modern era share one chart |
| Scope0–5 · promotions where they won a world title |
| Span0–3 · years between first and last world title reign |
| Honors0–9 · annual honors beyond the belts: Wrestler of the Year — Observer (3) and PWI reader vote (2), PWI Woman of the Year (3), PWI 500 and PWI Women's No. 1 (2.5), G1 Climax (2.5), Royal Rumble win (2), Champion Carnival and Continental Classic (1.5), King/Queen of the Ring, Money in the Bank and the Owen Hart Cup (1.25). One winner per year by construction — every era competes on equal footing, no decay required |
| Big Match0–8 · log-scaled, tier-weighted flagship main events. Every promotion's marquee counts, weighted by its tier: WrestleMania and Starrcade carry full weight, SummerSlam 0.85 as a Tier 1 second flagship, Wrestle Kingdom and All In 0.8 as Tier 2 flagships, with Tier 3 and 4 flagships at 0.6 and 0.4 as their rows land. Four full-weight main events earn about five points, ten earn about seven and a half, capped at eight. In the books now: every WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Starrcade, Wrestle Kingdom, All In, Bound for Glory and November to Remember main event, WCW's July summer flagship (the Great American Bash, then Bash at the Beach), and AEW's Double or Nothing flagship era. TripleMania, the CMLL Aniversario, the full Final Battle list, Stand & Deliver, the modern Final Battle era, AWA SuperClash and the pre-2007 January 4 Dome shows are in; TripleManía's verified lineage, the first Aniversario rows, NOAH's The New Year (complete), AWA SuperClash and NWA Hard Times are in; the remaining TripleManía multi-man years and Regia shows, the Aniversario backfill, Final Battle 2004–2021 and Hard Times 6 are queued; All Japan's marquee is carried by the Champion Carnival honor rather than an event series |
Careers are unified across ring names (Danielson/Bryan, Moxley/Ambrose, Savage's billing variants). Scores reflect recognized, tracked lineages — including the territory era's marathon reigns, which is exactly the kind of thing worth arguing about. Disagree with a weight? Good. That's the point.