World Heavyweight Championship (Zero1)

Last updated
World Heavyweight Championship
JUST TAP OUT IMG 8443.jpg
Hayato Tamura with the current belt design in September 2020
Details
Promotion Pro Wrestling Zero1
Date establishedOctober 26, 2007
Current champion(s) Akitoshi Saito
Date wonMarch 31, 2024
Other name(s)
  • AWA World Heavyweight Championship (2007; 2011)
  • Zero1-Max World Heavyweight Championship (20072008)
  • Zero1 World Heavyweight Championship (20082011; 2011present)
Statistics
First champion(s) Masato Tanaka
Most reigns Kohei Sato
Masato Tanaka
tied (6 reigns)
Longest reign Kohei Sato (408 days)
Shortest reign Shinjiro Otani and Kamikaze (30 days)
Oldest champion Akitoshi Saito (58 years, 236 days)
Youngest champion Hayato Tamura (24 years, 350 days)

The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Zero1. It is Zero1's top singles title. It was first introduced on December 15, 2007 when Zero1 ended their relationship with the AWA Superstars of Wrestling. The AWA Superstars of Wrestling Champion at the time, Masato Tanaka, was then recognized as the first Zero1 World Heavyweight Champion. [1] To this day, Zero1 continues to use the AWA title belt, which reads "AWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion", to represent their world heavyweight championship. [2]

Contents

There have been a total of 21 recognized champions who have had a combined 33 official reigns. The current champion is Akitoshi Saito who is in his first reign.

Title history

Key
No.Overall reign number
ReignReign number for the specific champion
DaysNumber of days held
DefensesNumber of successful defenses
+Current reign is changing daily
No.ChampionChampionship changeReign statisticsNotesRef.
DateEventLocationReignDaysDefenses
1 Masato Tanaka October 26, 2007Innovation Tokyo, Japan 13536Tanaka defeated Takao Omori on October 26, 2007 to win the World Heavyweight Championship of AWA Superstars of Wrestling; Zero1 ended their business relationship with AWA Superstars of Wrestling on December 15, 2007 and the AWA championship was replaced with the Zero1-Max World Heavyweight Championship. [1]
In 2008, the promotion shortened its name to Pro Wrestling Zero1 and the championship's name changed to the "Zero1 World Heavyweight Championship".
2 Yuji Nagata October 13, 2008 New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Destruction '08 Tokyo, Japan 11373
3 Shinjiro Otani February 27, 2009Wrestler's Belief Tokyo, Japan 1302
4 Ryouji Sai March 29, 2009Wrestler's Belief Tokyo, Japan 1941
5 Masato Tanaka July 1, 2009Wrestler's 4 Tokyo, Japan 21150
6 Toshiaki Kawada October 24, 2009Wrestler's 6: Never Gonna Stop! Tokyo, Japan 11693
7 Kohei Sato April 11, 2010Celebration from the Yasukuni Shrine "Yamato Shinshu Chikara Matsuri" Tokyo, Japan 1912
8 Bambikiller July 11, 2010ZERO ONE Knight STAND Tokyo, Japan 1600 [3]
9 Daisuke Sekimoto September 9, 2010Euro Vintage Action Tokyo, Japan 11784 [4]
10 Ryouji Sai March 6, 201110th Anniversary Tokyo, Japan 21192The championship is renamed to the "AWA World Heavyweight Championship" during this reign.
11 The Sheik July 3, 2011Destructive King 7th Anniversary of Death Commemoration Tokyo, Japan 11262This match was also for The Sheik's NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
12 Kohei Sato November 6, 2011Yarisugi Forever I Tokyo, Japan 2872The championship's name reverts back to the "Zero1 World Heavyweight Championship" during this reign.
13 Kamikaze February 1, 2012ZERO1 Action 2012 Tokyo, Japan 1300
14 Akebono March 2, 201211th Anniversary Show Tokyo, Japan 11932 [5]
Vacated September 11, 2012 [1]
15 James Raideen August 4, 2013 Fire Festival 2013: Final Day Tokyo, Japan 12384Defeated Masato Tanaka in the finals of the 2013 Fire Festival to win the vacant title.
16 Kohei Sato March 30, 201411th Yamato Shinshu Chikara Matsuri Tokyo, Japan 3981
17 Masakatsu Funaki July 6, 2014 Wrestle-1's Shōgeki: Impact Tokyo, Japan 1751
18 Kohei Sato September 19, 2014Tenkaichi Special Tokyo, Japan 44084
19 Hideki Suzuki November 1, 2015 Live event Tokyo, Japan 11472
20 Kohei Sato March 27, 2016 Live event Tokyo, Japan 53643
21 Masato Tanaka March 26, 201714th Yamato Shinshu Chikara Matsuri Tokyo, Japan 32814
22 Yusaku Obata January 1, 2018Kinga Shinnen Tokyo, Japan 11534
23 Masato Tanaka June 3, 2018Shinsei Zero1 Sapporo First Landing ~ No Gravity Warrior Sugi Sapporo First Visit Sapporo, Japan 41740 [6]
24 Daisuke Sekimoto November 24, 2018ZERO1 Dream Series ~ Nenotsuki No Jin ~ Tenka-Ichi Junior Tournament 2018 Tokyo, Japan 22946
25 Yuji Hino September 14, 201916th ZERO1 Tenka-Ichi Championship Decision 2019 Tokyo, Japan 11694 [7]
26 Kohei Sato March 1, 202019th Anniversary Show Tokyo, Japan 6630 [8]
27Chris ViceMay 3, 2020Chojin Matsuri In Samurai! TV Tokyo, Japan 11162 [9]
28 Hayato Tamura August 27, 2020New ZERO1 Tokyo, Japan 11272 [10]
29 Masato Tanaka January 1, 2021ZERO1 Happy New Year 2021 Tokyo, Japan 52261 [11]
30 Takashi Sugiura August 15, 2021 Pro Wrestling Noah's Kawasaki GO! Kawasaki, Japan 12933This was a Winner Takes All match, in which Sugiura also defended the GHC National Championship. [12]
31 Masato Tanaka June 4, 2022Osu Premium One Team ZERO1 Shinjiro Otani Aid! Get Up As Many Times As You Want Tokyo, Japan 63563 [13]
32Chris ViceMay 26, 2023ZERO1 Fibromyalgia Charity Show Tokyo, Japan 23102 [14]
33 Akitoshi Saito March 31, 2024ZERO1 Noto Peninsula Earthquake Charity Pro Wrestling Tokyo, Japan 127+1 [15]

Combined reigns

Record tying six-time champion, Kohei Sato Zuo Teng Geng Ping .jpg
Record tying six-time champion, Kohei Sato
Current champion, Akitoshi Saito Akitoshi Saitoh 2020.01.30.jpg
Current champion, Akitoshi Saito

As of April27, 2024.

Indicates the current champion
RankWrestlerNo. of
reigns
Combined
defenses
Combined days
1 Masato Tanaka 6141,505
2 Kohei Sato 6121,111
3 Daisuke Sekimoto 210472
4Chris Vice24426
5 Takashi Sugiura 13293
6 James Raideen 14238
7 Ryouji Sai 23213
8 Akebono 12193
9 Toshiaki Kawada 13169
Yuji Hino 14169
11 Yusaku Obata 14153
12 Hideki Suzuki 12147
13 Yuji Nagata 13137
14 Hayato Tamura 12127
15 The Sheik 12126
16 Masakatsu Funaki 1175
17 Bambikiller 1060
18 Kamikaze 1030
Shinjiro Otani 1230
20 Akitoshi Saito1127+

Belt design

The standard Championship belt has three plates on a black leather strap.

See also

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References

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  15. Kreikenbohm, Philip (March 31, 2024). "ZERO1 Noto Peninsula Earthquake Charity Pro Wrestling". cagematch.net. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Pro Wrestling Zero1's top heavyweight championship
2007–present
Succeeded by
Current