BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship
Official design of the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship (2012 – present)
Details
PromotionBig Japan Pro Wrestling
Date establishedAugust 9, 1998
Current champion(s)Yuki Ishikawa
Date wonJanuary 4, 2024
Statistics
First champion(s)The Great Pogo
Most reignsRyuji Ito (7 reigns)
Longest reignRyuji Ito (850 days)
Shortest reignRyuji Ito (4 days)
Oldest championAbdullah the Butcher (57 years, 364 days)
Youngest championDrew Parker (23 years, 206 days)
Heaviest championAbdullah the Butcher (502 lb)
Lightest championIsami Kodaka and Drew Parker (165 lb)

The BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship (BJW認定デスマッチヘビー級王座, BJW nintei desumacchi hebī-kyū ōza) is a title contested for in the Japanese promotion Big Japan Pro Wrestling. As its name suggests, it is exclusively defended in deathmatches. It was first created in 1998 when The Great Pogo defeated Mitsuhiro Matsunaga in a tournament final.[1] There have been a total of 23 recognized champions who have had a combined 48 official reigns. The current champion is Yuki Ishikawa who is in his first reign.[2]

Inaugural tournament

A single elimination tournament was set up to crown the inaugural champion which took place between June 8 and August 9, 1998.[3]

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
Mitsuhiro Matsunaga Pin
Jason the Terrible 14:29
Mitsuhiro Matsunaga Pin
Shadow Winger 10:21
Shadow Winger Pin
Shoji Nakamaki 7:29
Mitsuhiro Matsunaga Pin
The Great Pogo 8:36
The Great Pogo Pin
Kung Fu Lee 9:23
The Great Pogo Pin
Shadow WX 15:02
Shadow WX Pin
Tomoaki Honma 16:22

Title history

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Defenses Number of successful defenses
(NLT) Championship change took place "no later than" the date listed
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Defenses
1 The Great Pogo August 9, 1998 Big Japan Fighter Declaration 1998 Kawasaki, Japan 1 14 0 Defeated Mitsuhiro Matsunaga in a glass and fire coffin cremation deathmatch tournament final. [1]
2 Mitsuhiro Matsunaga August 23, 1998 Big Japan Fighter Declaration 1998 Osaka, Japan 1 31 0 This was a glass and fire coffin cremation deathmatch. [1]
3 Shadow WX September 23, 1998 BJ Hard Core Tokyo, Japan 1 109 1 This was a three-way board alligator deathmatch. [1]
4 Abdullah the Butcher January 10, 1999 House show Fukuoka, Japan 1 49 0 This was a lumberjack deathmatch. [1]
5 Shadow WX February 28, 1999 House show Tokyo, Japan 2 91 1 This was a barbed wire board deathmatch. [1]
6 Ryuji Yamakawa May 30, 1999 House show Osaka, Japan 1 72 1 This was a no rope barbed wire death pallet coffin and fire deathmatch. [1]
7 Shadow WX August 10, 1999 House show Osaka, Japan 3 116 2 This was a no rope barbed wire fire deathmatch. [1]
8 Ryuji Yamakawa December 4, 1999 House show Yokohama, Japan 2 29 0 This was a four-corner lighttubes board deathmatch. [1]
9 Tomoaki Honma January 2, 2000 New Year Great Series 2000 Tokyo, Japan 1 182 1 This was a five-inch spike nail and barbed wire double board quarterfinal deathmatch in the BJ Grand Prix 2000 tournament. [4]
10 Zandig July 2, 2000 BJ Hardcore Series II 2000 Tokyo, Japan 1 144 2 This was a lemon, salt and mustard deathmatch. [5]
11 Tomoaki Honma November 23, 2000 Wonder BJ 2000 Series Yokohama, Japan 2 [a] 2 This was a lemon, salt and mustard deathmatch. [6]
— Vacated February 2001 (NLT) — — — — — Honma was stripped of the title after he left BJW. [1]
12 Zandig May 4, 2001 North Wave 2001 Sapporo, Japan 2 107 1 Defeated Kintaro Kanemura in a CZW Caribbean-style barbed wire, lighttubes, lighttubes board and barbed wire chess board deathmatch to win the vacant title. [1][7]
13 Mitsuhiro Matsunaga August 19, 2001 Universe 2001 Yokohama, Japan 2 105 0 This was a 200 lighttubes and thumbtack and glass board deathmatch. [8]
14 Zandig December 2, 2001 Ante Up 2001 Yokohama, Japan 3 [b] 0 This was an exploding glass, lighttubes and thumbtacks deathmatch. [9]
— Vacated 2002 (NLT) — — — — — When Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and BJW's business relationship ended, Zandig left the company with the title belt. The belt was used in CZW to represent the new CZW Death Match Championship. BJW vacated the title in 2002. In 2003, the title belt returned to Japan and a tournament was held to crown a new champion. [1][10]
15 Kintaro Kanemura March 30, 2003 Harder Than Hardcore IV Yokohama, Japan 1 147 1 Defeated Shadow WX in a lighttubes and glass deathmatch to win the vacant title. [11]
16 Ryuji Ito August 24, 2003 HTH5 Series 2003 Yokohama, Japan 1 850 6 This was a steel cage match. [12]
17 Abdullah Kobayashi December 21, 2005 House show Yokohama, Japan 1 100 0 This was a scaffold match. [1]
18 Takashi Sasaki March 31, 2006 House show Tokyo, Japan 1 163 1 This was a lighttubes and bed of nails deathmatch. [1]
19 Ryuji Ito September 10, 2006 House show Yokohama, Japan 2 4 0 This was a lighttubes, bunkhouse, double hell, super high ladder, and barbed wire Hell deathmatch. [1]
— Vacated September 14, 2006 — — — — — Vacated due to a wrist injury. [1]
20 Takashi Sasaki December 3, 2006 House show Yokohama, Japan 2 266 2 Defeated "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa in a lighttubes shrine deathmatch to win the vacant title. [1]
21 "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa August 26, 2007 Pro-Wrestling Summit in Ariake Tokyo, Japan 1 110 1 [13]
22 Ryuji Ito December 14, 2007 House show Yokohama, Japan 3 142 1 This was a four corner cross of D match. [1]
23 Shadow WX May 4, 2008 Katsura Special 14 Koshigaya, Japan 4 229 3 This was a fluorescent lighttube boards and weapons deathmatch. [1]
24 Yuko Miyamoto December 19, 2008 House show Yokohama, Japan 1 501 4 [1]
25 Ryuji Ito May 4, 2010 BJW 15th Anniversary Show Yokohama, Japan 4 593 6 This was a 200 fluorescent lighttubes cage deathmatch. [1][14]
26 Abdullah Kobayashi December 18, 2011 Big Japan Death Vegas 2011 Yokohama, Japan 2 381 7 This was a Game of Death deathmatch. [1][15]
27 Shuji Ishikawa January 2, 2013 House show Tokyo, Japan 1 306 4 This was a glass board and new year deathmatch. [1]
28 Isami Kodaka November 4, 2013 Big Japan Death Vegas 2013 Yokohama, Japan 1 202 4 This was a culture of death match. [1][16]
29 Ryuji Ito May 25, 2014 Death Market 21 Nagoya, Japan 5 21 0 This was a two-out-of-three falls match. [1][17]
30 Yuko Miyamoto June 15, 2014 House show Hiroshima, Japan 2 324 5 [1]
31 Abdullah Kobayashi May 5, 2015 Endless Survivor 2015 Yokohama, Japan 2 76 0 [1][18]
32 Ryuji Ito July 20, 2015 Ryōgokutan 2015 Tokyo, Japan 6 370 5 [1]
33 Kankuro Hoshino July 24, 2016 Ryōgokutan 2016 Tokyo, Japan 1 147 3 [1][19]
34 Abdullah Kobayashi December 18, 2016 Big Japan Death Vegas 2016 Yokohama, Japan 4 138 0 [1][20]
35 Masaya Takahashi May 5, 2017 Endless Survivor 2017 Yokohama, Japan 1 106 2 This was a Spike nails and 150 lighttubes deathmatch. [1][21]
36 Masashi Takeda August 19, 2017 Death Mania V Nagoya, Japan 1 449 9 [1][22]
37 Masaya Takahashi November 11, 2018 Ryōgokutan 2018 Tokyo, Japan 2 175 3 [1][23]
38 Isami Kodaka May 5, 2019 Endless Survivor 2019 Yokohama, Japan 2 227 4 [1][24]
39 Abdullah Kobayashi December 18, 2019 Big Japan Pro Wrestling 25th Anniversary Memorial Yokohama, Japan 5 89 1 [1][25]
40 Ryuji Ito March 16, 2020 BJW Dai Nippon Pro-Wrestling 25th Anniversary ~ Stardust Superstars Yokohama, Japan 7 165 0 [1][26]
41 Minoru Fujita August 29, 2020 Last Buntai at BJW Yokohama, Japan 1 128 3 [1][27]
42 Takumi Tsukamoto January 2, 2021 BJW 2021 New Year Tokyo, Japan 1 202 1 [1][28]
43 Drew Parker July 23, 2021 BJW Korakuen Hall Tournament Tokyo, Japan 1 44 1 This was a Barbed wire casket and Fluorescent light tubes Death Match [29]
44 Yuko Miyamoto September 5, 2021 BJW Death Mania IX 2021 Nagoya, Japan 3 242 5 This was a tables, ladders & chairs deathmatch [30]
45 Drew Parker May 5, 2022 BJW Big Japan Welcome Back Yokohama, Japan 2 8 1 This was a scaffold & alpha deathmatch [31]
— Vacated May 13, 2022 BJW Tokyo, Japan — — — Parker vacated the championship upon leaving BJW.
46 Hideyoshi Kamitani August 28, 2022 BJW Death Mania X 2022 Nagoya, Japan 1 249 4 Kamitani defeated Abdullah Kobayashi in the finals of a tournament which was contested in a fluorescent lighttubes jungle deathmatch. [32]
47 Abdullah Kobayashi May 4, 2023 BJW Endless Survivor ~ Infinity Independent Yokohama, Japan 6 73 0 This was a Yokohama explosion jungle deathmatch. [33]
48 Yuki Ishikawa July 16, 2023 BJW Tokyo, Japan 1 167 4 This was a deathmatch. [34]
49 Mad Man Pondo December 30, 2023 BJW Tokyo, Japan 1 5 0 This was a fluorescent lighttubes & Illinois street fight deathmatch. [35]
50 Yuki Ishikawa January 4, 2024 BJW Deathmatch King Death Tokyo, Japan 2 92+ 1 This was a lighttube deathmatch. [36]

Combined reigns

As of April 5, 2024.

Record seven-time, longest single and combined reigning champion Ryuji Ito with the title belt in August 2015.
Two-time and current champion, Yuki Ishikawa
† Indicates the current champion
¤ The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used.
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns 		Combined
defenses 		Combined
days
1 Ryuji Ito 7 18 2,145
2 Yuko Miyamoto 3 14 1,067
3 Abdullah Kobayashi 6 9 859
4 Shadow WX 4 7 545
5 Masashi Takeda 1 9 449
6 Isami Kodaka 2 8 429
Takashi Sasaki 2 3 429
8 Shuji Ishikawa 1 4 306
9 Masaya Takahashi 2 5 281
Zandig 3 3 281¤
11 Yuki Ishikawa † 2 5 259+
12 Tomoaki Honma 2 3 252¤
13 Hideyoshi Kamitani 1 4 249
14 Takumi Tsukamoto 1 1 202
15 Kankuro Hoshino 1 3 147
Kintaro Kanemura 1 1 147
17 Mitsuhiro Matsunaga 2 0 136
18 Minoru Fujita 1 3 128
19 "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa 1 1 110
20 Ryuji Yamakawa 2 1 101
21 Drew Parker 2 2 52
22 Abdullah the Butcher 1 0 49
23 The Great Pogo 1 0 14
24 Mad Man Pondo 1 0 5

Notes

  1. ^ The date of at least one of the title changes in this reign is uncertain, which means that the reign lasted between 70 and 97 days.
  2. ^ The date of at least one of the title changes in this reign is uncertain, which means that the reign lasted between 30 and 394 days.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al "BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship title history" (in German). PuroLove.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  2. ^ Saalbach, Axel. "Champions and Championships/BJW Death Match Heavyweight Title". wrestlingdata.com (in German). Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  3. ^ "Big Japan Death Match Title Tournament 1998". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  4. ^ "BJW BJ Great Series tour results" (in German). PuroLove.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  5. ^ "BJW BJ Hardcore Series II tour results" (in German). PuroLove.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  6. ^ "BJW Wonder BJ 2000 Series tour results" (in German). PuroLove.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  7. ^ "BJW North Wave tour results" (in German). PuroLove.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  8. ^ "BJW Universe tour results" (in German). PuroLove.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  9. ^ "BJW Ante Up results" (in German). PuroLove.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  10. ^ "Archived copy". www.100megsfree4.com. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2022.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ "BJW Harder Than Hardcore IV tour results" (in German). PuroLove.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  12. ^ "BJW HTH5 Series tour results" (in German). PuroLove.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  13. ^ "Indy Summit results" (in German). PuroLove.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  14. ^ Wrestling Epicenter. "BJW Big Japan 15th Anniversary Show". wrestlingepicenter.com. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  15. ^ CZW Studios (December 18, 2011). "BJW "Death Vegas" 12/18/2011 Yokohama, Japan". Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  16. ^ Daly, Wayne (November 5, 2013). "BJW Results: Death Vegas – Kanagawa, Japan (11/4)". wrestling-news.net. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  17. ^ Hardy, Neithan (May 30, 2014). "Resultados - BJW Death Market 21 - 25/05". mundodeportivo.com. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  18. ^ Wilson, kevin (May 8, 2015). "BIG JAPAN WRESTLING – ENDLESS SURVIVOR (MAY 5) REVIEW". voicesofwrestling.com. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  19. ^ Justin, Dylan (July 29, 2016). "BIG JAPAN WRESTLING RYOGOKUTAN 2016 (JULY 24) RESULTS & REVIEW". voicesofwrestling.com. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  20. ^ Wardlaw, Drew (December 23, 2016). "BURNING SPIRITS #10: BIG JAPAN DEATH VEGAS REVIEW". voicesofwrestling.com. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  21. ^ Dark angel (May 4, 2017). "BJW: Official presentation of "Endless Survivor 2017" all set for survivors to reach glory". superluchas.com. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
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  23. ^ Big Japan Pro Wrestling (November 11, 2018). 「両極譚～RYOGOKUTAN～2018」東京･両国国技館大会. bjw.co.jp. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  24. ^ Monday, Zack (May 7, 2019). "BJW "ENDLESS SURVIVOR ~ 2019" MAY 5TH, 2019 RESULTS/WRITE-UP". theindycorner.com. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  25. ^ Big Japan Pro Wrestling (December 18, 2019). 大日本プロレス25周年メモリアル「SUPER STAR WARRIORS」神奈川･横浜文化体育館大会. bjw.co.jp. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  26. ^ UltraViolent Wrestling Group (March 16, 2020). "BJW Dai Nippon Pro-Wrestling 25th Anniversary: Stardust Superstars [16.03.2020]". vk.com (in Russian). Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  27. ^ Daly, Wayne (August 29, 2020). "BJW Results: Last Buntai At BJW – Yokohama, Japan (8/29)". wrestling-news.net. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  28. ^ Daly, Wayne (January 2, 2021). "BJW Results: 2021 New Year – Tokyo, Japan (1/2)". wrestling-news.net. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  29. ^ Big Japan Pro Wrestling (July 23, 2021). 「シングル二大タイトルマッチ」東京･後楽園ホール大会. bjw.co (in Japanese). Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  30. ^ Big Japan Pro Wrestling (September 5, 2021). 「Death Mania IX 2021」愛知･名古屋国際会議場イベントホール大会. bjw.co (in Japanese). Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  31. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 5, 2022). "BJW Big Japan Welcome Back". cagematch.net. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  32. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (August 28, 2022). "BJW Death Mania X 2022". cagematch.net. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  33. ^ Big Japan Pro Wrestling (May 4, 2023). 【2023年最大のビックマッチ!!】「BIG JAPAN ENDLESS SURVIVOR〜INFINITY INDEPENDENT〜」神奈川・横浜武道館大会. bjw.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  34. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 16, 2023). "BJW". cagematch.net. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  35. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (December 30, 2023). "BJW". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  36. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (January 4, 2024). "BJW Deathmatch King Death". cagematch.net. Retrieved January 4, 2024.

External links

BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champions
Big Japan Pro Wrestling
Categories