New Japan Pro-Wrestling
| J-Crown | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | August 5, 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date retired | November 5, 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||
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The J-Crown, also known as the J-Crown Octuple Unified Championship, was a professional wrestling championship promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), formed via the unification of eight junior heavyweight and other other lower-weight class titles from several different organizations. The J-Crown Tournament that crowned the inaugural champion was held in August 1996.
The J-Crown was the unification of eight different championship belts from multiple different countries, including ones from Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[1] The tournament to crown the first champion was held over four nights, from August 2 to August 5, 1996, the same dates that New Japan Pro-Wrestling's annual G1 Climax event took place, promoting two major tournaments on one tour.[1] Jushin Thunder Liger is credited with coming up with the idea for the J-Crown.[1] The inaugural champion was The Great Sasuke.[1] The J-Crown was defended for just over a year.
While Último Dragón was champion, the titles appeared on World Championship Wrestling programming, as Dragón also held the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.[1] Dragón additionally held the NWA World Middleweight Championship concurrently with the J-Crown.[1] When Liger was champion, he lost the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship to Yuji Yasuraoka on June 6, 1997, in Tokyo, Japan. Liger, however, continued to defend the J-Crown with seven titles instead of eight.
As part of their introduction of a new WWF Light Heavyweight Championship, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) demanded that the then-current champion Shinjiro Otani return the belt. Otani returned the championship to the WWF and subsequently dissolved the J-Crown on November 5, 1997, by vacating all of the remaining component titles except for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, with the other belts being restored to their home promotions.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Masayoshi Motegi | Pin | |||||||||||||
| The Great Sasuke | 11:50 | |||||||||||||
| The Great Sasuke | Pin | |||||||||||||
| El Samurai | 16:25 | |||||||||||||
| Gran Hamada | Pin | |||||||||||||
| El Samurai | 12:38 | |||||||||||||
| The Great Sasuke | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Último Dragón | 13:56 | |||||||||||||
| Jushin Thunder Liger | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Último Dragón | 2:38 | |||||||||||||
| Último Dragón | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Shinjiro Otani | 16:04 | |||||||||||||
| Negro Casas | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Shinjiro Otani | 11:34 | |||||||||||||
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
| 1 | The Great Sasuke | August 5, 1996 | G1 Climax 1996 Final | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 67 | Defeated Último Dragón in a tournament final to become the first champion. This event was promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. |
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| 2 | Último Dragón | October 11, 1996 | Osaka Crush Night | Osaka, Japan | 1 | 85 | This event was promoted by Wrestle Association R. During his reign, Último Dragón had already captured the NWA World Middleweight Championship and then captured the WCW Cruiserweight Championship, making him the most decorated wrestler in recorded history as he was the active reigning and defending champion of ten titles, a record which still stands. |
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| 3 | Jushin Thunder Liger | January 4, 1997 | Wrestling World 1997 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 183 | This event was promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Lost the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship to Yuji Yasuraoka on June 6, 1997, in Tokyo, Japan; from that point on, the J-Crown is represented by seven championship belts. |
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| 4 | El Samurai | July 6, 1997 | House show | Sapporo, Japan | 1 | 35 | This event was promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. | |
| 5 | Shinjiro Otani | August 10, 1997 | House show | Nagoya, Japan | 1 | 87 | This event was promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. | |
| — | Deactivated | November 5, 1997 | — | — | — | — | The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) demanded that Shinjiro Otani vacate and return the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship to them immediately. On the same day Otani also vacated the remaining belts except for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, with the belts returning to their home promotions. | |
