Strong Openweight Championship
The Strong Openweight Championship (STRONG無差別級王座, STRONG musabetsu-kyū ōza) is a professional wrestling world championship owned and promoted by the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It is exclusively featured on NJPW's Strong brand and is defended at NJPW Strong branded shows in America. The current champion is Boltin Oleg, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating Tomohiro Ishii at The New Beginning USA in Trenton, New Jersey, on February 27, 2026. The title was officially announced on April 2, 2021, and the inaugural champion was Tom Lawlor. It was primarily featured on NJPW's American television program NJPW Strong, which includes American wrestlers, as well as on programming by NJPW partner American promotions All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH). When the title is jointly held with the AEW Continental Championship and ROH World Championship, the three titles together make up the American Triple Crown Championship, also referred to as the Continental Crown; as of March 2024, this has only happened once.
| Strong Openweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
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 The Strong Openweight Championship belt | |||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brand | Strong | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | April 2, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current champion | Boltin Oleg | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | February 27, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | |||||||||||||||||||
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The Strong Openweight Championship (STRONG無差別級王座, STRONG musabetsu-kyū ōza) is a professional wrestling world championship owned and promoted by the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It is exclusively featured on NJPW's Strong brand and is defended at NJPW Strong branded shows in America. The current champion is Boltin Oleg, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating Tomohiro Ishii at The New Beginning USA in Trenton, New Jersey, on February 27, 2026.
The title was officially announced on April 2, 2021, and the inaugural champion was Tom Lawlor. It was primarily featured on NJPW's American television program NJPW Strong, which includes American wrestlers, as well as on programming by NJPW partner American promotions All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH).[1] When the title is jointly held with the AEW Continental Championship and ROH World Championship, the three titles together make up the American Triple Crown Championship, also referred to as the Continental Crown; as of March 2024[update], this has only happened once.
History
[edit]The title was officially announced on April 2, 2021.[2] Initially, the title was exclusively featured on NJPW's American television program NJPW Strong, which includes a distinct roster of American wrestlers.
On November 11, 2023, NJPW's American partner promotion AEW announced a tournament called the Continental Classic, with the winner becoming the first AEW Continental Champion.[3][4][5] Eddie Kingston, who held the ROH World Championship and the Strong Openweight Championship, announced that he would be putting his championships on the line in the tournament and that the tournament's winner would be an American Triple Crown Champion (collectively referred to as the Continental Crown).[5][6] At AEW's Worlds End event, Kingston defeated Jon Moxley in the Continental Classic final, retaining the Strong Openweight and ROH World championships and becoming the first Continental Crown Champion. Kingston would lose the AEW Continental Championship to Kazuchika Okada on the March 20, 2024, episode of AEW Dynamite, thus losing his recognition as Triple Crown Champion.[7]
Inaugural tournament
[edit]| Qualifying March 5, 12, 19, 26 | Round 1 April 9 | Semi-finals April 16 | Final April 23 | ||||||||||||
| Clark Connors | Pin[8] | ||||||||||||||
| TJP | 9:27 | ||||||||||||||
| Clark Connors | 9:57 | ||||||||||||||
| Lio Rush | Pin[12] | ||||||||||||||
| Rocky Romero | 13:57 | ||||||||||||||
| Lio Rush | Pin[9] | ||||||||||||||
| Lio Rush | 7:38 | ||||||||||||||
| Brody King | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Brody King | Pin[10] | ||||||||||||||
| Bateman | 13:25 | ||||||||||||||
| Brody King | Pin[12] | ||||||||||||||
| Chris Dickinson | 10:42 | ||||||||||||||
| Blake Christian | 8:53 | ||||||||||||||
| Chris Dickinson | Pin[8] | ||||||||||||||
| Brody King | 20:05 | ||||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Ren Narita | Pin[10] | ||||||||||||||
| Misterioso | 11:12 | ||||||||||||||
| Ren Narita | 13:19 | ||||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | Sub[12] | ||||||||||||||
| The DKC | 9:13 | ||||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | Pin[9] | ||||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Hikuleo | 8:58 | ||||||||||||||
| Jordan Clearwater | 7:57 | ||||||||||||||
| Hikuleo | Pin[11] | ||||||||||||||
| Hikuleo | Pin[12] | ||||||||||||||
| Fred Rosser | 6:22 | ||||||||||||||
| Fred Rosser | Pin[11] | ||||||||||||||
| J. R. Kratos | 14:16 | ||||||||||||||
Reigns
[edit]
As of April 25, 2026, there have been nine reigns between eight champions. Tom Lawlor was the inaugural champion. Tomohiro Ishii is the oldest, when he won it at 49 years old, while Gabe Kidd is the youngest champion at 27 years old. Lawlor's reign is the longest at 387 days while Hikuleo's reign is the shortest at 18 days.
The current champion is Boltin Oleg, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating Tomohiro Ishii at The New Beginning USA in Trenton, New Jersey, on February 27, 2026.
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Days recog. | Number of days held recognized by the promotion |
| Defenses | Number of successful defenses |
| N/A | Unknown information |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Days recog. | Defenses | ||||
| New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) | ||||||||||
| 1 | Tom Lawlor | April 23, 2021 (air date) |
New Japan Cup USA 2021 | Port Hueneme, CA | 1 | N/A | 387 | 9 | Defeated Brody King in the finals of an 16-man single-elimination tournament to become the inaugural champion. The exact date this event was taped is unknown. It aired on April 23, 2021 on tape delay. | [13][2] |
| 2 | Fred Rosser | May 15, 2022 | Strong: Collision in Philadelphia | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 279 | 238 | 7 | Aired on tape delay on June 25, 2022. | [14] |
| 3 | Kenta | February 18, 2023 | Battle in the Valley | San Jose, CA | 1 | 74 | 74 | 2 | [15] | |
| 4 | Hikuleo | May 3, 2023 | Wrestling Dontaku | Fukuoka, Japan | 1 | 18 | 18 | 0 | [16] | |
| 5 | Kenta | May 21, 2023 | Resurgence | Long Beach, CA | 2 | 45 | 45 | 0 | [17] | |
| 6 | Eddie Kingston | July 5, 2023 | Independence Day Night 2 |
Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 311 | 311 | 12 | During this reign, the championship became part of the American Triple Crown Championship (also referred to as the Continental Crown), with Kingston defending the championship alongside the AEW Continental Championship and ROH World Championship after winning the Continental Classic tournament at Worlds End. Kingston would lose the AEW Continental Championship to Kazuchika Okada on the March 20, 2024 episode of AEW Dynamite, thus dissolving the Triple Crown. | [18] |
| 7 | Gabe Kidd | May 11, 2024 | Resurgence | Ontario, CA | 1 | 335 | 335 | 6 | This was a No Ropes Last Man Standing match. | [19] |
| 8 | Tomohiro Ishii | April 11, 2025 | Windy City Riot | Chicago, IL | 1 | 322 | 322 | 1 | This was a 30-minute iron man match, which Ishii won 2–1 in sudden death overtime. | [20] |
| 9 | Boltin Oleg | February 27, 2026 | The New Beginning USA | Trenton, NJ | 1 | 57+ | 57+ | 0 | [21] | |
Combined reigns
[edit]As of April 25, 2026.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
|---|
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
Combined days rec. by NJPW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Lawlor | 1 | 9 | N/A | 387 |
| 2 | Gabe Kidd | 1 | 6 | 335 | |
| 3 | Tomohiro Ishii | 1 | 1 | 322 | |
| 4 | Eddie Kingston | 1 | 12 | 311 | |
| 5 | Fred Rosser | 1 | 7 | 279 | 238 |
| 6 | Kenta | 2 | 2 | 119 | |
| 7 | Boltin Oleg † | 1 | 0 | 57+ | |
| 8 | Hikuleo | 1 | 0 | 18 | |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Solowrestling (2021-04-03). "NJPW anuncia la creación del Campeonato STRONG Openweight". solowrestling.mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-04-24.
- ^ a b New Japan Pro-Wrestling (April 3, 2021). "Strong Openweight Championship revealed 【NJoA】". njpw1972.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ Defelice, Robert (November 11, 2023). "Tony Khan Announces AEW Continental Classic Tournament Starts On 11/22, Concludes At AEW Worlds End". Fightful. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ Rose, Bryan (November 11, 2023). "AEW announces Continental Classic tournament, Bryan Danielson first entrant". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- ^ a b Renner, Ethan (November 18, 2023). "AEW announces new title & Continental Classic competitors". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- ^ Thomas, Jeremy (November 19, 2023). "Tony Khan Gives More Details on AEW Continental Classic, Will Conclude At Worlds End". 411Mania. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
- ^ Thomas, Jeremy (March 22, 2024). "Tony Khan Clarifies Rules Around AEW Continental Title". 411Mania. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ a b "Road to STRONG STYLE EVOLVED". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. March 26, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- ^ a b "Road to STRONG STYLE EVOLVED". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. March 6, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ a b "Road to STRONG STYLE EVOLVED". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. March 20, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
- ^ a b "Road to STRONG STYLE EVOLVED". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. March 13, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Lambert, Jeremy (April 9, 2021). "NJPW Strong Results (4/9): New Japan Cup USA First Round Action". Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ HBN Staff (April 3, 2021). "NJPW Unveils New NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship". heelbynature.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ Defelice, Robert (May 15, 2022). "Spoiler: New NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Crowned At Collision In Philadelphia On 5/15". Fightful. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (February 18, 2023). "NJPW Battle In The Valley Results (2/18): Mercedes Mone vs. KAIRI, Tanahashi vs. Okada, Loser Leaves NJPW". Fightful. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Vetter, Chris (May 3, 2023). "5/3 NJPW "Wrestling Dontaku 2023" results: Vetter's review of Sanada vs. Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Tama Tonga vs. David Finlay for the Never Openweight Title Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, and Ren Narita vs. Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, and Hiroshi Tanahashi for the Never Openweight Six-Man Titles, Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jeff Cobb for the NJPW TV Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ Tessier, Colin (May 21, 2023). "KENTA Wins NJPW STRONG Openweight Title, Gets Challenged By Eddie Kingston At NJPW Resurgence". Fightful. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (July 5, 2023). "Eddie Kingston Wins NJPW Strong Openweight Title At NJPW Strong Independence Day". Fightful. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
- ^ Fritta, Chick (May 11, 2024). "NJPW Resurgence live results: Jon Moxley vs. Shota Umino IWGP World title match". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ Vetter, Chris (April 11, 2025). "NJPW Windy City Riot results (4/11): Vetter's in-person review of Konosuke Takeshita vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the Never Openweight Title, Gabe Kidd vs. Tomohiro Ishii in an Ironman match for the Strong Openweight Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
- ^ Michaels, Corey (February 27, 2026). "NJPW The New Beginning USA live results: Yota Tsuji vs Andrade el Idolo". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
External links
[edit]- Championship history on official website (in Japanese)
- Championship history on official website (in English)
