The WWF New Japan Martial Arts Championships was a professional wrestling championship contested in the World Wrestling Federation and in New Japan Pro Wrestling. The belt was created on December 18, 1978, and awarded to NJPW mainstay Antonio Inoki by the then owner of the WWF, Vincent J. McMahon, upon Inoki's arrival in the promotion. The original intention was that the title would be defended in legitimate shoot fights. The title was contested only in NJPW after the promotion severed its ties with the WWF in 1985, and Inoki abandoned the title during his second reign in 1989.

During the thirtieth anniversary of Inoki's career, NJPW created the Greatest 18 Club, a hall of fame. NJPW then created a new title, the Greatest 18 Championship, which was intended to be as prestigious as the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. The Greatest 18 Championship was represented by the former Martial Arts Championship, which was by now abandoned (it can therefore be argued that the lineage of the title is not continuous, although the physical belt was the same). It should be noted that the Greatest 18 Championship was never contested in anything other than worked matches. The Greatest 18 Championship was awarded to Riki Choshu in 1990, and Chosu lost the title to The Great Muta in 1992. A month after winning the title, Muta abandoned the title on September 23, 1992, in order to focus on his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship title defences. The belt was subsequently retired by NJPW.

References

• The WWF New Japan Martial Arts Championship at Solie's Title Histories.com

External links

• WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Title History

World Wrestling Entertainment championships | New Japan Pro Wrestling championships