IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship

Background At 2023's Power Struggle, after Will Ospreay had defended the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship against Shota Umino in the main event, Bullet Club leader David Finlay attacked Umino's former mentor, AEW's Jon Moxley, and Ospreay, and proceeded to destroy both the U.S. belt and Ospreay's custom IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Championship belt with a mallet, saying he felt spurned by both lands the belts represented. Finlay's manager, Gedo, stated that Finlay deserved a championship of his own. At the Power Struggle post-media scrum, Ospreay declared that if the IWGP Intercontinental Championship could not be brought back, then he, Moxley, and Finlay should wrestle for a new title at Wrestle Kingdom 18. At a press conference on November 6, 2023, NJPW chairman Naoki Sugabayashi effectively announced the retirement of the United States title, and that the three-way match would indeed be for a brand new championship. On December 11, at another press conference, he announced the name of the new championship, the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship. Finlay would go on to win the match at Wrestle Kingdom and be crowned the inaugrual champion. Belt design The new championship belt was revealed on January 3, 2024. It is set on a white strap, similar to the now-retired IWGP Intercontinental Championship, and features five plates: one center and two sets of side plates. The center plate features depictions of lions on each side, the "IWGP" letters in the center, and the words (all in capital letters) "Global" and "Champion" on the top and bottom, respectively; the New Japan logo is also featured on the top. Four gold circles with a ruby in the center are vertically set, two on each side, next to the center plate. The two sets of side plates each feature different parts of the world globe. == Reigns ==

As of , , there have been seven reigns shared among five wrestlers. David Finlay was the inaugural champion and is tied with Yota Tsuji for the most reigns at two. Finlay's second reign was the longest single reign at 245 days, with four successful defenses, while his inaugural reign was the shortest at 50 days. Tsuji was the first Japanese wrestler to win the championship and has the most successful title defenses between both of his reigns at seven, and he has the most combined days at 364. Nic Nemeth was the oldest champion when he won it at 43 years old. Gabe Kidd is the youngest champion, winning it at 28 years old. Andrade El Ídolo is the current champion in his first reign. He won the title by defeating previous championYota Tsuji on Night 1 of Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka, Japan, on May 3, 2026. ==Combined reigns==