List of NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions
The NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion.
NEVER is an acronym of the terms "New Blood", "Evolution", "Valiantly", "Eternal", and "Radical" and was a NJPW-promoted series of events, which featured younger up-and-coming talent and outside wrestlers not signed to the promotion.[1] The title was announced on December 21, 2015,[2][3] with the first champions crowned on January 4, 2016.[4][5] Through NJPW's relationship with Ring of Honor (ROH), the title has also been defended in the American promotion.[6] The championship is contested for by teams of three wrestlers and is the first title of its kind in the history of NJPW.[2] The title's openweight nature means that both heavyweight and junior heavyweight wrestlers are eligible to challenge for it.
Chaos (Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe and Toru Yano) were the first champions in the title's history.[7] Los Ingobernables de Japón (Bushi, Evil and Sanada) and Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and Beretta) both hold the record for shortest reign at 1 day each, while Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi) hold the record for longest reign at 454 days and record for most defenses at 9 defenses. Los Ingobernables de Japón also hold the record for most reigns as a team with three. Individually, Bushi and Evil hold the record for title defenses with 6 each. Bushi, Evil, Tonga, and Yano share the record for individual reigns at 4 each. As a faction, Bullet Club have held the titles on the most occasions (The Elite and Super Villains were part of Bullet Club while holding the titles) though never more than twice with the same three wrestlers.
The current champions are Toru Yano, Oleg Boltin and Hiroshi Tanahashi, who are in their first reign as a team, while it's the fifth individually for Tanahashi and Yano, and first for Boltin. They defeated House of Torture (Evil, Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) at Wrestling World 2024 in Taiwan at the Zepp New Taipei in New Taipei City, Taiwan.
Title history
No. | Overall reign number |
---|---|
Reign | Reign number for the specific team—reign numbers for the individuals are in parentheses, if different |
Days | Number of days held |
Defenses | Number of successful defenses |
+ | Current reign is changing daily |
No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defenses | ||||
1 | Toru Yano and The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) | January 4, 2016 | Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 38 | 1[8] | Defeated Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi) to become the inaugural champions. | [7] |
2 | Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi) | February 11, 2016 | The New Beginning in Osaka | Osaka, Japan | 1 | 3 | 0 | [9] | |
3 | Toru Yano and The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) | February 14, 2016 | The New Beginning in Niigata | Nagaoka, Japan | 2 | 6 | 0 | [10] | |
4 | The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) | February 20, 2016 | Honor Rising: Japan 2016 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 50 | 2[11] | [12] | |
5 | Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin and Yoshitatsu | April 10, 2016 | Invasion Attack 2016 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 23 | 1 | [13] | |
6 | The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) | May 3, 2016 | Wrestling Dontaku 2016 | Fukuoka, Japan | 2 | 61 | 0 | [14] | |
7 | Matt Sydal, Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima | July 3, 2016 | Kizuna Road 2016 | Takizawa, Japan | 1 | 84 | 0 | [15] | |
— | Vacated | September 25, 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | Title vacated due to Sydal failing to make a scheduled championship defense because of "travel issues". | [16] |
8 | David Finlay, Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima | September 25, 2016 | Destruction in Kobe | Kobe, Japan | 1 (1, 2, 2) | 101 | 1 | Defeated Superkliq (Adam Cole, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) to win the vacant title. | [17] |
9 | Los Ingobernables de Japón (Bushi, Evil and Sanada) | January 4, 2017 | Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | This was a gauntlet match, also involving Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Hangman Page and Yujiro Takahashi) and Chaos (Jado, Will Ospreay and Yoshi-Hashi). | [18] |
10 | Taguchi Japan (Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi and Ryusuke Taguchi) | January 5, 2017 | New Year Dash!! | Tokyo, Japan | 1 (2, 1, 1) | 37 | 0 | [19] | |
11 | Los Ingobernables de Japón (Bushi, Evil and Sanada) | February 11, 2017 | The New Beginning in Osaka | Osaka, Japan | 2 | 52 | 1 | [20] | |
12 | Taguchi Japan (Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi) | April 4, 2017 | Road to Sakura Genesis 2017 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 (3, 3, 2) | 29 | 0 | [21] | |
13 | Los Ingobernables de Japón (Bushi, Evil and Sanada) | May 3, 2017 | Wrestling Dontaku 2017 | Fukuoka, Japan | 3 | 228 | 3 | [22] | |
14 | Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) | December 17, 2017 | Road to Tokyo Dome | Tokyo, Japan | 1 (2, 2, 1) | 18 | 0 | [23] | |
15 | Chaos (Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) | January 4, 2018 | Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome | Tokyo, Japan | 1 (1, 1, 3) | 1 | 0 | This was a gauntlet match, also involving Michael Elgin and War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe), Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Takashi Iizuka and Zack Sabre Jr.) and Taguchi Japan (Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi and Togi Makabe). | [24] |
16 | Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa | January 5, 2018 | New Year Dash!! | Tokyo, Japan | 2 (3, 3, 2) | 118 | 3 | [25] | |
17 | Super Villains (Marty Scurll, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) | May 3, 2018 | Wrestling Dontaku 2018 | Fukuoka, Japan | 1 (1, 3, 3) | 101 | 0 | [26] | |
18 | Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Taiji Ishimori) | August 12, 2018 | G1 Climax 28 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 (4, 3, 1) | 171 | 2 | [27] | |
19 | Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe and Toru Yano | January 30, 2019 | Road to The New Beginning | Miyagi, Japan | 1 (3, 1, 4) | 340 | 4 | [28] | |
20 | Los Ingobernables de Japón (Bushi, Evil and Shingo Takagi) | January 5, 2020 | Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome | Tokyo, Japan | 1 (4, 4, 1) | 208 | 2 | This was a gauntlet match, also involving Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, and Chase Owens), Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii, Yoshi-Hashi, and Robbie Eagles) and Suzuki-gun (Taichi, El Desperado, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru). | [29] |
— | Vacated | July 31, 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | After leaving Los Ingobernables de Japón during the finals of the New Japan Cup on July 11, 2020, Evil claimed on July 12 that he had "no interest" in defending the title with his former stablemates, leading NJPW to eventually vacate the championship. | [30][31][32] |
21 | Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi) | August 9, 2020 | Summer Struggle 2020 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 (1, 2, 1) | 454 | 9 | Defeated fellow Chaos stablemates Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and Sho in the finals of an eight-team tournament to win the vacant titles. | [33][34] |
22 | House of Torture (Evil, Sho and Yujiro Takahashi) | November 6, 2021 | Power Struggle | Osaka, Japan | 1 (5, 1, 2) | 241 | 4 | [35] | |
23 | Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Yoh and Yoshi-Hashi) | July 5, 2022 | New Japan Road | Tokyo, Japan | 1 (2, 1, 2) | 80 | 0 | [36] | |
24 | House of Torture (Evil, Sho and Yujiro Takahashi) | September 23, 2022 | New Japan Burning Spirit | Takamatsu, Japan | 2 (6, 2, 3) | 141 | 1 | This was a tornado dog cage match. | [37] |
25 | Strong Style (Ren Narita, Minoru Suzuki and El Desperado) | February 11, 2023 | The New Beginning in Osaka (2023) | Osaka, Japan | 1 | 81 | 1 | If House of Torture did not defend, they would have been stripped of the titles. | [38] |
26 | Hiroshi Tanahashi and Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii and Kazuchika Okada) | May 3, 2023 | Wrestling Dontaku | Fukuoka, Japan | 1 (4, 3, 1) | 266 | 8 | [39] | |
— | Vacated | January 24, 2024 | Road to the New Beginning 2024 | Tokyo, Japan | — | — | — | After a successful defense against The Mighty Don't Kneel (Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls and Shane Thorne), Okada, whose contract with NJPW expired on that day, announced that he was vacating the titles. | [40] |
27 | Toru Yano, Oleg Boltin and Hiroshi Tanahashi | April 14, 2024 | Wrestling World 2024 in Taiwan | Taipei, Taiwan | 1 (5, 1, 5) | 12+ | 1 | Defeated House of Torture (Evil, Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) in a four-team tournament to win the vacant titles. | [41] |
Combined reigns
As of April 26, 2024.
† | Indicates the current champion |
---|
By team
By wrestler
Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined defenses | Combined days |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Evil | 6 | 11 | 871 |
2 | Tomohiro Ishii | 3 | 17 | 721 |
3 | Hirooki Goto | 2 | 9 | 534 |
Yoshi-Hashi | ||||
5 | Bushi | 4 | 6 | 489 |
6 | Ryusuke Taguchi | 3 | 4 | 406 |
7 | Toru Yano † | 5 | 6 | 397+ |
8 | Yujiro Takahashi | 3 | 5 | 385 |
9 | Sho | 2 | 5 | 382 |
10 | Hiroshi Tanahashi † | 5 | 10 | 367+ |
11 | Togi Makabe | 1 | 4 | 340 |
12 | Tama Tonga | 4 | 5 | 310 |
13 | Tanga Loa | 3 | 5 | 307 |
14 | Sanada | 3 | 4 | 281 |
15 | Kazuchika Okada | 1 | 8 | 266 |
16 | Ricochet | 3 | 1 | 214 |
17 | Matt Jackson | 3 | 2 | 212 |
Nick Jackson | ||||
19 | Shingo Takagi | 1 | 2 | 208 |
20 | Satoshi Kojima | 2 | 1 | 185 |
21 | Taiji Ishimori | 1 | 2 | 171 |
22 | Bad Luck Fale | 3 | 3 | 139 |
23 | Kenny Omega | 2 | 2 | 111 |
24 | David Finlay Jr. | 1 | 1 | 101 |
Marty Scurll | 0 | |||
26 | Matt Sydal | 1 | 0 | 84 |
27 | Minoru Suzuki | 1 | 1 | 80 |
El Desperado | ||||
Ren Narita | ||||
30 | Yoh | 1 | 0 | 80 |
31 | Jay Briscoe | 2 | 1 | 44 |
Mark Briscoe | ||||
33 | Manabu Nakanishi | 1 | 0 | 37 |
34 | Michael Elgin | 1 | 1 | 23 |
Yoshitatsu | ||||
36 | Oleg Boltin † | 1 | 1 | 12+ |
37 | Beretta | 1 | 0 | 1 |
References
- ^ Nextジェネレーション育成 新プロジェクト「NEVER」シリーズがスタート!!. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). July 12, 2010. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
- ^ a b 【WK10】1.4東京ドームは“8大選手権”! 第2試合は初代NEVER無差別級6人タッグ王座戦! 第3試合はROH世界選手権に! NJランボー参戦選手も追加!. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). December 21, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
- ^ "NJPW Tokyo Dome Updates – Briscoes vs. Bullet Club for new titles, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. December 20, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (January 3, 2016). "Wrestle Kingdom 10 live results: Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
- ^ 【新日・東京ドーム】「NEVER無差別級6人タッグ」矢野組が初代王者に. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). January 5, 2016. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ Rose, Bryan (February 26, 2016). "ROH 14th Anniversary live results: Jay Lethal vs. Kyle O'Reilly vs. Adam Cole". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
- ^ a b Wrestle Kingdom 10 in 東京ドーム. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
- ^ "New Year Dash !!". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ^ "The New Beginning in Osaka". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 13, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ^ "The New Beginning in Niigata". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 14, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- ^ "Road to Invasion Attack 2016". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
- ^ "Honor Rising:Japan 2016". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^ "Invasion Attack 2016". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 13, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
- ^ レスリングどんたく 2016. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
- ^ "Kizuna Road 2016". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
- ^ 【お知らせ】マット・サイダル選手が飛行機トラブルのため9.25神戸大会を欠場。デビッド・フィンレー選手が代打出場でNEVER6人タッグは「王座決定戦」に変更. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). September 25, 2016. Archived from the original on September 25, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ "Destruction in Kobe". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
- ^ 戦国炎舞 -Kizna- Presents Wrestle Kingdom 11 in 東京ドーム. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ 戦国炎舞 -Kizna- Presents New Year Dash !!. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved January 5, 2017.
- ^ 戦国炎舞 -Kizna- Presents The New Beginning in Osaka. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ^ 戦国炎舞-Kizna- Presents Road to Sakura Genesis 2017. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved April 4, 2017.
- ^ 濵かつ Presents レスリングどんたく 2017. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved May 3, 2017.
- ^ "JRA presents Road to Tokyo Dome". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved December 17, 2017.
- ^ ブシモ 5th Anniversary Wrestle Kingdom 12 in 東京ドーム. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved January 4, 2018.
- ^ "NEW YEAR DASH!!". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ "Wrestling Dontaku 2018". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- ^ "G1 Climax 28 Night19". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved August 12, 2018.
- ^ "Road to THE NEW BEGINNING". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- ^ "WRESTLE KINGDOM 14 in TOKYO DOME". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved January 5, 2020.
- ^ "【8月6日(木)からの後楽園4連戦、主要カード決定!】全8チームが参加! "NEVER無差別級 6人タッグ王座決定トーナメント"が実現!!". www.njpw.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-08-09.
- ^ @njpwglobal (August 1, 2020). "New NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions will be determined next week!Over four nights from Korakuen Hall, a…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "New NEVER 6-Man Tag Champions to be crowned in Korakuen tournament | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING".
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (August 9, 2020). "NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Title Tournament (2020)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (August 9, 2020). "NJPW Summer Struggle 2020 - Tag 8 - TV-Show @ Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 6, 2021). "NJPW Power Struggle 2021 - TV-Show @ EDION Arena Osaka in Osaka, Japan". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ Berman, Rose (July 5, 2022). "NJPW New Japan Road Results (7/5) CHAOS Wins Big In Korakuen". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (September 23, 2022). "NJPW Burning Spirit 2022 - Tag 13 - TV-Show @ Takamatsu City Gymnasium in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^ "New champions crowned at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka". Wrestling Observer.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Kazuchika Okada deja vacante los Campeonatos NEVER de Tríos". solowrestling.mundodeportivo.com. January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 14, 2024). "NJPW Wrestling World 2024 In Taiwan - TV-Show @ Zepp New Taipei in New Taipei, Taiwan". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
External links
- Official title history at njpw.co.jp
- Title history at Wrestling-Titles.com
- v
- t
- e
- Chaos (Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe and Toru Yano)
- Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi)
- The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin and Yoshitatsu
- Matt Sydal, Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima
- David Finlay, Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima
- Los Ingobernables de Japón (Bushi, Evil and Sanada)
- Taguchi Japan (Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi and Ryusuke Taguchi)
- Taguchi Japan (Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi)
- Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa)
- Chaos (Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano)
- Bullet Club (Marty Scurll, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)
- Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Taiji Ishimori)
- Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe and Toru Yano
- Los Ingobernables de Japón (Evil, Shingo Takagi and Bushi)
- Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi)
- House of Torture (Evil, Sho and Yujiro Takahashi)
- Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Yoh and Yoshi-Hashi)
- Strong Style (Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado and Ren Narita)
- Chaos (Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii) and Hiroshi Tanahashi
- Toru Yano, Oleg Boltin and Hiroshi Tanahashi (current)