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 New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. The title was officially announced on April 2, 2021, and the inaugural champion was Tom Lawlor. The reigning champion is Tomohiro Ishii, who is in his first reign. He won the title on April 11, 2025 by defeating Gabe Kidd at Windy City Riot in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

The title is primarily featured on NJPW's American television program NJPW Strong, which includes American wrestlers, as well as on programming by NJPW partner promotions All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH).

History

The title was officially announced on April 2, 2021. 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. 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). 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.

Inaugural tournament

Reigns

As of January 1, 2024, there have been eight reigns between seven 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 389 days while Hikuleo's reign is the shortest at 18 days.

Tomohiro Ishii is the reigning champion in his first reign. He defeated Gabe Kidd in a 30-minute iron man match, which Ishii won 2–1 in sudden death overtime, at Windy City Riot on April 11, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.