United National Tag Team Championship
The Tenryu Project United National Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (Japanese: 天龍プロジェクト認定ユナイテッドナショナル・ヘビー級タッグ王座, Hepburn: Tenryū Purojekuto Nintei Yunaiteddo Nashonaru Hebī-kyū Taggu Ōza) is a professional wrestling tag team championship contested for in the Japanese promotion Tenryu Project. This title is the first championship in Tenryu Project that is not revived from Wrestle Association-R. It is also referred to as the UN Tag Team Championship (UNタッグ王座, UN Taggu Ōza) for short.[1] The title matches are fought under PWF rules.
| Tenryu Project United National Heavyweight Tag Team Championship | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Suwama with one of the belts in August 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | Tenryu Project (2023–present) | ||||||||||||||||
| Date established | April 19, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Kohei Sato and Masayuki Kono | ||||||||||||||||
| Date won | October 15, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
History
editThe title was created in April 2023 with the approval of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and Dory Funk Jr., chairman of the Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF), the governing body for AJPW's championships. It was created to honor the career of Genichiro Tenryu, who held the NWA United National Championship two times before it was unified into the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.[2] The title matches are fought under classic PWF rules which make all matches 2-out-of-3 falls with a 60-minute time limit.[3]
Inaugural tournament
editA one-day four-team tournament was held on June 10, at the GEN Sports Palace in Shinjuku, Tokyo, to crown the inaugural champions.[4] The Aoyagi brothers, Yuma and Atsuki, representing AJPW and their stable Zennichi Shin Jidai[a], ended up winning the tournament.
| Round 1 | Final | ||||||||
| Masayuki Kono and Yusuke Kodama | Pin | ||||||||
| Hideyoshi Kamitani and Kazumasa Yoshida | 10:35[5] | ||||||||
| Masayuki Kono and Yusuke Kodama | 16:30[5] | ||||||||
| Yuma Aoyagi and Atsuki Aoyagi | Pin | ||||||||
| Kohei Sato and Sushi | 9:02[5] | ||||||||
| Yuma Aoyagi and Atsuki Aoyagi | Pin | ||||||||
Belt design
editThe Tenryu Project United National Heavyweight Tag Team Championship belts are almost exact replicas of the old NWA United National Championship singles belt, originally made in 1970 and retired from use for the Triple Crown since 2013. They feature the same six side plates on a black leather strap. In the center plate, the word "TAG" has been added between the "UNITED NATIONAL CHAMPION" inscription and the globe. Instead of a red leather background, one of the belt has a yellow background, while the other has a blue background. Instead of a depiction of two grapplers, the globe features a kanji in black enamel; the yellow belt reads "阿" while the blue belt reads "呍". Together, those kanji form the word A-un (阿呍, aun). In Japanese buddhism, it is the syllable representing the primordial trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma, and is akin to the idea of the "Alpha and Omega" (although the spelling 阿吽 is more common).[6]
Reigns
editAs of November 14, 2024, there have been a total of four reigns shared among four different teams consisting of eight distinctive wrestlers. The current champions are Kohei Sato and Masayuki Kono who are in their first reign as a team.
| 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 | Zennichi Shin Jidai (Yuma Aoyagi and Atsuki Aoyagi) |
June 10, 2023 | Tenryu Project UN Tag Team Inaugural Championship 1 Day Tournament | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 36 | 1 | Defeated Masayuki Kono and Yusuke Kodama in the final of a four-team tournament to win the inaugural title. | [5] |
| 2 | Evolution (Suwama and Dan Tamura) |
July 16, 2023 | Summer Action Series 2023 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 126 | 3 | This was an All Japan Pro Wrestling event. | [7] |
| 3 | Hikaru Sato and Hideki Suzuki | November 19, 2023 | Ryūkon Cup III: Live For Today | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 331 | 3 | [8] | |
| 4 | Kohei Sato and Masayuki Kono | October 15, 2024 | Light My Fire Vol. 7 | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 30+ | 0 | [9] | |
Combined reigns
editAs of November 14, 2024.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
|---|
By team
edit| Rank | Team | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hikaru Sato and Hideki Suzuki | 1 | 3 | 331 |
| 2 | Evolution (Suwama and Dan Tamura) |
1 | 3 | 126 |
| 3 | Zennichi Shin Jidai (Yuma Aoyagi and Atsuki Aoyagi) |
1 | 1 | 36 |
| 4 | Kohei Sato and Masayuki Kono † | 1 | 0 | 30+ |
By wrestler
edit| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hikaru Sato | 1 | 3 | 331 |
| Hideki Suzuki | 1 | 3 | 331 | |
| 3 | Suwama | 1 | 3 | 126 |
| Dan Tamura | 1 | 3 | 126 | |
| 5 | Atsuki Aoyagi | 1 | 1 | 36 |
| Yuma Aoyagi | 1 | 1 | 36 | |
| 7 | Kohei Sato † | 1 | 0 | 30+ |
| Masayuki Kono † | 1 | 0 | 30+ |
See also
editReferences
editNotes
editFootnotes
edit- ^ "Title History | Genichiro Tenryu/Tenryu Project Official Site" 王座遍歴 | 天龍源一郎/天龍プロジェクトオフィシャルサイト. Tenryu Project (in Japanese). Retrieved August 23, 2023.
- ^ "Genichiro Tenryu's recognition of the "1st UN Tag Team Belt First Championship Match" Tenryu: "I am very attached to the tag team belts. I have high expectations for it" 天龍源一郎氏認定「第１回ＵＮタッグベルト初代王者決定戦」開催 天龍氏「大変思い入れのあるタッグベルト。期待しています」. Daily Sports (in Japanese). May 16, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
- ^ "[Tenryu Project】June 10 "Tenryu Project UN Tag Team Belt 1DAY Tournament to determine the first champions" 【天龍プロジェクト】6.10『天龍プロジェクト認定UNタッグベルト初代王者決定１DAYトーナメント』 組み合わせ決定. proresu-today.com (in Japanese). May 26, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
- ^ "[Tenryu Project] "UN Tag Team Belts" newly established and June 10 "1DAY Tournament" held!" 【天龍プロジェクト】「UNタッグベルト」を新設し6.10『１DAYトーナメント』開催！. proresu-today.com (in Japanese). April 21, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Saalbach, Axel. "Tenryu Project United National Tag Team Titles 1 Day Tournament". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
- ^ "Jisho.org Japanese Dictionnary". jisho.org. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "AJPW Summer Action Series 2023 - Tag 1". cagematch.net. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
- ^ 「俺たちが合体技をするのはSNSだけだ！」鈴木秀樹＆佐藤光留が諏訪魔との因縁対決を制しUNタッグ王座戴冠！. battle-news.com (in Japanese). November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Tenryu Proejct Light My Fire Vol. 7". cagematch.ne. Retrieved November 13, 2024.