Yuji Nagata
The only man to win the G1 Climax, Champion Carnival, and Global League.
Yuji Nagata (born April 24, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the fifth longest-reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion with a reign of 392 days, and formerly held the record for most successful title defenses with 10, until Hiroshi Tanahashi broke the record at Wrestle Kingdom VI. He is the only wrestler to have won Japanese professional wrestling's three biggest singles tournaments: NJPW's G1 Climax (2001), All Japan Pro Wrestling's Champion Carnival (2011) and Pro Wrestling Noah's Global League (2013).
- character_role
- Main Event Heavyweight / Enforcer
- affiliation
- New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW)
- status
- Active Legend / Semi-Active
- signature_style
- Strong Style
- notable_achievements
- Multiple IWGP Heavyweight Champion
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Nagata debuted for NJPW in 1992 and was recognized as the company's ace in the early 2000s. He is a two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, a two-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and a one-time NEVER Openweight Champion. He also won the New Japan Cup in 2007 and 2011, the G1 Tag League in 2000 and 2010, and the G1 Climax in 2001. Outside NJPW, he held the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship in All Japan Pro Wrestling and the GHC Heavyweight Championship in Pro Wrestling Noah, making him a four-time world champion and one of five men to have held all three major heavyweight championships in Japanese professional wrestling. He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2018.
In Their Own Story
Nagata's amateur wrestling background shaped his career. He represented Japan in Greco-Roman style at the Asian Championships twice (placing fifth in 1993, fourth in 1994), one World Cup at the Espoir level in 1988, and the 1991 World Championships (placing twenty-first). In 1995, he learned shoot-style from Kazuo Yamazaki during the NJPW vs. UWF International angle. In WCW in 1997, he feuded with Último Dragón, forcing him to submit at Halloween Havoc. Back in NJPW, he won the G1 Climax in 2001 by defeating Keiji Mutoh by submission. He defeated Tadao Yasuda for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on April 5, 2002, holding it for 13 months with a record 10 defenses. He won the IWGP Heavyweight Title again on April 13, 2007, defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Reader's Guide
Nagata formed the stable Fighting Club G-EGGS in March 2000 with Manabu Nakanishi, Masakazu Fukuda, Yutaka Yoshie and Brian Johnston. Fukuda died in April 2000 from a brain hemorrhage after taking a flying elbow drop in a match against Katsuyori Shibata. Nagata disbanded G-EGGS on June 16, 2001. In April 2005, he formed 'Team JAPAN', a group of former amateur wrestlers. In fall 2009, he formed Seigigun ('Blue Justice Army') with Wataru Inoue, Mitsuhide Hirasawa and Super Strong Machine. On May 3, 2010, Nagata and Inoue won the IWGP Tag Team Championship in a three-way match. On November 7, 2010, they won the G1 Tag League, ten years after Nagata's first win in the tournament.
Did You Know?
- Nagata is the only wrestler to have won the G1 Climax (2001), Champion Carnival (2011), and Global League (2013).
- He held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for 392 days, the fifth-longest reign, with a record 10 defenses.
- Nagata represented Japan in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1991 World Championships, placing twenty-first.
- He formed the stable Fighting Club G-EGGS in 2000, which ended after Masakazu Fukuda died from a brain hemorrhage.
- Nagata defeated Kensuke Sasaki at the Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2004, after 12 minutes of action.
More in Wrestlers & Legends
Related in New Japan Pro Wrestling
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