Current IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada is now officially the longest-reigning IWGP Champion in the history of New Japan Pro Wrestling at 490 days and counting. Okada surpassed the late Shinya Hashimoto’s IWGP title reign of 489 days as of Sunday.
Okada commented on the milestone on Twitter on Sunday.
490 days.
Thank you.— オカダ・カズチカ (@rainmakerXokada) October 22, 2017
Okada will hit 564 days as champion as of January 4, 2018 when he makes his next IWGP title defense against G-1 Climax winner Tetsuya Naito in the main event of the Wrestlekingdom 12 show at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.
Okada will also break the record for most combined days as IWGP Champion on January 4 at 1,359 combined days, surpassing Hiroshi Tanahashi at 1,358 combined days. Okada will still need 8 more combined title defenses to break Tanahashi’s record of 28 combined title defenses as champion as Okada currently has 21 combined title defenses.