New Japan Pro-Wrestling officially unveiled the new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on Monday night, officially retiring both the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships in the process. Kota Ibushi was promptly handed the title and will make his first defense of the new belt at Sakura Genesis on April 4 against 2021 New Japan Cup winner Will Ospreay. And while many of the designs for New Japan’s titles have been widely praised by fans, this title did not receive the same reception. Some fans even went so far as to say it resembled the defunct WWE Divas Championship, also known as the “Butterfly Belt.”
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Take a look at the design in the video below and check out some of the reactions in the following list. Do you like the design? Let us know down in the comments!
โจThe IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.โจ
Sign up Now & Stay tuned to https://t.co/z1DNREy98D#njpw #njpwworld #njSG pic.twitter.com/3UoEJupmLu
โ njpwworld (@njpwworld) March 30, 2021
It’s Real
OH GOD ITโS THE DIVAS TITLE #iwgp #njsg #njpw pic.twitter.com/skYfemuhct
โ Classic Catch (@ClassicCatch84) March 30, 2021
Can’t Unsee
Innovating from the legacy of the most important belt in iwgp history pic.twitter.com/Z6B6fVcgbj
โ mikeyCC #Kamiyuist #Kamiyuism (@mikey8422) March 30, 2021
Miracle of Photoshop
The NEWWWW IWGP World Heavyweight Champion pic.twitter.com/6OfIh0QWnm
โ ๆ้ซใฎ็งๅฏ || Hall of Famer Buddy the Murphy (@TheAerialSecret) March 30, 2021
Ladies and Gentlemen,
โ Out of Context Puroresu (@OOC_Puro) March 30, 2021
YOUR IWGP World Heavyweight Champion! pic.twitter.com/BvXB0VBxGT
…Cody??
I can’t unsee this. This will stay with me forever. Long live the IWGP Cody’s Neck Tattoo Championship. https://t.co/1v5lu93s78
โ Juan C. Reneo (@ReneusMeister) March 30, 2021
Cody next IWGP champ confirmed pic.twitter.com/LVCwJXKjwF
โ Minister for Cans & Equality (@MinisterForCans) March 30, 2021
Wings
At first, I was giggling about the new IWGP belt like “Redbull gave it wings!”
โ Judgment Cassie (@theLadyGrayson) March 30, 2021
But now, I’ve seen others compare it to the old Divas belt and I can’t stop seeing it.
What It’s Actually Referencing
I guess you don’t understand that this brand new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship belt kinda resembles the IWGP Heavyweight Championship V2 (during the era of the late Shinya Hashimoto, @masahirochono @muto_keiji [aka. The Great Muta] @scottnorton @BobSappMMA & Kensuke Sasaki) pic.twitter.com/GiJbQ8b2VG
โ Andrew Pieter Manangka (@AndrewManangka) March 30, 2021
A Closer Look
โ Belts By Dan (@BeltsByDan) March 30, 2021
