:IWGP Tag Team Championship

Before the IWGP championship system was created, New Japan Pro-Wrestling featured the NWA North American Tag Team Championship, a title originally based in Los Angeles, and the WWF International Tag Team Championship, a title licensed from the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which was abandoned when the WWF working relationship ended.

The inaugural champions were Kengo Kimura & Tatsumi Fujinami, who defeated Antonio Inoki & Seiji Sakaguchi in the final of a tournament to win the championship on December 12, 1985, at an NJPW live event. In addition to NJPW, the IWGP Tag Team Championship was also contested in the United States–based promotions World Championship Wrestling (WCW) (now defunct) in the early 1990s, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2009,{{cite web|url=http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1240196272.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423211721/http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1240196272.php|title=Lockdown PPV results - 4/19/09|last=Martin|first=Adam|archive-date=2009-04-23|date=2009-04-19|work=Wrestleview|access-date=2009-08-15}} and in the Mexican lucha libre promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in 2005.{{cite news|author=Súper Luchasstaff|title= 2005 Lo Mejor de la Lucha Mexicana|work=Súper Luchas|id=issue 140|date=2006-01-03|pages=20–21|language= es}}

On October 30, 2005, in Kobe, Japan, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura to begin their fifth overall reign as a team.{{cite web|url=http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/tag_main08.html#048|title=IWGP Tag Team Championship history: Reign 48|work=New Japan Pro-Wrestling|publisher=NJPW.co|language=ja|access-date=2009-08-15|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724024909/http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/tag_main08.html#048|archive-date=2009-07-24}} On July 2, 2006, an interim tag team title was created when Tenzan & Chono showed signs of inactivity. Shiro Koshinaka & Togi Makabe defeated the teams of Yuji Nagata & Naofumi Yamamoto and Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko in a Three-Way Match to become the first interim champions. NJPW president Simon Kelly Inoki stripped Tenzan & Chono of the IWGP Tag Team Championship on September 20, 2006, after Tenzan & Chono ceased teaming. Manabu Nakanishi & Takao Omori, who defeated Koshinaka & Makabe on July 17, 2006, to become the interim champions, were recognized as the IWGP Tag Team Champions on September 28, 2006, by NJPW.{{cite web|url=http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/tag_main08.html#049|title=IWGP Tag Team Championship history: Reign 49|work=New Japan Pro-Wrestling|publisher=NJPW.co|language=ja|access-date=2009-08-15|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724024909/http://www.njpw.co.jp/histry/tag_main08.html#049|archive-date=2009-07-24}}

In 2009, The British Invasion defeated Team 3D on July 21, 2009, at a TNA television taping for the championship.{{cite web|url=http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1248239224.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725081319/http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1248239224.php|title=Spoilers: 7/21 TNA Impact TV tapings|last=Martin|first=Adam|archive-date=2009-07-25|date=2009-07-22|work=Wrestleview|access-date=2009-08-15}}{{cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2009/07/31/10321466.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611092420/http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2009/07/31/10321466.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 11, 2016|title=Impact: Two titles changes on 200th episode|last=Sokol|first=Chris|author2=Bryan Sokol|date=2009-07-31|work=Slam! Sports: Wrestling|publisher=Canadian Online Explorer|access-date=2009-08-13}} Afterwards, NJPW released a statement announcing that they did not sanction the defense nor the title change, and as such did not recognize the reign.{{cite web|url= http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/news.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20090809171526/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/news.html|title=Slam! Wrestling News/Rumours|archive-date=2009-08-09|date=2009-08-06|work=Slam! Sports: Wrestling| publisher=Canadian Online Explorer|access-date=2009-08-13|url-status= usurped|quote=The British Invasion's IWGP World Team Team Title victory over Team 3D on last week's TNA iMPACT! is not being recognized by New Japan Pro Wrestling. Team 3D will continue to defend the titles in Japan.}} They continued to recognize Team 3D as the current champions and proclaimed that the next title defense would be by Team 3D and would be sanctioned by NJPW.{{cite web|url=http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1249514171.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106202625/http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1249514171.php|title=New Japan on title change in TNA|last=Martin|first=Adam|archive-date=2010-01-06|date=2009-08-05|work=Wrestleview|access-date=2009-08-15}} On August 10, 2009, NJPW issued another press release stating that they were now recognizing The British Invasion of Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams as the current IWGP Tag Team Champions, making the reign official.{{cite web|url=http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1249956489.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814185847/http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1249956489.php |title=New Japan changes stance on tag titles |last=Martin |first=Adam |archive-date=2009-08-14 |date=2009-08-10 |work=Wrestleview |access-date=2009-08-15 |url-status=dead }}

{{Main|List of IWGP Tag Team Champions}}

File:Forbidden_Door_(AEW_x_NJPW)_(52292917294)_(cropped).jpg, who is the champion with Callum Newman as an United Empire]]

Hiroyoshi Tenzan currently holds the record for most reigns by an individual wrestler, with twelve. Tenzan's combined twelve reign lengths add up to 1,988 days, which is the most of any champion. At seven reigns, the Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) hold the record for most by a team. Tenzan & Masahiro Chono's combined five reign lengths add up to 1,010 days (the most of any team). At {{age in days nts|month1=06|day1=19|year1=2010|month2=01|day2=04|year2=2012}} days, Bad Intentions' (Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson) only reign is the longest in the title's history. Keiji Mutoh & Shiro Koshinaka's only reign is the shortest, at six days. Currently, Bad Intentions' only reign has the most defenses, with ten. There are 20 reigns shared between 18 teams that are tied for the fewest successful defenses, with zero. Overall, there have been 109 reigns shared among 95 wrestlers, who made up 71 different teams.

The current champions are United Empire (Great-O-Khan and Callum Newman), who are in their first reign as a team, but fourth for O-Khan and second for Newman individually. They won the vacant titles by defeating Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi at Wrestling Redzone in Hiroshima on April 26, 2025 in Hiroshima, Japan. The titles were previously vacated by Newman and Jeff Cobb of United Empire after Cobb left NJPW.

;General

• {{Cite web|url=http://solie.org/titlehistories/ttiwgp.html|title=IWGP Tag Team Title History|first1=Matt|last1=Benaka|first2=Brian|last2=Westcott|first3=Earl|last3=Oliver|first4=Andrew|last4=Zadarnowski|author-link3=Earl Oliver|work=Wrestling Title Histories by Gary Will and Royal Duncan|publisher= Solie.org|access-date=2009-08-12}}
• {{Cite book|author=Royal Duncan & Gary Will|title=Wrestling Title Histories|chapter=Japan & Korea: New Japan IWGP Tag Team Title|page=373|publisher=Archeus Communications|year=2006|edition=4th|isbn=0-9698161-5-4}}
• {{Cite web|url=http://www.njpw.co.jp/champions/iwgp-2tag|title=IWGP Tag Team Championship history|work=New Japan Pro-Wrestling| publisher=NJPW.co|language=ja|access-date=2016-11-10}}

;Specific

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.njpw.co.jp/ NJPW.co.jp]

{{IWGP Tag Team Championship}}

{{New Japan Pro Wrestling}}

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Category:New Japan Pro-Wrestling championships

Category:Tag team wrestling championships

Category:1985 establishments in Japan