Jay White Becomes Second IWGP Triple Crown Champion
Jay White joined an elite group of wrestlers on Sunday, when he won the IWGP Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship from Tetsuya Naito. In doing so, White became only the second IWGP Triple Crown Champion in NJPW’s history. The first IWGP Triple Crown Champion was Kenny Omega.
Since introducing the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship in 2017, only White & Omega have held the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, the IWGP Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
Notably, White’s road to the Triple Crown started by beating Kenny Omega for the US Title in 2018, then a year later beat Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
White’s victory over Naito was also significant, as the Intercontinental Champion has never retained the title at Destruction In Kobe, and White’s victory continues that streak.
HE HAS DONE IT ONCE AGAIN!!! @JayWhiteNZ beats Tetsuya Naito again, to become the brand new IWGP Intercontinental Champion. #njdest #NJPW https://t.co/d63mH2znnl pic.twitter.com/D74W1n0CEu
— Italo Santana (@BulletClubIta) September 22, 2019