NJPW Replaces KOPW Trophy With A Championship Belt

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that the KOPW trophy is no more and has been replaced with a brand new championship belt. The title vacates every year, so current champion Shingo Takagi will no longer have the title once 2023 hits. The new champion will be decided in the New Japan Ranbo at Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4.

First established in 2020 by Kazuchika Okada, the KOPW title has seen its holders defend their status through the year before the new calendar sees a new champion contested for. From Toru Yano in 2020 and 2021, to Shingo Takagi in 2022, its holders have seen fans vote on stipulations never before seen in NJPW, and often never anywhere else either!

Yet the trophy that represents the KOPW holder status has not always been treated with prestige an respect! From spray paintings to utter demolition and DIY recreation, it’s fair to say that the KOPW holder was in need of something longer lasting. From 2023, the holder will have the KOPW Championship belt!

A New Japan Ranbo on January 4 will determine who qualifies to be the first holder of this new belt. Who will emerge as its first holder, and what happens to KOPW in 2023?