Overview
- At a Tuesday press conference, NJPW recognized Yota Tsuji as the 87th IWGP Heavyweight Champion, restored the v4 belt, connected the 2021–2026 world title lineage to it, and confirmed the Intercontinental title remains retired.
- Tsuji set a new framework in which the IWGP Heavyweight Championship is defended only in Japan while the IWGP Global Championship is reserved for international events or outside challengers, and he vowed to boycott any card where a Heavyweight title match is not the main event.
- The shift followed Tsuji’s unveiling of the classic v4 belt and request to be billed as IWGP Heavyweight Champion at New Year Dash, one day after defeating Konosuke Takeshita at Wrestle Kingdom 20.
- Jake Lee attacked Tsuji after Wrestle Kingdom 20 and has been established as the top challenger, with Lee issuing a challenge for February 11 in Osaka that Tsuji has not formally accepted.
- Tsuji announced a new faction called Unbound Company at New Year Dash, uniting allies from former LIJ members and Bullet Club War Dogs under a single banner.