History[]
During the thirtieth anniversary of Antonio Inoki's career, NJPW created the "Greatest 18 Club", a hall of fame. NJPW then created a new title, the Greatest 18 Championship, which was intended to complement the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The Greatest 18 Championship was represented by the former Martial Arts Championship and was awarded to Riki Chōshū in 1990. Chōshū lost the title to The Great Muta in 1992. Muta retired the title on September 23, in order to focus on his IWGP Heavyweight Championship title defenses. The title was subsequently officially retired by NJPW.