Davey Boy Smith Jr. Wins AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship

Davey Boy Smith Jr. is the new Triple Crown Champion, with the son of the legendary British Bulldog winning the top prize of All Japan Pro-Wrestling on November 4.

Smith - fka DH Smith in WWE - defeated Yuma Aoyagi to lift the historic championship, ending Aoyagi’s second reign with the title at the 79 day mark. The match took place as part of AJPW’s Giant Series in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.

With the win Smith becomes the first Brit and only sixth gaijin to hold the title, following in the footsteps of Stan Hansen, Vader, and TerryGordy amongst others. The title change is the third for the championship in 2024, and marks the first major singles championship Smith has held in his career, Smith becoming the 34th man to lay claim to the belt.

Established in 1989, the Triple Crown combined the NWA International Championship, NWA United national Championship, and the PWF Heavyweight Championship to form one prize, with the three separate belts making up the championship until 2013 when the titles were returned to Motoko Baba, former owner of AJPW and widow of AJPW founder Shohei ‘Giant’ Baba.