Championship History

IWGP Heavyweight Championship (x2)
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (x2)
All Japan World Tag Team Championship
GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
ZERO1 World Heavyweight Championship

Major Tournaments Won

G1 Climax (2001)
G1 Tag League (2000 and 2010)
New Japan Cup (2007)

Awards and Recognition

Tokyo Sports Grand Prix:
Technique Price (1998, 1999)
Fighting Spirit Prize (2001)
Best Bout (2001 vs. Fujita and 2002 vs. Takayama)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated:
Highest Rank was #8 in the World in 2002

Puroresu Central Awards:
Third Place in Match of the Year (2008)

Wrestling Observer Awards:
None

Notable Matches

August 28th, 1998 with Nakanishi vs. Goto and Ohara
November 30th, 2000 with Iizuka vs. Tenzan and Kojima
August 12th, 2001 vs. Keiji Mutoh
April 5th, 2002 vs. Tadao Yasuda
April 13th, 2007 vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Other Pictures

With the ZERO1 World Heavyweight Championship
Against Angle, Nagata applies the Nagata Lock II
Nagata with the Nagata Lock II against Tomko
Killer Nagata's Seated Armbar
An Exploder by Nagata
Nagata uses one of his patented Nagata Locks
Nagata wins the New Japan Cup
Nagata with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship

Career Recap:

A very popular New Japan wrestler, Nagata did not see any major singles success in 2005 but found success teaming with the likes of Nakanishi and Fujita.  3-2 at the Tokyo Dome Shows (he had three matches on 1/4 as part of the Ultimate Royal), Nagata came in third in his block during the G-1 Climax.  At the end of 2005, Nagata began tagging with Nakamura and they are considered one of the stronger tag teams. 

Nagata continued trying to make his way back to the top in 2006. He lost to Tanahashi in February, but avenged the defeat when he beat Tanahashi in the New Japan Cup in April. Giant Bernard would defeat Nagata in the finals, however, and once again Nagata would fall short of getting a title shot at Brock Lesnar. At the 2006 G1 Climax, Nagata came in 3rd place in his bracket. In the G1 Tag League he teamed with Iizuka, and the pair would win their bracket before falling to Tanahashi and Kanemoto in the semi-finals.

Nagata had a great year in 2007. After starting the year with a loss to Minoru Suzuki at the Tokyo Dome, Nagata quickly catapulted back to the title picture by winning the New Japan Cup. Nagata defeated Togi Makabe in the finals, earning himself a shot at Tanahashi's IWGP Heavyweight Championship the following month. On April 13th, in what was considered one of the best matches of the year Nagata defeated Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the first time he had held the belt in almost four years. In the G1 Climax that summer, Nagata would reach the finals after defeated Nakamura in the semi-finals, but he would lose to his nemesis Hiroshi Tanahashi to prevent him from winning his second G1 Climax. This earned Tanahashi another title shot, which he received on October 8th. Tanahashi would prove his G1 Climax victory wasn't a fluke by defeated Nagata, taking back his IWGP Heavyweight Championship. In the G1 Tag League Nagata teamed with Nakanishi, but the pair would come in 7th place, only ahead of Takashi Iizuka and Naofumi Yamamoto.

Much of 2008 was spent by Nagata battling Zero-1 and preparing for his inevitable showdown with Masato Tanaka. Nagata took on Kurt Angle at the Tokyo Dome for the IWGP 3rd Belt, but Angle would win the match. In the G1 Climax, Nagata defeated Yutaka Yoshie, Toru Yano, and Hiroyoshi Tenzan but failed to reach the finals. After battling Zero-1 MAX both in their promotion and in New Japan, Nagata finally got a singles match against Masato Tanaka on October 13th for Zero-1's World Heavyweight Championship. Nagata would win the match in a classic encounter, giving Tanaka a rare singles defeat. On October 30th, Nagata defended the title against Kohei Sato and won with the Backdrop Hold. In the G1 Tag League, Nagata teamed with Mitsuhide Hirasawa, and the pair would come in last place in their bracket.

Starting 2009 as the ZERO1 Heavyweight Champion, Nagata defeated Masato Tanaka on January 4th but lost the title to Shinjiro Otani on February 27th. In the New Japan Cup, Nagata defeated Takashi Iizuka but lost to Goto in the Semi Final. After that he mostly feuded with CHAOS, focusing on Nakamura and Iizuka. In the G1 Climax, Nagata picked up a win over Hirooki Goto but came in 5th place in his bracket. In the fall, Nagata formed a new faction called the Blue Justice Army, and began teaming more with Inoue. He and Inoue paired up for the G1 Tag League, but they would only get 4 points and miss the Semi Finals. On December 5th Nagata challenged Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but he came up short in his bid to win the title for the first time since 2007.