IWGP Heavyweight Championship
In 1991, Toukon Sanjushi solidified their status as the next generation of NJPW at the first-ever G1 Climax tournament with Chono winning the tournament after defeating Mutoh in the finals. A year later, the trio would begin to have more success, as Chono won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and Mutoh, as The Great Muta, won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. It temporarily left Hashimoto out in the cold, until he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Muta in September 1993.