Kota Ibushi

Real name: Kota Ibushi
Height: 5’11″
Weight: 205 lbs.
Date of birth: May 21, 1982
Born: Aira, Japan
Pro debut: July 1, 2004
Trained by: Shuji Kondo & Mikami
Finishing move: Kamigoye

Biography

– Ibushi began his career at Japan’s DDT promotion. In his debut match, he was defeated by KUDO
– In late 2004 into early 2005, Ibushi was involved with New Japan’s Lion’s Road project
– Ibushi teamed with Daichi Kakimoto to win the 2005 KO-D Tag League, defeating Glenn Spectre & Danshoku Dino in the final
– On October 23, Ibushi & Kakimoto defeated Toru Owashi & Darkside HERO to win the KO-D Tag Team Titles
– On November 27, Ibushi & Kakimoto defeated Tomohiko Hashimoto & Muscle Sakai to retain the KO-D Tag Team Titles
– On December 28, Ibushi & Kakimoto defeated Tanomusaku Toba & MIKAMI to retain the KO-D Tag Team Titles
– On June 23, 2006, Ibushi teamed with Fuka to win the Dragon Mixture Tournament, defeatin Shinjitsu Nohashi & Yoshitsune in the final
– On December 10, Ibushi defeated Camorra to win Toryumon Mexico’s Young Dragon Cup
– On August 26, 2007, Ibushi defeated Madoka to win the vacant Japanese Independent Junior Heayvyweight Title
– On January 2, 2008, Ibushi defeated Katsumasa Inoue to retain the Japanese Independent Junior Heayvyweight Title
– On February 3, Ibushi defeated Tanomusaku Toba to retain the Japanese Independent Junior Heayvyweight Title and win the DDT Iron Man Heavy Metal Title
– On March 26, Ibushi & KAGETORA defeated Tokyo Gurentai (NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA) to win the UWA Tag Team Titles
– Ibushi made his first US appearances on a short tour with ROH in April 2008
– On May 1, Ibushi defeated PSYCHO to retain the Japanese Independent Junior Heayvyweight Title
– On July 6, Ibushi defeated TAKA Michinoku to retain the Japanese Independent Junior Heayvyweight Title
– On January 24, 2009, Ibushi teamed with Kenny Omega for the first time (they had previously been on the same side of a trios match) and the pair defeated Touru Owashi & HARASHIMA to win the KO-D Tag Team Titles
– Ibushi won the 2009 CHIKARA Rey de Voladores Tournament, defeating Player Dos in the final
– On May 4, Ibushi & Kenny Omega defeated Danshoku Dino & Yoshihiko to retain the KO-D Tag Team Titles
– Later that month, Ibushi began competing semi-regularly for New Japan
– Ibushi won the 2009 King of DDT Tournament, defeating Sanshiro Takagi in the final
– On August 23, Ibushi defeated HARASHIMA to win the KO-D Openweight Title
– On September 27, Ibushi defeated MIKAMI to retain the KO-D Openweight Title
– At Masa Chono’s 25th Anniversary Show, Ibushi, Tiger Mask & First Tiger Mask defeated Legend (Riki Choshu, Jushin Liger & AKIRA)
– On October 25, Ibushi defeated Yoshihiko to retain the KO-D Openweight Title and win the DDT Iron Man Heavy Metal Title, but would immediately lose the DDT Title back to Yoshihiko
– At NJPW Destruction 2010, Golden Lovers (Ibushi & Kenny Omega) defeated Apollo 55 (Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt) to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles
– On November 14, Golden Lovers defeated Apollo 55 at a DDT event to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles
– On December 26, Golden Lovers defeated World Class Tag Team (Gedo & Jado) to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles
– Ibushi won the 2011 NJPW Best Of The Super Juniors Tournament, defeating Ryusuke Taguchi in the final
– At Dominion 2011, Ibushi defeated Prince Devitt to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
– On July 24, Ibushi defeated Prince Devitt to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
– On August 1, Ibushi defeated Ryusuke Taguchi to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
– On August 28, Ibushi & Danshoku Dino defeated Masa Takanashi & Daisuke Sekimoto to win the KO-D Tag Team Titles, however, Ibushi would suffer a dislocated shoulder in the match and would be stripped of both the KO-D Tag Titles and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title due to being unable to defend the belts
– Ibushi returned to action in May 2012
– At Dominion 2012, Ibushi, Kenny Omega & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Prince Devitt, KUSHIDA & BUSHI
– On June 24, Ibushi defeated Yuji Hino to win the KO-D Openweight Title
– On July 29, Ibushi defeated DJ Nira to retain the KO-D Openweight Title. At another show later that same day, Ibushi defeated Low Ki to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
– At DDT’s 15th Anniversary special, Ibushi defeated Kenny Omega to retain the KO-D Openweight Title
– On September 7, 2012, Ibushi defeated KUSHIDA to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
– At Destruction 2012, Ibushi defeated Ryusuke Taguchi to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
– On May 26, 2013, Golden Rendezvous (Ibushi, Kenny Omega & Gota Ihashi) defeated Monster Army (Antonio Honda, Yuji Hino & Daisuke Sasaki) to win the KO-D Six-Man Tag Team Titles
– Ibushi was a surprise entrant into the 2013 G1 Climax Tournament
– In October 2013, Ibushi officially signed with both NJPW and DDT, becoming the first Japanese wrestler to have two ‘home promotions’
– At Power Struggle 2013, Ibushi & Togi Makabe defeated Prince Devitt & Bad Luck Fale
– At Wrestle Kingdom 8, Ibushi defeated Prince Devitt to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title for a third time
– On January 26, 2014, Golden Lovers (Ibushi & Kenny Omega) defeated Yankee Two Kenju (Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka) and Tetsuya Endo & Konosuke Takeshita to win the KO-D Tag Team Titles
– On February 2, Golden Lovers defeated Yankee Two Kenju to retain the KO-D Tag Team Titles
– At The New Beginning in Osaka 2014, Ibushi defeated El Desperado to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
– On February 23, Golden Lovers (Ibushi & Kenny Omega) defeated Brahman Kei & Brahman Shu to retain the KO-D Tag Team Titles
– On March 21, Golden Lovers defeated Michael Nakazawa & Tomomitsu Matsunaga to retain the KO-D Tag Team Titles
– On April 3, Ibushi defeated Nick Jackson to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
– On April 12, Ibushi, Kenny Omega & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Shigehiro Irie, Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao to win the KO-D Six Man Tag Team Titles
– On April 29, Ibushi, Omega & Sasaki defeated Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi & Yoshihiko to retain the KO-D Six Man Tag Team Titles
– At Wrestling Dontaku 2014, Ibushi defeated Ryusuke Taguchi to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
– On May 11, Golden Lovers (Ibushi & Kenny Omega) defeated Shuten Doji (Yukio Sakaguchi & KUDO) to retain the KO-D Tag Team Titles
– At Dominion 2014, Ibushi defeated Ricochet to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
– On June 22, Golden Lovers (Ibushi & Kenny Omega) defeated Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi to retain the KO-D Tag Team Titles
– On August 24, Golden Lovers defeated Team Dream Futures (Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao) to retain the KO-D Tag Team Titles
– At Destruction in Kobe 2014, Ibushi & Tetsuya Naito defeated AJ Styles & Tama Tonga
– At King Of Pro Wrestling 2014, Ibushi, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Yuji Nagata defeated Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga & Bad Luck Fale
– At Power Struggle 2014, Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI
– At New Year Dash 2015, Ibushi, Togi Makabe & Yuji Nagata defeated Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
– On February 15, Ibushi defeated HARASHIMA to win the KO-D Openweight Title
– Ibushi won the 2015 New Japan Cup, defeating Hirooki Goto in the final
– On March 21, Ibushi defeated Yoshihiko to retain the KO-D Openweight Title
– At Wrestling Dontaku 2015, Ibushi & Yohei Komatsu defeated Tetsuya Naito & Sho Tanaka
– On August 23, Golden Storm Riders (Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki) defeated Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) to win the KO-D Tag Team Titles
– On September 13, Golden Storm Riders defeated Happy Motel (Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo) to retain the KO-D Tag Team Titles
– In November 2015, it was announced that Ibushi was out of action indefinitely due to a cervical disc herniation
– In February 2016, Ibushi announced that he had left New Japan. He returned to action for DDT around a month later
– On April 1, 2016, Ibushi defeated Tucor to win the KBB Hashtag Title
– Ibushi entered WWE’s 2016 Cruiserweight Classic Tournament, falling to eventual winner TJ Perkins at the semi-final stage. Ibushi was offered a WWE development deal following the tournament, but did not sign with the company
– Ibushi wrestled several NXT events in October 2016
– Ibushi returned to New Japan at Wrestle Kingdom 11, competing as ‘Tiger Mask W’, a character based on the anime series of the same name. Ibushi would continue to work unmasked and under his real name in various independent promotions
– New Japan announced that Ibushi was returning to the company for the 2017 G1 Climax Tournament, choosing not to acknowledge his six-month stint as Tiger Mask W
– At King Of Pro Wrestling 2017, Ibushi & Juice Robinson defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe
– At Wrestle Kingdom 12, Ibushi defeated Cody
– At ROH Supercard Of Honor XII, Ibushi defeated Hangman Page
– At the 2018 ALL IN event, Ibushi, Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson defeated Rey Mysterio, Rey Fenix & Bandido
– On December 9, Ibushi defeated Hirooki Goto to win the NEVER Openweight Title, but would lose it to Will Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom less than a month later
– With the founding of All Elite Wrestling in early 2019, it was rumoured that Ibushi would join his long-time tag partner Kenny Omega in the upstart promotion. In February, Ibushi and New Japan collectively announced that he would remain with the Japanese company, having signed a two year deal
– At the 2019 ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard, Ibushi defeated Tetsuya Naito to win the IWGP Intercontinental Title
– On April 20, Ibushi defeated Zack Sabre Jr to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Title
– At Wrestling Dontaku 2019, Ibushi, SHO & YOH defeated Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
– Ibushi won the 2019 G1 Climax Tournament, defeating Jay White in the final
– At NJPW’s 2019 Royal Quest event, Ibushi & Juice Robinson defeated Yujiro Takahashi & Hikuleo
– At Destruction in Kagoshima 2019, Ibushi defeated KENTA
– At King Of Pro Wrestling 2019, Ibushi defeated EVIL
– At Power Struggle 2019, Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI
– At New Year Dash 2020, Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, David Finlay & Juice Robinson defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
– On February 21, Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated The Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) to win the IWGP Tag Team Titles
– At Manabu Nakanishi’s Retirement show, Ibushi, Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada defeated Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata
– Ibushi won his second G1 Climax Tournament in a row, defeating SANADA in the 2020 final
– On night one of Wrestle Kingdom 15, Ibushi defeated Tetsuya Naito to win the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles
– On night two, Ibushi defeated Jay White to retain the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles
– At The New Beginning in Hiroshima 2021, Ibushi defeated SANADA to retain the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles
– At Castle Attack 2021, Ibushi defeated Tetsuya Naito to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Title
– At NJPW’s 49th Anniversary Show, Ibushi defeated El Desperado to retain the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles. Following the match, the titles were unified into the new IWGP World Title
– At Dominion 2021, Ibushi defeated Jeff Cobb
– Ibushi reached his third consecutive G1 Climax Tournament final, but suffered an injury in that match against Kazuchika Okada, causing his loss by referee stoppage
– After well over a year of inactivity (and some controversy regarding comments back-and-forth between Ibushi and NJPW management), Ibushi’s contract with NJPW expired in February 2023 and he left the promotion
– Ibushi wrestled his first match in 18 months at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 9, defeating Mike Bailey
– Ibushi debuted for AEW at Blood And Guts 2023, teaming with Kenny Omega, Adam Page, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson to defeat Konosuke Takeshita, Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli & PAC in the titular match
– Ibushi made his first post-NJPW Japanese appearance on August 4, 2023, competing in a 10-man tag team match at a GLEAT event in Tokyo
– Following a much-criticised match for Pro Wrestling NOAH in January 2024, in which Ibushi was clearly carrying multiple injuries, he opted to undergo several surgeries and would be out of action for six months
– Ibushi returned to action in July, wrestling a 5 minute ‘Exhibition Match’ against Daisuke Sekimoto for Japan’s GLEAT promotion