Career
Kota Ibushi made his professional wrestling debut in July 2004 for the wrestling promotion Dramatic Dream Team. He lost his first match against Atsushi Kudo. He gained attention in 2007 after he won the vacant Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship after defeating Toba.
Ibushi defeated Toba again in 2008, retaining his championship and also winning the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship. However, he later lost the Ironman championship after being defeated by Danshoku Dino. He then took part in the KO-D Openweight Championship one day tournament, which he won after defeating Kudo. A month later, he lost the championship to Dick Togo.
Ibushi formed the ‘Golden Lovers’ tag team, teaming up with Kenny Omega. They won the ‘KO-D Tag Team Championship’ after defeating Harashima and Toru Awashi. They eventually lost the championship after being defeated by Dick Togo and Taka Michinoku.
The year 2009 proved to be very important for Ibushi as he won the ‘King of DDT’ title, as well as the KO-D Openweight Championship after defeating Harashima. He also won the Ironman Heavymetal Championship the same year. He later lost the Openweight Championship to Shijuki Ishikawa.
Meanwhile, he also wrestled with other promotions such as the ‘Wrestling Marvelous Future’ and the ‘Big Japan Pro Wrestling’. In 2005, he made his debut in Dragondoor, which later evolved to El Dorado Wrestling. With Taiji Ishimori and Jumping Kid Okimoto, he formed a tag team and took part in several matches. He later teamed up with Kagetora and won the UWA World Tag Team Championship.
In April 2008, Ibushi made his debut for the American wrestling promotion ‘Ring of Honor’. His first match was against David Richards, in which he was defeated. He took part in several matches for the promotion.
He later made his debut for the Chikara wrestling promotion, taking part in the King of Trios tournament. His team was eliminated in the first round. He also took part in the Rey de Voladores tournament, in which he emerged victorious.
He started working for the New Japan Pro Wrestling from 2009. He took part in the Super Juniors Tournament, reaching the semi-finals, where he was beaten by Prince Devitt.
He participated in the Pro Wrestling Noah’s NTV Cup in 2009, where along with tag team partner Atsushi Aoki, he advanced to the finals. They lost to Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Kotaro Suzuki. The following year, he entered the Best of the Super Juniors Tournament for a second time, where he was defeated by Prince Devitt in the semi-finals.
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In October 2010, Ibushi teamed with Kenny Omega and won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, after defeating Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi. The following year, he took part in the 2011 Best of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time. After defeating Ryusuke Taguchi in the finals, Ibushi emerged as the winner of the tournament.
In 2012, he returned to the DDT, where he managed to earn the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship, along with Gota Ihashi and Kenny Omega.
Unfortunately, Ibushi was later stripped of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship as well as the KO-D Tag Team Championship, after being sidelined with a dislocated left shoulder. He won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship twice again over the next few years.
In 2016, he resigned from the DDT as well as the NJPW. He decided to continue his career as a freelancer. In June 2016, he took part in WWE’s Cruiserweight Championship, where he was beaten in the semi finals by T.J. Perkins.
Awards & Achievements
Kota Ibushi has won numerous championships throughout his career. The championships won by him at the DDT Pro-Wrestling include the Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship once, Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship three times, and the KO-D Tag Team Championship three times.
At the Chikara wrestling promotion in 2009, he won the Ray de Voladores.
At the New Japan Pro Wrestling, he won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship three times, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship once, the Best of the Super Juniors tournament in 2011 and the New Japan Cup in 2015.
Facts About Kota Ibushi
Kota Ibushi is known for his unique wrestling style that blends high-flying acrobatics with strong strikes, making him a versatile and unpredictable competitor in the ring.
Outside of wrestling, Ibushi has a passion for photography and often shares his artistic work on social media, showcasing a different side of his creativity.
Ibushi is a self-professed cat lover and has been seen interacting with feline friends in various social media posts, revealing his softer side beyond the tough persona he portrays in the ring.
Despite his intense in-ring persona, Ibushi has a playful sense of humor and has been known to engage in lighthearted antics with his fellow wrestlers, showing a fun-loving side to his personality.
Ibushi is a skilled dancer and has been seen incorporating dance moves into his wrestling entrances, adding a unique flair to his performances that sets him apart from his peers.
