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