The Golden Star, Kota Ibushi is one of NJPW’s most popular wrestlers with superhuman physical ability and an unparalleled sense for pro-wrestling.

After debuting on July 1, 2004 with DDT Pro Wrestling, Ibushi joined NJPW in 2009 during the “BEST OF THE SUPER Jr.16”, and quickly made a lasting impression. He owns the unprecedented record of a tournament grand slam (Best of the Super Juniors, New Japan Cup, G1 Climax twice in a row) as well as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team, IWGP Junior Heavyweight, NEVER Openweight, IWGP Intercontinental, IWGP Tag Team and, after January 4 2021, IWGP Heavyweight Championship reigns.

Wrestling for over 79 minutes across two nights at Wrestle Kingdom 15, Ibushi first defeated Tetsuya Naito to become the third individual to hold IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental gold on January 4, before besting Jay White in the longest ever Tokyo Dome match January 5 to retain. Promising post match to unify the two titles, Ibushi made his final defence on March 4 against El Desperado at 49th Anniversary, starting NJPW’s 50th year as its first IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. Yet his reign was brief, crashing to an end at the hands of Will Ospreay at Sakura Genesis. How will Ibushi recover from such a devastating loss?