After debuting on July 1, 2004 with DDT Pro Wrestling, Kota Ibushi quickly became a popular wrestler with genius-like physical abilities, unprecedented aerial abilities and an unparalleled sense for pro-wrestling. He first arrived in New Japan in 2009 during the “BEST OF THE SUPER Jr.16”, and quickly made a lasting impression. 

Along with Golden Lovers partner Kenny Omega, Ibushi engaged in a memorable rivalry with Apollo 55 (Ryusuke Taguchi and Prince Devitt) that lead to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. As a singles competitor, Ibushi would win the 2011 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, earning a Junior Heavyweight Championship opportunity at Dominion that year, in which he beat Prince Devitt to lift the title. 　Two more championship reigns would follow for Ibushi, but his third was cut short by a concussion sustained during a match with KUSHIDA. On Ibushi’s return to the ring, he began to focus on heavyweight competition, acting as a ‘joker’ challenge to Shinsuke Nakamura’s IWGP Intercontinental Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 9. 

Though Ibushi was unsuccessful, the ensuing bout could be described as one of the greatest matches of all time. Ibushi would win the New Japan Cup two months later on his first try, just barely falling short in his ensuing IWGP Heavyweight Championship match against AJ Styles. Ibushi was pushing himself mentally and physically harder than anybody in his field, maintaining full time contracts with both NJPW and DDT. After this lead to a shoulder injury, Ibushi decided in early 2016 to withdraw from both promotions, taking time away to recover, as well as research the world of professional wrestling. 

Ibushi returned to NJPW for the 2017 G1 Climax, eager to show the fruits of his research.　Ibushi would reach the G1 Climax final in 2018, and although he fell at the last hurdle to Hiroshi Tanahashi, his passion for NJPW had redoubled. He won the NEVER Openweight Championship, his first title as a heavyweight in New Japan, in December 2018, and at New Beginning in Osaka, announced that he was fully committed to New Japan Pro Wrestling. Soon after at G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden, Ibushi defeated Tetsuya Naito to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Although he lost the championship only a few months later, he went on the win the G1 Climax that very same summer.

Retaining his contract through the autumn, Ibushi was set to challenge IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome, and promised to win the title, and challenge the Intercontinental Champion the very next night.