Kota Ibushi (43)
1982-05-21 | Aira, Kagoshima, Japan
Kota Ibushi is a Japanese professional wrestler and former martial artist who signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2023. Widely praised by fans and critics for his explosive athleticism, striking ability, and willingness to take extreme physical risks, he has built a reputation for delivering some of the highest-rated matches of his era, particularly during his run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Ibushi began his career in 2004 with DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he became one of the promotion’s top stars. During his time there, he won the KO-D Openweight Championship three times, the KO-D Tag Team Championship five times, and the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship twice. Two of his tag title reigns came with Kenny Omega as the Golden☆Lovers, whose combined 351 days as champions remain a DDT record. He began appearing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in 2009 and signed with the promotion in 2013. In NJPW, he won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship three times, the NEVER Openweight Championship once, and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. In 2016, he left both NJPW and DDT to work as a freelancer, competing for several promotions and taking part in WWE’s 2016 Cruiserweight Classic tournament. Ibushi returned to NJPW full-time in 2019 and later won the 2019 and 2020 G1 Climax tournaments. In 2021, he captured the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and unified it with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to become the inaugural IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. He has also won the Best of the Super Juniors and the New Japan Cup, making him the only wrestler to win all three of NJPW’s major tournaments.
