Kota Ibushi defeated Kenny Omega in the main event of today’s G1 Climax 28 show in Tokyo, Japan. In front of a sold-out Nippon Budokan, Ibushi pinned Omega after delivering his second Kamigoye.

With the win, Kota Ibushi will advance to tomorrow’s finals against Hiroshi Tanahashi. The winner of the tournament will earn the right to challenge the IWGP Heavyweight Champion in the Tokyo Dome on January 4th, 2019.

The winner of the G1 has earned the Tokyo Dome title shot dating back to 2012. As of yet, no wrestler in that time has dethroned the champion after winning the G1.

Guts, strength and spirit: the duel of the Golden Lovers ?G128?https://t.co/zTmECtL14M#njpw #g128 pic.twitter.com/Ynuvuqs14Q

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) August 11, 2018

Kenny Omega vs Kota Ibushi III

Tonight’s match was the third all-time between the Golden Lovers and Golden Elite teammates. Ibushi has won all three matches between them.

1. DDT, August 6th, 2008 – Kota Ibushi defeated Kenny Omega (2:1 best 2-of-3 falls hardcore match)
2. DDT, August 18th, 2012 – Kota Ibushi (c) defeated Kenny Omega (KO-D Openweight Title)
3. NJPW G1 Climax 28 B-Block. August 11th, 2018 – Kota Ibushi defeated Kenny Omega

Kota Ibushi vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

Tomorrow’s final between Ibushi and Tanahashi will be the 4th time the two wrestlers have met. Tanahashi leads their all-time series 2-1.

1. G1 Climax 2015 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kota Ibushi
2. G1 Climax 2017 Block A: Kota Ibushi defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi
3. NJPW Power Struggle 2017: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) defeated Kota Ibushi (IWGP Intercontinental Championship)

The rest of the lineup for tomorrow’s finals has yet to be announced. Rey Mysterio is also scheduled to be on the card but his match has yet to be announced as well.

G1 Climax 28 Night 18 (B-Block) Results

• David Finlay and Michael Elgin defeated Shota Umino and Toa Henare
• Bad Luck Fale and Tanga Loa defeated Chase Owens and Hangman Page
• Marty Scurll and the Young Bucks defeated Jay White and Roppongi 3K
• Bushi and Evil defeated El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki
• Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, and Tomoaki Honma defeated Gedo, Kazuchika Okada, and Yoshi-Hashi
• B-Block
  Toru Yano (10) defeated Tama Tonga (6) via DQ
• B-Block
  Juice Robinson (6) defeated Hirooki Goto
• B-Block
  Tomohiro Ishii (10) defeated Sanada (8)
• B-Block
  Zack Sabre Jr (12) defeated Tetsuya Naito (12)
• B-Block
  Kota Ibushi (12) defeated Kenny Omega (12)

Kota Ibushi advances based on having the best record of all 4 wrestlers tied with 12 points in the block.

Tama Tonga is currently competing in his 3rd G1 Climax tournament. In both his two previous tournaments (2016 and 2017) he finished with a 4W-5L record and 8pts.

With two matches remaining, Tonga currently has just 4pts. Despite his poor record thus far, it has been a memorable tournament for Tonga. Along with his stablemates in Bullet Club’s Firing Squad, Tonga has been interfering in matches frequently in contrast to what is normally seen in the annual heavyweight round-robin tournament.

His next match will be against Kenny Omega’s Golden Lovers’ teammate, Kota Ibushi. Tonga directed his most recent post-match comments towards his upcoming opponent.

“That’s nothing compared to what I’m going to do to you in Yokohama,” Tonga said in reference to the Firing Squad attack on the Golden Elite in San Francisco

Kenny Omega vs Kota Ibushi

Tama Tonga vs Kota Ibushi will be Tonga’s 2nd last match in the round-robin portion of the tournament. If he defeats Kota Ibushi and Toru Yano he’ll finish with 8pts as he has in previous tournaments.

In the opening moments their preliminary match yesterday against Ibushi and Yujiro Takahashi, Tonga and Tanga Loa offered Takahashi a spot in the Firing Squad. The brothers had previously said that had Takahashi not hesitated to join in the attack in San Francisco, he’d have been in the Firing Squad originally as well. Takahashi didn’t accept and the Guerillas attacked the two members of Bullet Club Elite from behind.

“Yujiro! What did we tell you?” Tanga Loa asked after the match. “We offered you another opportunity and you didn’t take it.”

“You should have been with us,” he continued. “You got what you deserved,” Tama Tonga added.

“Golden Lovers?” Tonga asked about his upcoming opponent’s tag-team. “This is wrestling, not a p*** flick.”

Golden Lovers teammates, Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega, will face each other in the round-robin of this year’s G1 tournament. The two will meet on Saturday, August 11th, 2018, the final night of the round-robin. The match will take place inside the same venue as their last match did, the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.

The last time Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi met, Ibushi was banned from performing in the famed Nippon Budokan again. Ibushi delivered a moonsault from the balcony, causing the venue to state he was not allowed to wrestle there anymore. The venue has since lifted his ban, however.

Author, Chris Charlton, provided a translation of Ibushi’s comments:

https://t.co/lSYKKwuvwQ Kota Ibushi’s comments ahead of #g128 pic.twitter.com/JAYpBKLNBC

— chris charlton (@reasonjp) July 11, 2018

Kota Ibushi vs Kenny Omega – August 11th, 2018 – Nippon Budokan – Tokyo, Japan

“I hate it. Hate that I have to face (Kenny Omega). It’s like ‘the time has finally come’. To have Kenny last, that’s a really dangerous scenario. The finals are the very next night, remember. But we have to do it. I don’t have all the time in the world, so we have to do this.”

Ibushi also spoke about his feelings regarding the rest of the B Block this year.

“It’s the more athletic group I think,” Ibushi said. “It’ll be a more athletic, physical style in these matches. People that stand out, of course, Kenny, Naito, SANADA. He’s interesting. I  haven’t wrestled him before. I think there’s something about him he hasn’t shown. I want to get that out of him.”

This morning in Tokyo, Japan, NJPW released the block groupings for the G1 Climax 2018 tournament. The announcement was made at the Kizuna Road show held in Tokyo’s famed Korakuen Hall.

The promotion unveiled the participants on Sunday’s show and will release the schedule in the coming days.

Block A

• Togi Makabe (GBH)
• Michael Elgin
• Hiroshi Tanahashi
• Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS)
• Jay White (CHAOS)
• Yoshi-Hashi (CHAOS)
• Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club)
• Hangman Page (Bullet Club)
• EVIL (LIJ)
• Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)

Notable matches which will occur during the round-robin portion of Block A include Hiroshi Tanahashi facing his longtime rival, Kazuchika Okada. Also of note, is that recent CHAOS newcomer, Jay White, will get to face Okada as well, something he said he wanted to do not long after joining the stable. White is also the only Champion in the block so far. Any matches he loses during the tournament could lead to a future title defense. He will have to defend his title against Juice Robinson on July 7th, 2018 before the G1, however.

B Block

• Juice Robinson
• Hirooki Goto (CHAOS)
• Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS)
• Toru Yano (CHAOS)
• Tama Tonga (Bullet Club)
• SANADA (LIJ)
• Tetsuya Naito (LIJ)
• Zack Sabre Junior (Suzuki-Gun)
• Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)
• Kota Ibushi

These groupings mean Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi will face each other at some point during the round-robin portion of the tournament. The two Golden Lovers teammates have met twice in single’s action before. Both matches took place in DDT. Ibushi won both matches, the first in 2008 and the second in 2012.

As of this writing, Omega and Goto are the only champions in the block. Any losses they incur during the tournament could lead to future title defenses. Juice Robinson will have the chance to win the IWGP United States title before the G1 stars as well, however.

Omega and Tama Tonga will also meet in the G1 this year. Omega previously beat Tonga in the tournament in 2017. Leading up to the match, Tonga complained that Omega was too focussed on the Elite and not on Bullet Club as a whole. Tonga has also been complaining through social media about the recently unveiled “Golden Elite” faction. He will get to wrestle Kota Ibushi at this year’s G1 as well.

I got your one sweet pic.twitter.com/KU24KuMkIJ

— Tama Tonga (@Tama_Tonga) June 10, 2018

New Japan Pro Wrestling saw one of the greatest main events in the history of the company last Saturday when Kenny Omega defeated Kazuchika Okada to become the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Omega’s longtime tag team partner Kota Ibushi was ringside for the bout and he recently gave his thoughts on the incredible ‘7 Star Bout.’

Ibushi stated that “the moment he won I was delighted. I wanted to congratulate him from the bottom of my heart but a few seconds later I was thinking ‘why aren’t I in this ring having wrestled tonight?’ I wasn’t booked. It felt weird. Honestly, I was thinking ‘what am I even doing here?’”

The former Junior Heavyweight went on to “It’s easy to think he’s going to keep moving forward and we’re going to move apart. But tranquilo. Asssen na ya. People can think that but I just have to get results and that starts in the G1.”

Ibushi has also been confirmed for the upcoming ‘All In’ event which takes on September 1, 2018, at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. His opponent for the show has not yet been named.

*Credit to Chris Charlton for the translation

https://t.co/3rMr4CLfVx
Kota Ibushi’s comments post @KennyOmegamanX title win. #g128 pic.twitter.com/ywwC5XamVa

— chris charlton (@reasonjp) June 16, 2018

https://twitter.com/ALL_IN_2018/status/1007714244647940100

3 time IWGP Junior Heavyweight and former 1 time IWGP Junior Tag Team Champion Kota Ibushi recently spoke to Tokyo Sports in Japan to discuss a variety of topics surrounding the Bullet Club, his role in New Japan Pro Wrestling, Cody Rhodes and more.

Ibushi has become embroiled in a Bullet Club ‘civil war’ alongside his ‘Golden Lovers’ tag team partner Kenny Omega. The pair have been feuding against Cody Rhodes, Hangman Page and at times The Young Bucks. When discussing the storyline Kota stated: “I don’t know why the Bullet Club members have to fight each other. I want it to end. It doesn’t interest me at all, I just don’t want to be caught up in it anymore.”

Ibushi also went on to say that he does not “want to bring backstage drama into the ring. I want to wrestle in the ring, and have the stories develop and amaze people there and there alone. Even as I tag (in the Golden Lovers) I want to make a mark, show results on my own. Ibushi also commented on the man who calls himself the defacto leader of the Bullet Club; Cody Rhodes. “I liked my match with Cody (at Wrestle Kingdom). I like him as a wrestler; to just have a normal match, I’m looking forward to it. Win or lose, I want this to be the end of all this, put it behind us and move on.”

Credit to Chris Charlton @reasonjp for the translation.

https://t.co/x4esZmhU2m Ibushi ‘I don’t know why the Bullet Club members have to fight each other. I want it to end. It doesn’t interest me at all, I just don’t want to be caught up in it anymore’ #njdontaku

— chris charlton (@reasonjp) April 26, 2018

Two of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s brightest stars will be colliding on WrestleMania weekend when IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay takes on the ‘Golden Star’ Kota Ibushi…as part of a six-man tag team match.

Rev Pro made the announcement that Kota Ibushi will be teaming with Shane Strickland and Flip Gordon to take on the team of Will Ospreay, Rocky Romero and Chuckie T as part of their show on Friday April 6th at the WrestleCon convention in New Orleans.

Whilst a singles match between two of the top performers in the world would’ve been the first choice there is a good chance that NJPW are looking to host that bout on a much bigger stage…potentially the G1 Climax or even at a Wrestle Kingdom show.

Expect all kinds of craziness live in New Orleans!

KOTA IBUSHI, SHANE STRICKLAND & FLIP GORDON vs the Chaos team of WILL OSPREAY, ROCKY ROMERO & CHUCKIE T #Wrestlecon

Last tickets available now: https://t.co/f3fEi5wvYl pic.twitter.com/RdA923VTUZ

— Revolution Pro (@RevProUK) March 22, 2018

Kenny Omega’s Golden Lovers teammate, Kota Ibushi, will face Bullet Club’s Hangman Page at Supercard of Honor XII on April 7th, 2018. The match will take place just two weeks after the Golden Lovers face the Young Bucks at Strong Style Evolved on March 25th, 2018.

Ring of Honor announced Ibushi’s Supercard of Honor opponent recently:

JUST ANNOUNCED: @theAdamPage vs @ibushi_kota at #ROHSupercard!

Sat April 7 // NOLA

Go in depth: https://t.co/X6v6PmLlt7
Get your ticket: https://t.co/UDLqdktVtH pic.twitter.com/dwncPvlOPC

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) March 15, 2018

Tickets are still available for the event, which runs simultaneously to NXT’s Takeover: New Orleans show.

Supercard of Honor XII Confirmed Lineup

• Cody vs Kenny Omega
• ROH World Championship
  Dalton Castle (c) vs Marty Scurll
• Women of Honor Championship Tournament
  Tournament Finals
• Hangman Page vs Kota Ibushi
• ROH World 6-Man Tag-Team Championships
  SoCal Uncensored (Scorpio Sky, Kazarian, and Christopher Daniels) vs. the Young Bucks and Flip Gordon
• Tomohiro Ishii vs Punishment Martinez
• ROH World TV Title
  Last Man Standing
  Kenny King (c) vs Silas Young

Revolution Pro has announced an absolutely huge name for their WrestleMania weekend show on Friday 6th April at WrestleCon.

NJPW star Kota Ibushi will be making his way over to New Orleans to compete alongside the likes of Tomohiro Ishii, Zack Sabre Jr and Minoru Suzuki. Rev Pro have a long standing relationship with New Japan and this could potentially lead to a UK appearance for the ‘Golden Star,’ who was last seen on UK shores setting fireworks on himself for XWA UK.

Kota’s opponent has not yet been named however the current rumor is that Will Ospreay will be facing his NJPW colleague…a match that could easily steal the match of the weekend plaudits should it happen, Ospreay himself addressed the potential dream match with the following tweet:

Well.. https://t.co/NGPMMq0T81

— Will Ospreay • ????????? (@WillOspreay) March 2, 2018

? Friday 6th April 4pm #NewOrleans #Wrestlecon

33 reserved Floor seats left here: https://t.co/ic1SSHONIj
Bleacher seats here: https://t.co/f3fEi5wvYl pic.twitter.com/HMudtmyfrI

— Revolution Pro (@RevProUK) March 1, 2018

Night two of NJPW Honor Rising ended with the Golden Lovers and The Young Bucks face-to-face.

Earlier today (Feb. 24), Kenny Omega and Kota ibushi took on Cody and Marty Scurll. This was the first time the Golden Lovers teamed up in two-on-two action in years. The former IWGP Junior Tag Team champions have enjoyed success as heavyweights. Omega and Ibushi scored the win when they hit Golden Trigger on Scurll.

Who Is The Best?

After the match, Omega grabbed a mic and said Golden Lovers are the best tag team in the world. The Young Bucks didn’t appreciate that and hit the ring to respond. Matt Jackson said he and his brother Nick are the best team in the world. He then announced that The Young Bucks are moving up to the heavyweight tag team division before saying he’ll see Omega and Ibushi around.

Backstage, Omega told the media that he and Ibushi have no problem facing The Young Bucks if that’s what they have to do to prove they’re the best tag team in the world. The seeds were planted for a move to heavyweight for The Young Bucks on a recent episode of “Being The Elite.” Cody told both men that they appear to be bulking up and need to think about the heavyweight division.

– RAW 25 is live tonight on the USA Network from both the Barclays Center and the Manhattan Center in a special simulcast event. With some huge names announced for tonight’s show, the Barclays Center has decorated their arena with several photos of some of WWE’s top stars expected for the event. Check it out here:

#RAW25 pic.twitter.com/z3bqguZwgJ

— OLD SKOOL? (@OldSkoolRules_) January 22, 2018

El Barclays Center ya se viste de gala para festejar el 25 aniversario de RAW @record_mexico pic.twitter.com/zhj08liZmM

— Carlos Zulbarán (@carlos_zulbaran) January 22, 2018

– Ring Of Honor (ROH) announced this morning that Kota Ibushi will compete at their Supercard Of Honor event on April 7 in New Orleans. Ibushi joins names such as Kenny Omega and Hiroshi Tanahashi who are also advertised for the show.

It has been revealed that NJPW star Kota Ibushi worked matches this past weekend with a 102 degrees Fahrenheit fever.

The ‘Golden Star’ took part in Riki Choshu Produce Power Hall 2018 – Set Back The Clock at Korakuen Hall teaming alongside Gota Ihashi & Riki Choshu to defeat Daisuke Sekimoto, TAKA Michinoku & Tatsumi Fujinami in the main event of the show filmed for Samurai TV in Japan.

Japanese wrestling correspondant Chris Charlton confirmed that Ibushi was suffering with the fever and revealed that Ibushi took the win for his team after hitting the Sit Out Last Ride.

Well, Ibushi did it, golden triangle and sit out last ride and all. Pat on the back (and washed hands afterward) https://t.co/HJbuqJpfhW

— chris charlton (@reasonjp) January 14, 2018

Ibushi going ahead with the Choshu show, despite a 38.9 fever. (He's probably got the flu, so if you're in Korakuen today, I dunno, wear a mask or something) https://t.co/HnXM7eaBiT

— chris charlton (@reasonjp) January 14, 2018

The 5-star bout between Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega at January 4th’s Wrestle Kingdom show was monumental for a number of reasons. Y2J’s unexpected return to Japan and his performance shocked many in the industry and showed that his claims to being the ‘Alpha’ of professional wrestling aren’t wildly off the mark.

It appears that Jericho will now be in NJPW for a stretch, his attack on Tetsuya Naito at the New Year Dash show will eventually lead to a bout between the two…but who else in the New Japan ranks would we like to see the ‘Ayatollah of Rock n Rolla’ face?

Here are three feuds we’d like to see for “The Alpha” Chris Jericho in New Japan:

Hiroshi Tanahashi

An icon of the Japanese wrestling scene, Hiroshi Tanahashi would be an ideal opponent for the reinvigorated Jericho. The two men have grown to define the styles that they represent, Tanahashi has sat atop the NJPW Heavyweight division and was a vital ingredient in the eventual rise of Kazuchika Okada, their feud defined the spirit of New Japan and brought a lot of expectant eyes to the product.

Jericho himself has graced the main event of Wrestlemania cards and is to many the definition of what an American pro wrestler should aspire to, a bout between these two stalwarts would be very different to that of the Alpha/Omega match and would be an excellent opportunity to see how the two could work at this stage in their respective careers.

Kota Ibushi

Kota Ibushi is an enigma. Longtime fans of New Japan would agree that right now he should be in the main event scene and should be arguably one of the biggest stars on the planet…the issue is Kota simply refuses to stay in one place for any length of time, he also seems to like setting himself on fire.

That being said a bout between the ‘Golden Star’ and Y2J has blockbuster written all over it. The dynamically wild style of Ibushi clearly works with a more traditional ‘American heel’ persona, he proved this against Cody at Wrestle Kingdom, but imagine what he could achieve being paired off with one of the greatest (and despicable!) minds in the game?

2018 could end up being the year that Ibushi finally hits the heights that he is capable of and a feud with Jericho just before an opportunity to face longtime rival Kenny Omega at next year’s Wrestle Kingdom could be the ideal way to get him there.

Zack Sabre Jr

Many people would’ve put Kazuchika Okada on their list…but realistically Jericho probably won’t be going near the IWGP Championship during his run. That leads to our next pick in Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre Jr is one of the most underrated stars from the recent explosion of popularity in the UK scene, fellow stars Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate and Will Ospreay are far more widely recognised even though ZSJ has performed in EVOLVE, New Japan and the WWE Cruiserweight Classic.

From a stylistic standpoint Jericho should mesh extremely well with the unique Sabre, this bout could be worked almost exclusively on the mat and Y2J’s penchant for embarrassing his opponents at their own game would hopefully lead to a submission-fest akin to some of Y2J’s early WWE and WCW work.

Discussion: Who would you like to see Jericho face in New Japan? Let us know in the comments.

The card for New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom 12 event on January 4, 2018 is starting to take shape.  New Japan announced on Monday that ROH World Champion Cody Rhodes will defend his title against Kota Ibushi.

?1.4??????2??????
???Cody??????????“ROH?????”??????https://t.co/OG16ixX79P #njwk12 #njpw pic.twitter.com/Idhbfwbfcp

— ?????????????? (@njpw1972) November 6, 2017

With that match set, here is the updated card for the show:

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito

IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Match: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Chris Jericho

IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Jay White

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: Marty Scurll (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kushida vs. Will Ospreay

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh) (c) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)

ROH World Championship Match: Cody (c) vs. Kota Ibushi

New Japan Pro Wrestling star Kota Ibushi recently spoke to the New Japan English language site NJPW1972.com on a variety of topics including the G1 Climax tournament, his long awaited return to the company and his brutal Kamigoye! move, here are some of the highlights:

–OK, first let’s talk about you being back in a New Japan ring, and being such a focal part of the G1. It’s been a couple of weeks now, looking back, how was the G1 for you?

Ibushi: Ultimately I wrestled more in that one month than in the two years before. I was a little wary of that beforehand, doing two years worth of matches in such a short time, but it actually turned out OK.

–Before the G1 started, you mentioned that New Japan today is a different place from when you were last here. How do you feel about that now?

Ibushi: I think New Japan started, in about 2014, 2015 advancing to a new level. 2016 I wasn’t around, so coming back in 2017 it really feels like they’ve kicked into this higher gear… although a part of that is a little dangerous, a little frightening.

–You said about the 2015 G1 that the only word that sprang to mind was ‘tough’. How did this year compare?

Ibushi: This year was just so much fun. Some of the most pure, genuine fun I’ve had in wrestling. I haven’t felt anything like that recently.

–Not in WWE?

Ibushi: Right, not in WWE.

–Why do you think this time was so enjoyable?

Ibushi: This time it was about wrestling the way I wanted to wrestle. I always want to make the fans happy when I wrestle, but this time, more than that, I did what I wanted.

–When we talked to you at your public workout, you said you wanted to debut a new move, but that became you saying you couldn’t do it. Was debuting Kamigoe up in the air for you?

Ibushi: I actually had the move in mind for a while, so it wasn’t quite a matter of ‘this is the new move’, more that I wanted to see just how much power I could get behind that knee, and I couldn’t know for sure without trying it in a match

–To a lot of long term New Japan fans, the move and its name will have them thinking of a certain wrestler.

Ibushi: To tell the truth, I’ve wanted to use a Boma-Ye like move for a long time. I’ve given a lot of thought to using the Boma-Ye.

–That being the finish for Shinsuke Nakamura, in WWE now.

Ibushi: With that connection to Nakamura, I’d have liked to have pulled it off soon after he left for America, but I was away at that point..

–You missed your chance then, and decided to use it on your comeback instead.

Ibushi: Ever since we first faced each other in 2013, I’d felt I wanted to add something of Shinsuke’s to my moveset. Actually before he went to WWE, I met with Shinsuke. I don’t know whether he was kidding or not, but he told me ‘go ahead, you should totally use the Boma-Ye’. Those word stuck with me. I think it was a test, in a way.

New Japan recently released a video featuring the ‘reunion’ of longtime rivals Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi.

Omega and The Young Bucks ran into Ibushi following Kenny’s G1 Final loss to Tetsuya Naito, Omega and Ibushi appear to speak briefly before Omega stumbles showing the effects of his match with Naito.

The current rumored plans call for Omega and Ibushi to feud heading into next year’s Wrestle Kingdom show, likely for the Intercontinental or IWGP United States title. Would you like to see an eventual match between these two? Let us know in the comments.

???????@KennyOmegamanX ???@ibushi_kota ?????…?
??8.13 ???? ??????????????????#G127 ????? #njpwworld ??
??&???https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP pic.twitter.com/NKFpIcDQsB

— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) August 14, 2017

Last year, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kota Ibushi missed out on the G1 Climax tournament in favor of working the WWE’s inaugural Cruiserweight Classic Tournament (CWC). Ibushi had a fair amount of success in the tournament as he made it to the semi-finals before losing to eventual winner TJ Perkins.

Ibushi will be back this year to participate in the G1 Climax tournament, but it seems as though he has some beef with fellow star Kenny Omega who feels Ibushi abandoned him last year in favor of chasing his ‘pipe dream’ in the WWE:

“After you left me all alone. To fend for myself. I never stopped training. I never stopped sacrificing. I never stopped feeling the pain, I never ran away like you did. So if you can make it to the finals, that’s where I’ll be waiting. And then finally I’ll make you feel the pain, Ibushi. And I’ll show you through my actions, everything that I felt while you were away – after you threw me away – to accomplish your own dream. Your own pipe dream of becoming a world famous CWC participant.”

https://twitter.com/UnderhookDDT/status/885541019348946944

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions 

Growing UK promotion XWA has announced that their shows will now be available On Demand. The promotion’s events will be uploaded to partner company Pro Wrestling EVE’s Pivotshare account and will be available to access for $9.99 per month.

The first XWA show uploaded includes the bizarrely incredible bout between Kota Ibushi and Gota Ihashi that took place at the company’s GoldRush event earlier this year. This match included boxing gloves, a BMX bike and multiple moonsaults into the crowd, it is certainly one to check out.

XWA will soon be uploading the infamous Resistance Gallery show where Ibushi shot himself with fireworks…

https://t.co/O0UMteusFu now also hosts XWA events and we just added @ibushi_kota vs @goutaihashi_DDT in a wild, chaotic, hard-hitting match!

— XWA (@XWAUK) June 20, 2017

Recently released WWE Superstar Simon Gotch has been announced for an independent show on UK soil this July.

Gotch will be performing for XWA at the Resistance Gallery in London on July 22nd. XWA has recently seen a surge in popularity since the appearance of Kota Ibushi. Kota’s Fireworks stunt garnered mainstream news coverage and has seemingly put XWA back on the UK Independent map.

Also announced for the show is Japanese star Sekimoto, Jimmy Havoc, former NXT star Bull James and Mark Haskins.

The man formally known as SIMON GOTCH @GotchStyleWWE added to #XWA48 "Exclusive Series" in London on Sat July 22. https://t.co/atI3hst0uz pic.twitter.com/lgL7Ke6PH8

— XWA (@XWAUK) April 6, 2017

#Fact @GotchStyleWWE's puro game is strong! So when you look at who we book ala Ibushi, CIMA, Sekimoto & more TBA), he's gonna fit in fine! pic.twitter.com/3ZmfWzXAsz

— XWA (@XWAUK) April 6, 2017

Kota Ibushi make his debut appearance for the UK independent promotion XWA on Saturday at the Charter Hall in Colchester, England.

He faced Gota Ihashi in what was easily the match of the night. The two veterans of the DDT promotion in Japan had a bout that involved a bicycle, boxing gloves and multiple high flying spots from both competitors. The full VOD for the show will be available next weekend but for now check out the highlights from fans in attendance below:

So last night this happened @XWAUK pic.twitter.com/9wGfvwgP05

— Turnbuckle Daily Podcasts (@TDPodcasts) March 12, 2017

https://twitter.com/randjpodcasts/status/840821889052397568

XWA live: Kota Ibushi vs Gota Ihashi! https://t.co/2UlYURXQPb

— XWA (@XWAUK) March 11, 2017

https://twitter.com/MusclyBabies/status/840681263681982465

He's here! #Ibushi pic.twitter.com/QZY4pFY0sl

— Ian Dallibar (@WholeShow) March 11, 2017

New Japan, DDT & WWE CWC star Kota Ibushi will be making his debut appearance for UK independent promotion XWA this weekend.

Ibushi is booked for 2 nights, starting in Colchester, Essex on Saturday March 11th and then Bethnal Green, London on March 12th.

Tickets are still available for both nights on the XWA Facebook site: www.facebook.com/XWAUK/?sk=app_190322544333196&ref=s

Kota Ibushi hits the UK this weekend for his Debut UK Adventure! See Ibushi & @goutaihashi_DDT vs @JimmyHavoc & @BlackNoir_TD in #London pic.twitter.com/yzWe5dYAXE

— XWA (@XWAUK) March 6, 2017

New Japan Pro Wrestling have announced that several title matches will take place on March 6th 2017. The event is to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the promotion and will air live on New Japan World (5am est.)

NJPW 45th Anniversary Show Lineup

• Jushin Liger and Hirai Kawato vs. Tiger Mask and Tomoyuki Oka
• Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, Gedo and Jado (CHAOS) vs. El Desparado, Taka Michinoku, Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)
• Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and David Finlay vs. Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)
• Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, Bushi and Sanada (Los Ingobernables) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Kushida and Juice Robinson
• RPW British Heavyweight Championship
  Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. *
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
  Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
  Roppongi Vice (c) vs. Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-Gun)
• IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
  Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c)(CHAOS) vs. Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe (GBH)**
• Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) vs. Tiger Mask W***

*     Zack Sabre Jr. is making his NJPW debut
**   This match was made after GBH beat CHAOS at Togi Makabe’s anniversary show this weekend.
*** non-title match. Tiger Mask W is played by Kota Ibushi and is from the current Tiger Mask anime series. 

New Japan have announced the dates of this year’s New Japan Cup:

• The First round matches will be taking place on March 11th/12th.
• The Second round matches will be split between 4 shows from March 13th through to March 17th
• The Semi-Final bouts will be taking place on March 19th
• The Final will take place March 20th

The winner of the annual tournament will then decide to challenge for either the IWGP Heavyweight, IWGP Intercontinental or NEVER Openweight title at the company’s April 9th show at the Ryogoku Kokugikan.

The tournament has a very prestigious history, previous winners include Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata, Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Kota Ibushi and the 2016 winner Tetsuya Naito.

The winner of this year’s tournament is likely to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight title as the current champion Kazuchika Okada does not yet have a clear feud going forward. After his bout at New Beginning with Minoru Suzuki he hinted at Tiger Mask W as a possible challenger for his belt, this may lead to Tiger Mask finally being unmasked as Kota Ibushi and leading to a program for the title.

????NEW JAPAN CUP??????“???”????????
1???3.11???3.12 ???
2???3.13???3.14???3.15???3.17??? ????3.19???https://t.co/RmKNNoW4CM #njcup #njpw pic.twitter.com/TDa1nqy1AN

— ?????????????? (@njpw1972) February 6, 2017

UK based promotion XWA have announced that NJPW, DDT and CWC star Kota Ibushi will be competing for the company at Colchester’s Charter Hall in March of 2017.

Ibushi will be taking on Goto Ihashi in what will most likely be a sell out show in one of England’s smaller regions for professional wrestling.

His match.
His rules.
His words to me: "This will be crazy!"

Kota Ibushi vs Goto Ihashi
Sat March 11 #Colchester https://t.co/LDkmISEPUH pic.twitter.com/QGlXZDsuK4

— XWA (@XWAUK) December 17, 2016

Kota Ibushi recently did an interview with Tokyo Sports and this is what he said when asked about signing with the WWE full time.

“Zero chance. Absolutely not. But these one shot deals are an absolute plus for all concerned. If I can be the precedent for this kind of deal, it opens the doors for a lot of Japanese talent in wwe.”

Kota Ibushi will once again be appearing in NXT during the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic when he teams with Hideo Itami.