NJPW: 5 Takeaways From Sengoku Lord

NJPW May Be Ready For Kota Ibushi: IWGP Heavyweight Champion

Kota Ibushi’s New Japan run has always been good but was hindered by his desire to remain a freelancer. When The Elite split away from NJPW to form AEW at the beginning of the year, one of the big questions hanging in the balance was where Ibushi would end up. Would we see him join Golden Lovers partner Omega in All Elite, or would the Golden Star shine over New Japan?

After what felt like a forever not seeing or hearing from Ibushi (and really, is there any amount of time that doesn’t feel like forever when it comes to Ibushi?), he returned at February’s New Beginning In Osaka to announce that not only was he back but he was in New Japan to stay! And the peasants rejoiced.

Ibushi’s next step was to enter the New Japan Cup where he was my #1 pick to take the entire thing. With a long-term commitment to the company and fresh off of a NEVER Openweight Title reign, it felt like Ibushi as the challenger for Jay White in MSG was a sure thing. I felt, and still do feel, that it was too early to take the title off of White and expected his G1 Supercard defense to be a success.

Nonetheless, Ibushi was knocked out of the tournament by Zack Sabre Jr who would go on to put Hiroshi Tanahashi on the shelf in New York. Ibushi, though, fought through head drops and navigating a major metropolitan city to overcome Naito and take home the IWGP Intercontinental Title.

At Sengoku Lord, Ibushi sought a measure of revenge against the man who tapped him out in the second round of the Cup. Despite the wiry frame of ZSJ tying him into various forms of pretzel, Ibushi laid Sabre out with a single Kamigoye for a successful first defense of the IC Title.

Leading up to challenging for the IC Title, Ibushi spoke of reaching the level of the two men he revered as Gods – Shinsuke Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi. Ibushi will need to beat a hefty 8 defenses to have as prolific a title reign as Nakamura had, but can he truly achieve the same status as the reigning Ace of the Universe?

With Ibushi making it extremely clear that he had signed with New Japan at Sengoku Lord, it truly seems like the world is at his fingertips. The major sticking point keeping Ibushi from the top of the card was his freelance status. Now, as a signed wrestler, there are no limitations to the success Ibushi could reach within NJPW.

Ibushi, like Naito, is one of the most popular wrestlers in the company – but with guys like Okada and Tanahashi who are truly transcendent, is there room for another star to rise alongside them? Former IC Champion Naito had lofty dreams of his own to become the first man to hold both the IC and Heavyweight Titles at the same time. With the looming G1 this summer, could Ibushi realize Naito’s dream for himself?

Not counting the pre-show bout, Wrestle Kingdom 13 kicked off with Ibushi defending the NEVER Openweight Title against Will Ospreay. Could Wrestle Kingdom 14 see Ibushi main event against Okada or SANADA in a title-for-title match?

In the 12 year history of Wrestle Kingdom, nobody has ever gone from the opening match one year to the main event the next.

In the 12 year history of Wrestle Kingdom, the event has never spanned two nights in the Tokyo Dome.

In the 12 year history of Wrestle Kingdom, the Intercontinental Title has only main evented once – by the two men considered Gods by Ibushi: Tanahashi and Nakamura. The title has never been defended in a title-versus-title match against the IWGP Heavyweight Champion at the event.

Could Ibushi be the man to break all of the Wrestle Kingdom conventions by flipping his position on the card, forcing an IC/Heavyweight Double Title Match, and doing something that his wrestling deities have never been able to achieve? If there’s one man in New Japan who can achieve the impossible, it may just be Kota Ibushi.