Kota Ibushi vs Jay White wins 2021 NJPW Match of the Year
New Japan Pro Wrestling hasn’t had the best year, with many pundits across wrestling agreeing with the narrative that this has been a down year for the promotion. Rewind the clock back to January 2021, the company was building a lot of momentum and it crowned a new champion in Kota Ibushi. The weekend where he obtained the belt had multiple MOTY candidates, but his contest with Jay White on Wrestle Kingdom Night Two is recognized as the New Japan 2021 Match of the Year.
Kota Ibushi experience the best of both worlds in 2021. He started the year defeating Tetsuya Naito to finally become the IWGP Heavyweight Champion at night one of Wrestle Kingdom 15. After that thirty-minute matchup, he and Jay White put on an instant classic the next night, clocking in at a ridiculous 48:05.
Heading into Wrestle Kingdom 15 the story for Ibushi was if he could win the big one. He’s nearing 40-years old and is a multiple-time champion across a variety of the promotions where he performed. But the IWGP Heavyweight Championship avoided him. Even winning the G1 Climax for a second time wasn’t enough to make it a “done deal” to see him hold that belt above his head. That situation compounded when his opponent for the second night was none other than the one who continued to haunt him, Jay White.
But this match was completely about Ibushi overcoming everything White threw his way. If Kota Ibushi versus Jay White was a horror film, then Ibushi was the psycho killer that continued to come back from the dead time and time again to eventually get their way with their victim. This was meant to be Ibushi’s moment and the call at the end solidified that, with Kevin Kelly breaking his last name into syllables to match the final 1-2-3.
Daily DDT 2021 End Of The Year Awards. dark. Next
The rest of Ibushi’s 2021 campaign may not have matched how it started off. But he and Jay White put on one of the best matches across professional wrestling and the match was recognized as the best in New Japan for the Year. It’s more than worth going back to watch, even as New Japan Pro continues to struggle with COVID-19, the regulations surrounding it, and trying to re-establish itself as a force in the wrestling industry.