History Wrestling / KotaIbushi

* {{Catchphrase}}: In 2020, "I won't run away, I won't lose, I won't give up, I won't betray you! I will become God!"

* {{Bishonen}}: He was once part of Wrestling/FightingOperaHUSTLE's Ikemen division ("ikemen" meaning "handsome"). It stuck with him, as Kenny once called him his ikemen partner.

Kota Ibushi (飯伏幸太, born 21 May 1982) is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for his work with Wrestling/DramaticDreamTeam (DDT) and Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling (NJPW).

* PeekABangs: His signature hairdo from the beginning of his career.

* IKnowKarate: And UsefulNotes/{{kickboxing}} too. He was event set to debut in K-1 at one point.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Ibushi is pretty much the puroresu incarnation of this trope; he's generally a laid-back, fun-loving face, but push him too far, and he'll start beating the holy hell out of his opponent until the referee pulls him away.

* {{Foil}}: To Wrestling/TakuyaSugi. Both of them are sick high-flyers and former vassals to Taiji Ishimori, but their similarities end right there: Sugi has played a long list of gimmicks, always wrestles while heavily clothed, uses a lucharesu style, plays both face and heel, and has went mostly as a minor cult wrestler through the years; meanwhile, Ibushi goes under his real name, wrestles in tights, uses an American indy psychology with a touch of shoot-style, has never been a heel, and is one of the most decorated and known juniors in the world.

* HeroesRUs: Along with [[Wrestling/TakuyaSugi Little Dragon]], Milanito Collection a.t. and some other, Ibushi formed part of Taiji Ishimori's entourage in the short-lived Dragondoor. Subverted at core level, however, because although Ishimori was supposed to be the hero of the promotion, the crowds preferred the bad guys over him.

* MrFanservice
* NonIdleRich: Real life example: Ibushi comes from a wealthy family in Japan. He got into professional wrestling at age 22 solely because he desired to do so, and his family has been supportive of this ever since. His personal wealth probably paid a role in his staying freelance for so long; he didn't need a regular contract to make ends meet.

* PeekABangs
* ThePowerOfLove: In HUSTLE, Liosazer asked the audience's children for cheers to dispel Generalissimo Takada's mind control on Riser Guren, which they did.

** Despite the other three being a part of the Wrestling/BulletClub Elite, Ibushi never considered himself a member, despite teaming up with BC Elite member Chase Owens on numerous occasions. Owens has since returned to the "OGBC", so they're definitely not on the same side anymore.

* SignatureMove: the Lawn Dart (a powerslam positioned toss headfirst into the middle turnbuckle), his palm strikes and kicks, moonsault variations, and recently started using the [[Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura Boma-Ye]].

* IHaveTheHighGround: He seems to have a thing for moonsaulting off balconies, when he has a chance. Besides the match at Budokan, he's leapt off the second-level balcony at Korakuen Hall a few times as well.

As always, Wiki/ThatOtherWiki has the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kota_Ibushi full rundown]] of his career and accomplishments.

* AmbiguouslyGay
** In particular, his complicated relationship with Kenny Omega. The two have managed to keep the hype for an eventual high-profile match at nuclear levels due to their mutual pining both in interviews and on social media. This has continued to a certain extent after Omega left for AEW, and Ibushi signed on with NJPW fully.
** A notable recent example is an interview where he compared his relationship with Kenny to the highly acclaimed Japanese animated movie ''Anime/YourName'', which is definitely a romance story. In fact, it's a destined, star-crossed lovers kind of story.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ibushi.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The Golden Star]]

* {{Bishonen}}: He was once part of Fighting Opera HUSTLE's Ikemen division ("ikemen" meaning "handsome"). It stuck with him, as Kenny once called him his ikemen partner.

* {{Foil}}: To Wrestling/TakuyaSugi. Both of them are sick high-flyers and former vassals to Ishimori, but their similarities end right there: Sugi has played a long list of gimmicks, always wrestles while heavily clothed, uses a lucharesu style, plays both face and heel, and has went mostly as a minor cult wrestler through the years; meanwhile, Ibushi goes under his real name, wrestles in tights, uses an American indy psychology with a touch of shoot-style, has never been a heel, and is one of the most decorated and known juniors in the world.

* IKnowKarate: And kickboxing too. He was event set to debut in K-1 at one point.

** Taiji Ishimori's unnamed stable in Dragondoor.

On January 4th, 2021, Ibushi finally achieved his goal, defeating Naito for the titles in a hard-fought match and finally earning his longtime rival's respect. He successfully defended the titles the following night against Jay White, overcoming an unfavorable head-to-head record and the typical Bullet Club antics. Now in possession of both the "greatest" title[[note]]Intercontinental[[/note]] and the "strongest" title[[note]]Heavyweight[[/note]], he is looking to unify the belts, but has said he will defend them however NJPW desires him to.

* FinishingMove: The Phoenix Splash (corkscrew 450º splash and variations), Phoenix-Plex (package reverse powerbomb), Kamigoye (a wrist-lock knee strike, debuted in 2017), Last Ride (an elevated powerbomb, like Wrestling/TheUndertaker, except Ibushi lands in a sitout position). He once used a corkscrew 630º senton too.

While he did have championship success in early 2020, winning the [[https://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/newjapan/iwgp-t.html IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship]] alongside Wrestling/HiroshiTanahashi, he would eventually set his sights on winning the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental titles[[note]]which have been defended together since WK 14[[/note]] and "become god". On October 18, 2020, he won the 2020 G1 Climax, making him the third person after Wrestling/MasahiroChono and Wrestling/HiroyoshiTenzan to win it back to back. Although he dropped the G1 briefcase to Jay White the following month, Naito still insisted on putting his titles on the line against Ibushi on night one of Wrestle Kingdom 15, with the winner defending both belts against White on the second night.

While he did have championship success in early 2020, winning the [[https://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/newjapan/iwgp-t.html IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship]] alongside Tanahashi, he would set his sights on winning the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental titles[[note]]which have been defended together since WK 14[[/note]] and "become god". On October 18, 2020, he won the 2020 G1 Climax, making him the third person after Wrestling/MasahiroChono and Wrestling/HiroyoshiTenzan to win it back to back. Although he dropped the G1 briefcase to Jay White the following month, Naito still insisted on putting his titles on the line against Ibushi on night one of Wrestle Kingdom 15, with the winner defending both belts against White on the second night.

Between 2016 and early 2019, Ibushi worked as a freelancer, which gave him the chance to participate in the Wrestling/WWECruiserweightClassic, making the semi-finals[[note]]he was offered an [[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]] contract, but declined to sign on[[/note]]. He returned to NJPW in late 2016, first under the guise of Anime/TigerMaskW, then under his own name in June 2017 when he entered the 2017 G1 Climax.

Kota Ibushi (飯伏幸太, born 21 May 1982) is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for his work with Wrestling/DramaticDreamTeam (DDT) and Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling (NJPW). Between 2016 and early 2019, he worked as a freelancer, which gave him the chance to participate in the Wrestling/WWECruiserweightClassic, making the semi-finals[[note]]he was offered an [[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]] contract, but declined to sign on[[/note]]. He returned to NJPW in late 2016, first under the guise of Anime/TigerMaskW, then under his own name in June 2017 when he entered the 2017 G1 Climax.

Ibushi's career has been intertwined with that of Wrestling/KennyOmega since their days in DDT; Kenny originally came to Japan in 2008 to challenge Ibushi, but eventually became friends with him, forming the "Golden☆Lovers" tag team. They would win the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/ddt/kod-t.html KO-D Tag Team Championship]] twice, as well as the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/newjapan/iwgp-j-t.html IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship]] in 2010. They would also battle over the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/ddt/kod-o.html KO-D Openweight Championship]] at Budokan Hall in August 2012, in a match many commentators call one of the greatest of all time.[[note]]In one memorable spot, Ibushi executed a moonsault off of a second-story balcony during the match, despite being forbidden to do so. That earned him a ban from Budokan Hall until 2018, when NJPW ran the last three shows of G1 Climax 28 in the building.[[/note]]

Once Omega joined NJPW in October 2014, the duo split up, with Kenny becoming part of, and later leader of, the Wrestling/BulletClub. Until late 2017, the only significant interaction between the two was at Invasion Attack 2015, when a distraction from Kenny cost Ibushi an IWGP Heavyweight title match against Wrestling/AJStyles. Their story started heating up again at the 2017 G1 Climax; Kenny and Kota were in separate blocks, teasing a possible final match between the two, and Ibushi tried to meet and console Kenny backstage after his finals loss against Wrestling/TetsuyaNaito.

Ibushi was then targeted by [[Wrestling/CodyRhodes Cody]], despite Omega's directive to leave Ibushi alone. Ibushi would win their match at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in January 2018, but Cody would attempt to take him out the next night at New Years Dash, leading Omega to come in the ring and make the save. Then, later in the month at New Beginning in Sapporo, Cody turned on Omega after Kenny lost his IWGP United States title match, and this time Ibushi made the save. Then, in one of modern wrestling's most anticipated and emotional moments, Kota and Kenny embraced, and the Golden☆Lovers were reunited! They would make their return as a team at the [[Wrestling/RingOfHonor ROH]]/NJPW Honor Rising card in February.

When the Elite left NJPW after WK 13 to form Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling, Ibushi chose to stay in NJPW, finally overcoming his reluctance to commit to the Lion Mark[[note]]his deal in 2013 was a dual-status contract with both NJPW and DDT, making him the first wrestler to have ''two'' home promotions; he was sidelined in late 2015 with a cervical disc herniation, and when he came back from that in 2016, resigned from both companies to remain freelance[[/note]] to sign exclusively with them. Since then, he claimed the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/newjapan/iwgp-ic.html IWGP Intercontinental Championship]] on 04 April, defeating Naito in Madison Square Garden. Ibushi has stated that he wants to raise the prestige of the IC belt, much as his wrestling "gods" Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura and Wrestling/HiroshiTanahashi have done before.

On August 12, 2019, Ibushi won the 2019 G1 Climax tournament by beating [[Wrestling/JayWhite “Switchblade” Jay White]] in the final. In doing so he became the first and currently only wrestler to have won all three of New Japan’s singles tournaments (Best of Super Juniors, New Japan Cup, G1).

On October 18, 2020, he won the 2020 G1 Climax, making him the third person after Wrestling/MasahiroChono and Wrestling/HiroyoshiTenzan to win it back to back. Although he dropped the G1 briefcase to Jay White the following month, Naito still insisted on putting his titles on the line against Ibushi, with the winner defending both belts against White on the second night of Wrestle Kingdom 15. On January 4th, 2021, Ibushi finally became a god, defeating Naito in a hard-fought match and finally earning his longtime rival's respect. He defended the titles the following night against Jay White, overcoming an unfavourable head-to-head record and the typical Bullet Club antics.

Outside of the Golden☆Lovers' honors, in DDT, Ibushi was a three-time KO-D Openweight Champion and held the KO-D Tag Team Championship three other times (five in total). In NJPW, he is a three-time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/newjapan/iwgp-j.html IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion]], and won the 2011 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. After a move to heavyweight status in late 2014, he won the 2015 New Japan Cup, but as noted, was unable to beat AJ Styles for the Heavyweight crown.

* ArchEnemy: In DDT, HARASHIMA, Sanshiro Takagi and Danshoku Dino have been his most frequent opponents. In the Wrestling/{{Toryumon}} circuit, the Aagan Iisou and STONED stables.

** He could very well be this for the Golden☆Lovers, from an NJPW perspective at least. Time will tell, but considering he followed his commitment to New Japan with an Intercontinental title reign, he's off to a good start.

** Later Wrestling/HiroshiTanahashi and Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura, both of whom Ibushi said were influences to him. Tanahashi in particular thinks Ibushi could be a major star if he steps up and away from Omega, and considering his run of success after committing to NJPW, Ibushi may be proving the Ace right.
** More recently, Wrestling/TetsuyaNaito. The two have history from their junior days, and have both stated they enjoy going up against each other.

On October 18, 2020, he won the 2020 G1 Climax, making him the third person after Wrestling/MasahiroChono and Wrestling/HiroyoshiTenzan to win it back to back. Although he dropped the G1 briefcase to Jay White the following month, Naito still insisted on putting his titles on the line against Ibushi, with the winner defending both belts against White on the second night of Wrestle Kingdom 15. On January 4th, 2021, Ibushi finally became a god, defeating Naito in a hard-fought match and finally earning his longtime rival's respect.