Report: Kota Ibushi Backstage Issues Have ‘Calmed Down’

NJPW

Here is the latest on the situation between NJPW and former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kota Ibushi.

Ibushi went public with numerous serious accusations against NJPW management, and ‘harassing bosses’ earlier this year.

NJPW officially addressed a ‘severe disagreement’ the two sides had in May, with it being announced that Ibushi would receive a penalty for an appearance that breached his NJPW contract, and an official who allegedly harassed Ibushi to also receive a penalty.

Per Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, issues between the two sides have calmed down since then.

Noting that things haven’t fully settled, Meltzer wrote:

“Kota Ibushi did some tweets with news that was not at all good. He said that his shoulder is getting worse and he can’t even do one push-up right now. He’s been off since October and if it’s not getting better with rest, he probably needs to get surgery, which he’s wanted to avoid, even though that will put him out of action for many more months.

“He said things are still not fully settled with New Japan and was mad they advertised him for the New Japan Cup saying they knew full well he wasn’t going to be able to wrestle in that tournament.

“Unlike in the U.S. where modern fans have been taught to accept false advertising, it’s a real big deal in Japan and there have been at least two times (this and Juice Robinson defending the U.S. title a week after appendicitis and being advertised) that you can see New Japan is not nearly as strict on this as Japanese companies have been historically. And I don’t think it serves them any good in either case.

“From those closer to the situation, they said his issues with New Japan have calmed down. Right now he feels he needs to take care of his mother but does want to get back to pro wrestling and martial arts training. He’s also talking about opening a dojo in his home town to train aspiring athletes.”

Ibushi has been out of action since suffering an injury in the G1 Climax tournament finals in October 2021. You can read Ibushi’s recent comments on his injury right here.

To make sure you stay updated with all the latest wrestling news, add WrestleTalk.com to your Google Discover feed and follow us on Twitter!

• disagreement
• kota ibushi
• Injury
• NJPW

Share this article with friends