Kota Ibushi surprised everyone by being announced as a participant in this year’s G1 Climax tournament in New Japan. He made an appearance at today’s New Japan iPPV in Korakuen Hall after the reveal. His message was brief and polite. “I am Kota Ibushi from DDT Pro Wrestling. I decided to enter the G1 Climax for the first time. Thank you!”
Ibushi had previously competed in New Japan as a Jr. Heavyweight, winning the Best of the Super Jr. tournament and holding both IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championships. Now he has moved up to Heavyweight and the decision may not be as sudden as you think.
During an interview on the DDT website last year, Ibushi said one of his dreams was to compete in the G1 Climax. Ever since Ibushi returned to active competition, he has toned down his high flying moves a little bit while adding some power to his repertoire. These changes might have helped Ibushi adapt his style to be more compatible with heavier opponents. Could it be that Ibushi’s entry was planned a long time ago?
Kota has been added to Group B where he will have matches against Yuji Nagata, Shinsuke Nakamura, Minoru Suzuki, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tetsuya Naito, Toru Yano, Yujiro Takahashi, Shelton X Benjamin and Karl Anderson. The tournament will take place in the first two weeks of August.
Dramatic DDT 