The day many New Japan fans have been waiting for (and I have been somewhat dreading) has finally happened. Kota Ibushi has signed a contract with New Japan! He is now a full time member of the New Japan roster. However in what may be a first for Japanese wrestling, Ibushi will also continue to be under contract with DDT. So Ibushi will be wrestling for both companies. His NJPW contract lasts for one year, as it traditionally is for every New Japan wrestler while his DDT contract lasts for another three years.
It is interesting how this deal came about. New Japan chairman Naoki Sugabayashi has attempted to sign Ibushi in the past but could never convince him to jump ship. In fact he even admits that if this happened decades ago he would have paid a lot of money to steal him from DDT. Fortunately New Japan and DDT have a good relationship and Sugabayashi realises the potential Ibushi has if he wrestles for both promotions. Sugabayashi recently made an official offer to Sanshiro Takagi and even then Takagi had to convince Ibushi to take the deal! Ibushi says he loves DDT and does not want to leave the company but after a deal was made to wrestle for both he finally agreed. For now Ibushi will exclusively wrestle for New Japan and DDT but offers for appearances in other promotions could still be considered.
However, Ibushi did not get everything he wanted from the deal. His request to have Michael Nakazawa continue to be in his corner for the New Japan matches has been repeatedly turned down. Takagi even joked that he will force Ibushi to go out to the ring alone if he has to. But Sugabayashi did offer to send Captain New Japan over to DDT so he would become Captain DDT. Hey it could be worse. They could send over YOSHI-HASHI.
In DDT it will be business as usual for Ibushi and he will still be available for the crazy stuff like the Falls Count Anywhere matches that take place outdoors. He will not change his style for New Japan and wants to focus on the Junior Heavyweight division and win the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title from Prince Devitt. He also wants to face wrestlers he has never fought before. His schedule will increase because he will also appear on New Japan’s tours. Both New Japan and DDT will work together to avoid any double bookings if the companies are hosting events on the same day.
Ibushi’s first match as a New Japan wrestler will be at Sumo Hall on 14/10 for the “KING OF PRO-WRESTLING” iPPV. He teams with Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma to face Prince Devitt’s BULLET CLUB faction.
Dramatic DDT 