When Tony Khan wants to sign a star to All Elite Wrestling he’s not afraid to go all out to make sure a deal comes together.
Since AEW was launched in 2019 talent has arrived from anywhere and everywhere. The likes of Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, and Adam Cole were signed from WWE, Konosuke Takeshita made the jump from Japan, and Tony Khan landed arguably the most in-demand free agent in years in CM Punk.
Kota Ibushi To Sign With Tony Khan?
Interestingly, the AEW boss could be looking to repeat that last trick and dip into the free agency market once more. Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Khan hinted at maybe putting a deal together for Kota Ibushi. Khan stated that he has expressed an interest in the star previously and it’s something that needs to be considered now that he’s a free agent.
“There are a lot of great free agents in the world of pro wrestling. Certainly, Kota Ibushi is a great talent. When you have a name like that, everyone in the world of pro wrestling would be very fortunate to have in their promotion. We’ve wanted to work with him in the past, so it’s certainly something we would have to consider,”
Kota Ibushi became a free agent on February 1st when his contract with New Japan Pro-Wrestling expired.
Interestingly for AEW fans, Ibushi teamed with Kenny Omega from 2009 until 2014 and again in 2018. During this period the duo won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
In 2022 the relationship between NJPW and Ibushi appeared to disintegrate, with a variety of accusations being made on both sides. For his part in the very public war of words, Ibushi was handed a 10% deduction in wages for three months, while numerous New Japan officials were also reprimanded.
The former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion has been out of action since suffering a shoulder injury in his G1 finals match against Kazuchika Okada in October 2021. However, it was recently announced that he will be back in the ring over WrestleMania weekend when he makes his GCW debut at The Collective.
H/t to Fightful