AEW’s roster continues to grow with each passing week. Under Tony Khan’s leadership, the promotion has adopted a policy that has led to well over a hundred wrestlers being signed yet few are seen on the company’s biggest shows on a regular basis or booked consistently on a week-to-week basis.
This was the case with “Switchblade” Jay White, who joined the company with much fanfare but soon found himself relegated to lower-status matches on Rampage.
But even though White’s career trajectory appears to have stalled, that hasn’t stopped one of his former NJPW compatriots from making AEW his top priority.
Japanese wrestlers from different promotions have wrestled for Tony Khan’s company since 2019. Some of the most prominent among them have included NJPW lifers Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, and Tomohiro Ishii; and DDT’s Konosuke Takeshita.
And now, freelancer Kota Ibushi is looking to do the same.
Kota Ibushi eyeing AEW as other promotions start sending him contract offers
DarkPuroresuFlowsion, a Twitter account that focuses on translating Japanese wrestlers’ comments into English, spoke with Ibushi about his career plans.
Per the account, Ibushi still insists that his #1 choice of promotion is still AEW; however, NJPW is also making offers as well.
“As I stated yesterday NJPW has a offer in for Kota Ibushi. He told me AEW is his #1 priority still.”
As I stated yesterday NJPW has a offer in for Kota Ibushi. He told me AEW is his #1 priority still. pic.twitter.com/mk4VZF82qC
— Dark Puroresu Flowsion (@PuroresuFlow) May 13, 2023
Ibushi let his NJPW contract expire in February this year after not wrestling for them since the summer of 2021. Ibushi suffered a devastating injury in his G1 Finals match with Kazuchika Okada that required the match be stopped immediately.
Since then, reports emerged that Ibushi had some major problems with some backstage officials in NJPW and those issues were instrumental in his choosing not to re-sign.
However, DarkPuroresoFlowsion also noted that Ibushi appears to have mended fences with these same individuals, which suggests that Ibushi may be open to a return.
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