Kota Ibushi is All Elite.
AEW's Tony Khan announced on social media on Wednesday that Ibushi has officially joined the company's roster following his participation in the Like a Dragon Gaiden street fight on Dynamite.
Khan posted:
The Golden Star won the @SEGA LIKE A DRAGON GAIDEN STREET FIGHT tonight on #AEWDynamite on TBS, and now it's official: @ibushi_kota is ALL ELITE!
Ibushi made his AEW debut in July of this year in the annual Blood & Guts match as the partner of Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, and The Young Bucks against Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli, Konosuke Takeshita, and PAC. He returned to the company for matches at All In, WrestleDream, and on this week's Dynamite.
Ibushi announced in October that he had joined AEW but was still allowed to work with other companies, but the promotion had yet to make an official announcement as to his status.
Ibushi made his return to the ring in 2023 after over a year off due to a serious shoulder injury. After several years as a top-level performer for the promotion, Ibushi's NJPW departure was announced at the end of January 2023.
He held the IWGP World Heavyweight, IWGP Heavyweight, IWGP Intercontinental, IWGP Tag Team, NEVER Openweight, IWGP Junior Heavyweight and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles with the company. He also won the G1 Climax tournament twice, and appeared in the G1 finals in four consecutive years from 2018-2021.
Ibushi was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2022.