Kota Ibushi Comments On AEW Status

Despite being ‘All Elite’ since mid-2023, Kota Ibushi has only wrestled four times for All Elite Wrestling, with his last AEW match coming 13 months ago.

The former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion recently returned to the ring at a Marvelous event in Tokyo’s Korakuen hall - Ibushi’s sixth match in 2024 - and during an interview with Tokyo Sports, Ibushi commented about how long he potentially has left in his pro-wrestling career:

"I'm at the end of my legs, and it could end at any time. I wanted to preserve the time I had left before I couldn't do it anymore, and that's why I was allowed to participate today. I'm really on the edge, but I want to finish contributing to the world of pro wrestling, so I'm participating in various events," said Ibushi.

As to where AEW fits in to his future, Ibushi hinted he would return in 2025:

“AEW will be getting visas again next year, but I thought the Japanese wrestling industry was somehow going down, and I wanted to raise it up. That's why we are doing everything for free this time,” Ibushi said.

Ibushi has suffered myriad injury woes over the past several years, having only wrestled on 13 occasions since October 2021. Whether Ibushi does indeed return to AEW TV or not appears like it could be a ‘wait and see’ scenario.