wrestling / News

Kenny Omega on Kota Ibushi Becoming World Champion, What Advice He Would Offer Him

April 1, 2021 | Posted by Jeffrey Harris
The Golden Lovers kenny omega kota ibushi NJPW Image Credit: NJPW

Sports Illustrated published an article this week on Kota Ibushi’s long road to becoming champion. After unifying the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles, Ibushi was later declared the inaugural IWGP World Heavyweight champion. The article also features comments by AEW World champion Kenny Omega, who discussed Kota Ibushi becoming IWGP World Heavyweight champion. Below are some highlights.

Kenny Omega on the expectations as champion: “For me, I learned there are three places of expectations as champion. There is the expectation of what the fans want from you, there is the expectation of what you want for yourself, and then there is the expectation of what the company wants you to be. I always found that, when I was wrestling for myself, I was able to take things to a certain point. When I was wrestling for the company, I barely made any headway at all. I lost myself. I never found out who I was. It wasn’t until I tuned into what it was the fans were looking for—there is always something the fans are left wanting. If you can satisfy the hunger that hasn’t been satiated by the fans, and give them what they hunger for, or do it better than the person before you, that’s where you find your most success. That’s where you’ll find the passion, and then you can project that in your own performances.”

Omega on advice he’d offer to Kota Ibushi: “I don’t mean this in an offensive way, but what I would say to Ibushi is, he’s done a great job of delivering everything that the company has asked him to be. He became, on the exterior, everything that they’d asked him, everything they’d wanted him to be from the beginning, everything that [Hiroshi] Tanahashi wanted him to be. I think that, if he wants to ascend to another level, he has to leave that behind and become the person he was destined to become. Company man Ibushi is not what makes him special, and that’s not the reason he’s champion.”

Kota Ibushi on his goal for wrestling: “The possibilities are limitless with pro wrestling. I always talk about broadening the horizons of pro wrestling. There’s no other form, no other sport that lets us fight so freely. I’ve gained a lot of courage, and achieved a lot of dreams with pro wrestling, and my goal from here on out is to bring pro wrestling to as many people as possible.”

AJ Styles on Kota Ibushi: “New Japan was waiting for Ibushi to be part of the team. I could be wrong, but I think they wanted to do something permanently with him years ago. But he was so dedicated to his work for other companies, and he wouldn’t leave them hanging.”