Kota Ibushi has officially signed a contract with AEW.
The Japanese star’s contract with NJPW expired in February and he was immediately linked with both WWE and AEW. In the end, Ibushi chose to link up with AEW, making his debut on the July 19th episode of Dynamite where he teamed with The Elite to defeat the Blackpool Combat Club inside Blood and Guts.
Since then, he’s continued to make occasional appearances, although his contract status was unknown. That is until now.
During an interview on his YouTube channel, Ibushi confirmed he’d “signed the contract” with AEW. When asked whether he would be part of the AEW roster, the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion said that while he’s got an agreement with the Tony Khan-led promotion, he will remain in Japan.
“In a manner of speaking, yes. But during the discussion, they asked me how we could come to a deal. I said unless it has this and this and this, unless it has these conditions, I don’t want to sign a contract. I said if we’re just going to sign a contract, let’s do it today. That was the hardcore match, double ring, cage [Blood & Guts], on that day. That’s the day we signed the contract. We had a verbal agreement.
It has to be this way for me. I’m based in Japan, and I will travel for the matches. Basically, I’m in Japan, I work in Japan. I will be active. I’ll be free to do that do. There are other things that make the contract even more flexible. Like if I could appear for another promotion. That kind of thing is normal, like can I compete in another match? We talked about all those kinds of details. I still got the OK.
Tell us anything you want. We’ll listen to whatever you say. Reduce the number of matches a little bit more. Because if I go too many times, my activities in Japan will be limited, so reduce the number of matches a little bit more. When I said that, that is OK too. It’s the best deal,”
How Close Did WWE Get To Signing Kota Ibushi?
While AEW always seemed like the frontrunner for his signature, it was reported back in February that Kota Ibushi was open to joining WWE. The report stated that Ibushi would sign with WWE if he was able to work at the Performance Center alongside wrestling in high-profile matches.
H/t to Fightful