Brief Statement From The Young Bucks On Kota Ibushi's Free Agency

All eyes are now on the inaugural IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Kota Ibushi, after it was announced that his contract with NJPW has expired. It's since been confirmed that Ibushi will be a part of GCW's "The Collective" during WrestleMania weekend, but several other companies are reportedly interested in doing business with Ibushi as well.

Naturally, a couple of stars from AEW — Matt and Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks — are intrigued by what they could produce in the ring with Ibushi. But perhaps more importantly, they consider Ibushi a great friend. "I spoke to the Young Bucks about Kota Ibushi: 'Love him. Miss him. He kept us in the loop the night of Tokyo Dome about Kenny. Kept sending us little updates. Goes without question we'd love to have him around, or work with him. I think he has the ability to do whatever he wants," Dark Puroresu Flowsion posted on Twitter. Ibushi has been on the shelf since October 2021, after dislocating his shoulder during the G1 Climax 31 finals against current IWGP world champ Kazuchika Okada.

Controversy occurred following Ibushi's injury, after the 40-year-old veteran claimed he was pressured into returning from injury early by NJPW. Furthermore, Ibushi said he had to endure "sexually harassing bosses" and "unreasonable power harassment" during his NJPW run. The company punished Ibushi with a ten percent pay reduction for three months. Once everything had blown over, fans thought it was only a matter of time before Ibushi came back to chase the IWGP heavyweight gold once more, but that will obviously not be the case now.