Kota Ibushi expresses frustration with NJPW management on social media

Kota Ibushi has taken to social media regarding his recent frustrations with NJPW management.

Ibushi has been writing on Twitter in the last day expressing his frustration with NJPW management, including being upset that he felt he was being rushed back too early by NJPW in December, when he felt he was not ready to return from his shoulder injury suffered in October. At one point, he showed text messages from someone named Kikuchi. Voices of Wrestling is reporting via their Patreon that Kikuchi is a person from NJPW’s talent relations department who threatened to end Ibushi’s contract with NJPW due to an appearance at a recent Just Tap Out show on March 4 that was not approved by Kikuchi.

VOW is additonally reporting that Ibushi told the NJPW office that he was ready for the New Japan Cup after originally not being ready for Wrestle Kingdom 16. Ibushi was scheduled to win the tournament, but was pulled from the event by Kikuchi on the advice of a doctor for what VOW describes as ‘minor concern’.

“There is more than smoke to the fire,” Dave Meltzer wrote regarding Ibushi’s frustrations with management. “Ibushi has problems with upper management that are significant. Gedo…is trying to smooth them out, but it’s not settled.”

Ibushi has been out of action with a shoulder injury since last October while wrestling Kazuchika Okada in the finals of the G1 Climax tournament. The match was stopped and Okada was declared the winner. He was later announced as returning for the NJPW Cup, with his first match scheduled to be against Great-O-Khan. but was pulled prior to the tournament.