"Just retire seriously," "I wish for the absolute best" - Fans react after popular AEW star gives an unfortunate health update

A popular AEW star just provided a concerning health update. Fans have now reacted to the news.

Kota Ibushi is one of the most well-known Japanese wrestlers in the world. He has been a wrestling stalwart for the past decade. Ibushi has worked for several promotions over the years including WWE and AEW. However, his career came to a screeching halt earlier this year.

Ibushi competed at Pro Wrestling NOAH The New Year 2024 against Naomichi Marufuji. During the match, Ibushi suffered a right tibiofibular ligament tear and a right ankle lateral ligament complex injury. Following this incident, he underwent surgery and has been recovering ever since.

During a recent interview with Tokyo Sports, Kota Ibushi provided an update on his health saying that he was at his absolute limit physically but wanted to contribute as much as he could to professional wrestling before his career finally ended. He also spoke of trying to uplift the sport in Japan, where it appears to be on a downward slide.

“My legs are at their limit and it could end at any time. I wanted to keep going before I can't do it anymore. I'm really at the limit, but I want to contribute to the world of professional wrestling before I end my career, so I'm currently appearing in various places. AEW will be issuing visas again from next year, but I feel like the Japanese pro wrestling world is somehow declining, so I want to help lift it up. That's why I'm doing everything for free this time,” he said. [H/T: @DrainBamager on X]

Following the health update from the Japanese star, fans took to social media to react to it. While many urged the veteran to retire owing to his health, some fans wished him the best.

You can check out some of the reactions below:

Fan reactions [Image source: Screengrab of fan comments on @DrainBamager's X post]

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The reason why AEW star Kota Ibushi severed his ties with DDT Pro Wrestling

Kota Ibushi got his start in DDT Pro Wrestling where he made his debut in 2004. Since then, he held numerous championships for the company and was one of their top stars. However, he suddenly left DDTPW in 2016 and went on to wrestle for several other promotions. However, it appears all is not well between the AEW star and his former employer.

According to reports from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Kota Ibushi left DDT Pro Wrestling due to some disrespectful comments made by some of the younger talents. They considered the Golden Star's presence to be too polarizing and were asked to apologize but refused to do so which caused Ibushi to leave the promotion. It was also reported that he won't be making any appearances for them in the future and his matches have also been removed from their streaming platform.

It will be interesting to see when Kota Ibushi will make his next appearance for AEW.