NJPW News: Kota Ibushi could miss this year's G1 Climax due to a very unusual reason

What’s the story?

During the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer has confirmed the news that top NJPW prospect and one of the best overall wrestlers in Professional Wrestling today, Kota Ibushi may miss this year’s NJPW G1 Climax due to a very unorthodox reason.

In case you didn’t know…

The G1 (Grade One) Climax is a tournament that is being held by New Japan Pro Wrestling every year. The tournament is usually held in a round-robin format with winners from two blocks facing off against each in the finals, the winner of the final eventually goes on to main event NJPW’s biggest event of the year, that is, the Wrestle Kingdom show at the Tokyo Dome.

The heart of the matter

After putting up an impressive performance at last year’s G1 Climax, former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Kota Ibushi could be in jeopardy of missing this year’s G1 tournament due to him being banned from the Budokan Hall. The Budokan Hall, which is situated in Nippon, will host the final three nights of the 2018 G1 Climax.

Ibushi was apparently banned from the Budokan Hall, following a match against his former Golden Lovers tag team partner Kenny Omega at DDT Budokan, 2012, a show which also drew 10,124 fans in attendance. The actual reason why Ibushi is banned from wrestling in the arena is due to him performing a moonsault on his opponent Kenny Omega from the balcony of the arena. Ibushi was seemingly told by the DDT management not to perform the moonsault, but the former New Japan Cup winner performed the move anyway and was eventually banned from the Budokan Hall by the management.

Additionally, Dave Meltzer also claimed that he had asked around if the ban is still in effect and was told it all should be worked out, and Ibushi might be able to compete at this year’s G1 Climax tournament.

What’s next?

The G1 Climax tournament usually takes place from the month of July to August, however, the final lineups for this year’s tournament haven’t been released yet and only time will tell if Kota Ibushi will compete at this year’s G1 Climax or not.

Author’s Take

I think the NJPW management will eventually sort everything out with the Budokan Hall management and we will get to witness Kota Ibushi wrestle at this year’s G1 Climax tournament. There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that Ibushi is one of the best performers in the world today and his presence will make the G1 a lot more exciting.