ROH/NJPW News: Kota Ibushi confirmed for Supercard of Honor XII

What’s the story?

Earlier in the week, Ring of Honor Wrestling confirmed on the social media that top NJPW superstar and one half of the Golden Lovers, Kota Ibushi, will be making his return to the promotion for the first time in almost a decade as part of the company’s Supercard of Honor XII pay-per-view.

In case you didn’t know…

Ibushi first competed in ROH back in January of 2008 when he made his debut against former ROH World Champion Davey Richards, in a losing effort.

During his first and only stint with ROH so far, Ibushi would also wrestle against the likes of Claudio Castagnoli (Now known as Cesaro in WWE) and El Generico (Now known as Sami Zayn in WWE).

In the very same tour with ROH, Ibushi would also team up with former two-time ROH World Champion Austin Aries, in a losing effort against The Briscoe Brothers.

The heart of the matter

Following the confirmation of fellow NJPW stars Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kenny Omega, and Tomohiro Ishii, former three-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Ibushi has now also been added and confirmed to appear at this year’s ROH: Supercard of Honor at the Lakefront Arena during WrestleMania 34 weekend.

Kota Ibushi comes to NOLA for #ROHSupercard and #ROHFestival on Sat Apr 7! One ticket gets you in to both and are going fast! https://t.co/TrbQfRN5ud pic.twitter.com/OaKn5nEIw9

— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) March 11, 2018

Ibushi, who has been heavily involved in the intense feud between Cody Rhodes and Omega in the past few months, is scheduled to square off against another one of Bullet Club’s own and ROH’s 2017 Breakout Star of The Year, Hangman Page.

What’s next?

Ibushi is currently competing in the on-going New Japan Cup 2018, where he has already earned a first-round victory over Yoshi-Hashi and is currently slated to go toe-to-toe with the submission specialist and Suzuki Gun member, Zack Sabre Jr. in the second round of the tournament.

Meanwhile, ROH: Supercard of Honor will take place on the 7th of April at the Lakefront Arena and several matches have already been announced for the show. Below is the updated card for the PPV:

#1. Kenny Omega vs Cody Rhodes

#2. Dalton Castle vs Marty Scurll- (ROH World Championship)

#3. Kelly Klein or Mayu Iwatani vs. Sumie Sakai or Tenille Dashwood- (Inaugural Women of Honor Championship)

#4. Hangman Page vs. Kota Ibushi

#5. SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky) (c) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) and Flip Gordon- (Ladder Match for the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship)

#6. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Punishment Martinez

#7. Kenny King (c) vs. Silas Young – (Last Man Standing match for the ROH World Television Championship)

Author’s Take

Ibushi’s addition to Supercard of Honor is definitely a huge boost for ROH and personally, I feel Hangman Page vs Ibushi is going to steal the show.