NNew Japan Pro Wrestling

What is your favorite Kota Ibushi match?

  • October 23, 2025


For me, the match with Okada in WK. God bless that banger

by Due-Operation4269

45 comments

  3. Kota Ibushi vs Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom

    That shit was like a religious experience.

    I still remember the almost euphoric high I was feeling afterwards. Truly one of those moments that perfectly encapsulates WHY you like what you like.

    They just jelled in every way, and obviously this was peak Okada who could carry any Tokyo Dome match to a MOTY contender.

    Honourable Mention: vs Jay White in the G1 Final. New Japan do a lot of shades of grey booking with characters. Even Tanahashi knows when to heel it up. But Kota vs Jay was one of those rare pure babyface vs pure heel matches that wrestling foundations are built on.

  4. Fuck, theres a lot.

    WrestleKingdom 13 vs Ospreay

    WrestleKingdom 14 vs Okada

    WrestleKingdom 15 vs Naito/White

    WrestleKingdom 9 vs Nakamura

    All matches vs Naito, ZSJ, Ishii, Tanahashi, Shingo, AJ

    G1 28 vs Omega

    G1 29 Finals vs White

    G1 30 vs Taichi

    G1 30 finals vs SANADA

    There’s probably more but those are what come to mind.

  7. A top 5:

    * vs. Nakamura – Wrestle Kingdom 9
    * vs. Omega – DDT Nippon Budokan Peter Pan 2012
    * vs. HARASHIMA – DDT Max Bump 2015
    * vs. ZSJ – NJPW G1 Climax 2018
    * w/ Mochizuki vs. Hayato & Sawa – Indy Summit 2006 (I might be biased on this one but these were four of my favorites in one match)

  11. Everything in this thread but I’ll add Golden Lovers v Young Bucks Strong style evolve and v Naito G1 27 N1

  12. The G1 Finals match with Tanahashi. Tanahashi’s Iron Will marching through Devil Trigger Ibushi’s strikes was such an epic moment.

    I’ve said it multiple times, that’s the best match to come out of this era of NJPW.

  13. Tanahashi in the 2018 G1 Climax Finals. It probably still has my favorite spot in a match (their slap exchange and Tanahashi gradually pushing Murder Ibushi to the corner), and it’s just one of the absolute best pro-wrestling matches to me (added layers with Omega and Shibata at ringside, loved the story between Tanahashi and Ibushi, loved how it led to Tanahashi’s last world title reign, etc.).

    Other honorable mentions:

    -Okada (WrestleKingdom 14)
    -Jay White (2019 G1 Climax Finals+WrestleKingdom 15)
    -Omega (2018 G1 Climax)
    -Ishii (2018 G1 Climax)

  14. My single favorite moment is the end of WK15 vs. Naito, where after he wins the match he crawls over to Naito and tries to pin him again. He’s so beat up and dazed and desperate that he doesn’t know yet that he won even with his music playing.

  17. Winning the G1 by beating Jay White. That match made me a believer. In both men. So good.

  18. Probably the only match I’ve seen him wrestle live at, vs Naito at G1 Supercard at MSG.

  19. Super hard to narrow that down to one. First to mind is G128 Final with Tana, so we’ll go with that…for today.

  23. For me, it’s forever vs Nakamura WK9
    along with their G1 climax match in 2013

    V Omega G1 climax 28, and their DDT Peter Pan 2012 match

    V Ospreay G1 climax 29

    w/ Marufuji vs KENTA and Taiji Ishimori in NOAH 2007.7.15

    V Tanahashi G1 Climax 28 final

    V Okada WK14

    V Naito G1 climax 27, Dominon 2019, WK15, and MSG (they never had a bad match together)

  29. He should have BECOME GOD. It’s bullshit. God got injured after a 23 day title reign? The fuck is that.

  30. Ibushi vs white g1 finals 19 is probably my favorite match of all time. That match holds such a special place for me

  33. Hard to list just one.

    The first Ibushi vs Nakamura match. The G1 match a year before the more known WK match.

    Ibushi and Omega vs Young Bucks from Long Beach.

    There are a couple of insane Naito vs Ibushi matches that I loved too.

  35. Any time he faced Tetsuya Naito

    Those two men have 0 Limits on what they’ll do to eachother

  41. That G1 match with him and Kenny, but I also really enjoyed the like 48 min match he had with Jay White at WK or the Okada one.

  43. Vs Jay White at Wrestle Kingdom.

    But can we talk about how good the belt looks there. I don’t mind the new design, it’s unique but kinda looks like a toy. But that design is so beautiful.

  44. The WK match vs Jay, which is also Jay’s best match (though the Full Gear match with Hangman is damn close)

    honorable mention to Golden Lovers vs Naito y Hiromu at CEOxNJPW because I saw that live.

  45. I think Jay WK15. I don’t think anyone sold Murder Ibushi as well as Jay White, and if anyone was foolish enough to not have Jay on their list of top talents in the world at that point, putting on the longest WK main event in history and his absolutely epic meltdown press conference that followed woke them up.

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