Ibushi expresses his vision for his wrestling school.
At the end of January 2023, Kota Ibushi’s contract with New Japan Pro-Wrestling expired and he opted to become a free agent.
Before NJPW commented on Ibushi’s exit, he had been announced for Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 9 and Joey Janela’s Spring Break over GCW’s The Collective weekend.
There’s an interview with Ibushi in the newest Weekly Pro-Wrestling magazine (via BBM Japan) and he further opened up about the ideas he has for a wrestling school. Ibushi wants to do six month camps and would provide meals and a place for trainees to stay. He would also like to broadcast his training sessions on YouTube.
To be honest, I have a limited life as a pro wrestler, and I am now 40 years old, which is also a milestone for me. I want to train pro-wrestlers. A professional wrestling school. It would be for a period of six months, and I would provide a dormitory and all meals. I’m thinking about 800,000 yen for six months of tuition, which would be about 130,000 or 140,000 yen per month. If I have a place to live, food to eat, and an environment where I can learn the wrestling I love, then in my opinion, it is not that expensive. I would also like to broadcast my training process on YouTube.
Later in the interview, he added that although he’ll be heading over to the U.S. to wrestle, he wants Japan to be his main battlefield.
I want to make Japan my main battlefield.
Ibushi has not wrestled since the G1 Climax final in 2021 during which he suffered his shoulder injury.
