Kota Ibushi has stoked expectations of an AEW appearance after appearing to trash Konosuke Takeshita.
Ibushi told Dark Puroresu Flowsion, “I never thought he was that great. He is a made imitation of me. Also, he never respected me.”
The comment, seemingly in character, came after Takeshita helped the Blackpool Combat Club defeat The Elite at Sunday’s AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
In reality, Ibushi and Takeshita are good friends from their time together in DDT, as Ibushi himself confirmed in February.
After Double or Nothing went off air on Sunday night, a defeated Kenny Omega took to the mic to address the crowd. He commented, “I still have at least one or two really good friends that can even up the odds. You guys stay tuned.”
Omega and Ibushi have a long history as tag team The Golden Lovers, going back to 2009.