Kota Ibushi Reportedly Not Giving Up On In-Ring Return
AEW’s Kota Ibushi is still eyeing up a return to the ring.
During the October 8, 2025 taping of AEW Collision, Kota Ibushi suffered a legitimate leg injury during his match with Josh Alexander and was stretchered from the arena. The following week, Ibushi revealed that he had suffered a broken femur and could be sidelined for up to two years.
Providing an update on his status in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer revealed that Kota Ibushi has not given up hope of making an in-ring return, although such a comeback is not expected anytime soon.
“From what I understand, he has not given up hope for a return but it would not be any time soon. In January he talked bout being back by the end of the year, but that seems premature. But he is still looking at returning. Those close to him say that they believe he has every intention of trying to return but he worries that his balance, lateral movement, change of direction etc, might not come back. He has not given up on a comeback but did want to temper expectations it would be coming soon.”
-Dave Meltzer
Whilst he currently finds himself sidelined through injury, Kota Ibushi is said to be focusing his efforts on building and opening a new wrestling venue in Tokyo to help fill the void left by the closure of Shinjuku FACE at the end of September.
Kota Ibushi has acknowledged the significant costs associated with such a project but believes a venue of that size is needed in Tokyo and has stated that he wants to give back to the professional wrestling industry through the endeavour.
Since signing with All Elite Wrestling in late 2023, Kota Ibushi’s tenure with the promotion has unfortunately been hampered by injuries. He spent almost two years away from television before returning in June last year after suffering multiple ankle injuries during a match with Naomichi Marufuji in January 2024, and is now facing another lengthy spell on the sidelines following his broken femur.
You can find more on the latest AEW news here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Kota Ibushi’s injury status as soon as we hear more, and we continue to wish him all the best in his recovery.
