Welcome to another eWrestlingNews Question of the Day!

Kota Ibushi returned to AEW on this past episode of Collision, and he’s set to step in the ring tonight on Dynamite for the first time since November 2023 due to injuries keeping him out of action.

All in all, he hasn’t done too much in AEW, but he’s always been a great fit for the company’s aesthetic, and with friends like Kenny Omega in powerful positions, there has always been great potential for success.

My question for you today is “What do you think Kota Ibushi’s ceiling is in All Elite Wrestling? Will he win a world title, or any gold at all, or is he lower on the totem pole to you?”

Remember to answer with your response in the comments below.

As far as my answer…

We don’t know how healthy he is, since we’re never going to know how he feels and what his doctors say and all that information as fans. But just in general, no matter who you are, if you’ve had as many injuries, I would be skeptical as a booker. For example, I don’t think WWE would be smart to bank on giving the world title to CM Punk with a year-long reign in mind, as he might not be able to withstand that kind of schedule.

This would give me pause to rely on Ibushi, too. I would be skeptical that if I put the world title on him, he’d go down a few months into it with my luck, and I’d be forced to scramble. But I would also value what time he has left in his career, and I wouldn’t want to saddle him in some spot lower than his popularity and skill level just to compensate for that.

Essentially, Ibushi shouldn’t be on equal footing to a Blake Christian or Lee Johnson on the lower end, but I do think he’s below the top rung on the ladder. Guys like Will Ospreay, Swerve Strickland, “Hangman” Adam Page, MJF and such are much more trustworthy to hold down the main event scene with Ibushi hovering in that range that Mark Briscoe and Adam Cole seem to be in.

To that end, I would entertain the idea of putting one of the midcard titles on him, but I’d bank more on the TNT Championship and not this unified International/Continental Championship, which seems like it will be treated like a step between the TNT and World Championships.

In fact, having him come out and go after Kazuchika Okada now, before All In, was a mistake, I think. Now, I’m just assuming Okada wins in Texas and Ibushi is being set up as his next challenger. Of course, that could purposely be the misdirect, and just a means for Kenny Omega to win with Ibushi’s help, but I would think that would’ve been saved for the pay-per-view instead.

That makes me think Okada’s going to retain, and Ibushi is better off as a challenger for a good program than someone to put the belt on, at least not until he’s wrestled for 6-9 months and not been injured. At that point, if he’s proven he can stay healthy, I’d consider giving him some gold.

Overall, I think by the time he hangs up his boots, he’ll have held at least one championship in AEW, even if it’s the tag or trios titles, or something from Ring of Honor. But I don’t think he’s going to be a world champion, as we’ve seen some bigger names come in who haven’t won that belt yet, either.

What do you think? Drop your thoughts below!