10 Things You Didn't Know About Kota Ibushi
7. His 2015 Bout With Shinsuke Nakamura Was Voted Match Of The Year
By Wrestle Kingdom 9, Kota Ibushi was done with the Junior Heavyweight Championship. At Power Struggle 2014, Shinsuke Nakamura successfully defended the Intercontinental Title against Katsuyori Shibata. Following his win, Ibushi ran out and planted "The King of Strong Style" with a German suplex, making the next move for both men clear.
On January 4, 2015, Nakamura and Ibushi collided in Wrestle Kingdom 9's semi-main event. What followed was 20 minutes of the most innovative and crisp wrestling action most fans had ever seen. Nakamura was on the offense, with hard kicks and a breathtaking spinning takedown into a cross armbreaker, but Ibushi fired back with a double foot stomp as Nakamura tried to slide underneath his legs and an incredible rope-assisted German suplex from the apron to the inside of the ring.
In the end, Nakamura won, but both men were victors due to the plaudits the match received. It garnered a rare five-star rating from Dave Meltzer (the first match in either man's career to do so), and was voted Match of the Year by The Wrestling Observer Newsletter's readers.