8 Amazing Wrestlers That Flopped In AEW
4. Kota Ibushi
AEW spawned from a very popular period of American independent wrestling. Part of that success came from embracing Japan's incredible wrestling culture and performers, with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks forming their reputation in NJPW, and the likes of Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes' appearances in Japan making events like Wrestle Kingdom more global than ever before.
Among the popular performers of that era was Kota Ibushi. For whatever reason, he was not part of the early years of Tony Khan's company. Eventually though, Kota made his first appearance on AEW TV as part of 2023's Blood & Guts, forming The Golden Elite to take on the Blackpool Combat Club.
Injuries play a massive part in why Kota Ibushi would be considered a flop for AEW, but the booking and presentation of him were also a large part of the problem. AEW is occasionally guilty of thinking that everyone who watches their programming has a wealth of wrestling knowledge, and they've never really done anything to explain Ibushi's brilliance or his incredible long-term story with Kenny Omega. Kota's gut-wrenching injury against Josh Alexander on the October 8th, 2025 episode of Collision looks set to keep him on the sidelines for a prolonged period, as his AEW woes continue.