Kota Ibushi Wrestles At NXT TV Tapings

Kota Ibushi is one of the top stars in WWE's ongoing Cruiserweight Classic tournament, but the former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion may have upped his involvement with the company - at Wednesday evening's NXT tapings, "The Golden Star" was in action, beating former Tag Team Champion Buddy Murphy in a singles match.

Ibushi's contractual status is currently unknown. The star has mentioned in recent interviews that WWE did offer him a full-time contract, but he turned it down because he has "unfinished business" in Japan. With that statement, Ibushi seems to have been referring to a singles match with former partner Kenny Omega, who is now one of the top heels in New Japan. Nevertheless, it's still expected that Ibushi will sign with WWE eventually.

Ibushi dominated New Japan's Junior Heavyweight division for years before stepping up to the heavyweight ranks in 2014. After a failed challenge at Shinsuke Nakamura's Intercontinental Title at Wrestle Kingdom 9 (a bout that was voted Wrestling Observer's Match of the Year for 2015), many believed that Ibushi would be the company's next breakout star.

In October of 2015, things went awry when he suffered a neck injury that put him on the shelf for several months. In February of this year, he announced that he was leaving New Japan and DDT, with whom he held joint contracts, in order to start the Ibushi Pro Wrestling Research Institute. There have been no further announcements about the Institute, and he's worked matches sparingly since.