Now that he has won the G1 Climax, Kota Ibushi believes it is time to proclaim a new era for pro wrestling.
Speaking to New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ibushi said he now feels comfortable talking about this time in pro wrestling being a new era now that he has won the tournament. Ibushi added that the previous era, led by Hiroshi Tanahashi and others, has gone and past and that Ibushi has earned the right to say that a new age in pro wrestling has begun.
"I think it?s more a case of a new era for pro wrestling at large, including me. Wrestling has really changed this year. I think it?s in the middle of a big change right now. What Tanahashi led, that wasn?t just him, but everybody around him expressing themselves. This era now; winning the G1 put me in the position where I was able to declare it as a thing. I?ve felt for a while that we?re entering a new era, but it wasn?t until I won the G1 that I was in a position to say as such. Right. There was something I wanted to say for a long time, but winning the G1 finally meant I had the right to say it," Ibushi said.
With the G1 Climax won, Ibushi now has earned the right to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight title at Wrestle Kingdom 14 next January at the Tokyo Dome. But before heading to the Tokyo Dome, he must defend his G1 Climax briefcase against KENTA at NJPW Destruction in Kagoshima on September 16.
The full interview can be read at this link.