Kota Ibushi announced over the weekend that he is now a freelance wrestler and will not be re-signing his dual deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling and the Dramatic Dream Team promotions in Japan and will instead be starting something called “Ibushi Pro Wrestling Kenkyuoju”.

Ibushi also noted that he has been cleared to compete and that he will return to the ring on March 21st for the DDT promotion, however he did not indicate further as to whether or not he will continue to work for New Japan Pro Wrestling as a freelance competitor but did state that the reason for him not re-signing his dual deal with both promotions was due to the workload of working for both companies.

New Japan Pro Wrestling Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi said that the door is open for Ibushi to return to the company when the time is right for both parties.