(Almost) 5-Star Match Reviews: Kota Ibushi vs. TJ Perkins – WWE Cruiserweight Classic

Remember when Kota Ibushi was actually a big deal?

Time isn’t kind to most wrestlers, and that’s definitely the case for Ibushi. Once upon a time he was actually a huge star both in Japan and internationally. Not only was he ripped to shreds and actually looked the part of a menacing fighter that could cave your chest in with a single roundhouse kick, but he backed it up with stellar matches that were, more often than not, contenders for MOTY.

Sadly Ibushi’s recent past is filled with disappointment. His last appearance for New Japan, the promotion he called home for years, saw him suffer a devastating shoulder injury that sidelined him for well over a year. While he was off, the relationship between Ibushi and NJPW fell apart due to some strange posts online and allegations of wrongdoing. Ibushi finally made his return to a major wrestling promotion, this time for AEW, as part of a multi-man Blood and Guts match.

Needless to say, the man that entered last in that match was a far cry from Kota Ibushi at his peak. He looked somewhat out of shape in comparison to before his 2021 injury and he didn’t move with the same speed and fluidity. This is to be expected; all wrestlers slow down with age. But with Ibushi, a man who made his career defying gravity and dishing out excessive punishment, something seemed off.

While it’s a bit early to say how Ibushi’s run in North America will go, it’s important to look back at some of his previous work to see what he should be compared to. It’s for that reason that we revisit one of Ibushi’s few earlier matches in North America and one of the rare instances he wrestled for WWE to see what he was once capable of.

Previously I was writing for a site called TJR Wrestling and now this series is coming to Blog of Doom. For now you can check out the series in its entirety here.

The story

Kota Ibushi and TJ Perkins were among 32 participants signed for a special one-time tournament to crown a new WWE Cruiserweight Champion. Smaller wrestlers had long suffered from questionable booking and presentation in WWE, especially under Vince McMahon who was noted for his preference for larger wrestlers. But the Cruiserweight Classic wasn’t a Vince-managed project; it was Triple H’s, and HHH had a different mentality when it came to wrestlers. He wanted people who could actually perform in the ring regardless of size, and he actually believed that there was a market for smaller wrestlers.

To prove that point, he created a tournament that was open to any free agents from around the world that he could find. Most of these wrestlers came from independent promotions in the US or in larger-sized promotions in the UK or elsewhere. For obvious reasons, no one from ROH or TNA in the States, CMLL or AAA in Mexico, and both AJPW and NOAH in Japan, were signed.

Ibushi was a noteworthy wrestler because he was no longer signed to New Japan at the time. NJPW was considered the #2 promotion in the world at the time (albeit a distant #2) and Ibushi had left that company in November 2015. So when he entered this tournament he was a free agent, which made him a favorite to win the entire tournament. Ibushi’s tournament trajectory saw him beat Da Mack in the first round, Cedric Alexander in the second round, and then Brian Kendrick in the third round. The latter two matches got him the most praise; the first for the story and how much fans were invested in both wrestlers; and the second because Kota Ibushi took a goddamn Burning Hammer and kicked out at two.

TJP, meanwhile, had wrestled all over the world and was signed with smaller indy promotion EVOLVE at the time of his qualification. Unlike Ibushi, all of TJP’s tournament matches had a more cohesive theme: he won each match via submission, kneebar to be specific. That made him a particularly tough opponent for Ibushi who loved to kick and dive. Without the use of one knee, how could he do his usual death-defying shtick? Had someone finally found an answer for the odds-on favorite to win the whole tournament?

The match

This match originally aired on September 14, 2016. It was rated ****1/2 out of five by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer.

They shake hands and begin the match with some quick hold exchanges. Ibushi lands one calf kick but TJP blocks a second. The crowd chants both wrestlers’ names one after the other as they switch to chain grappling. TJP gets a clean break and then catches Ibushi’s leg on another kick and takes him down. Ibushi escapes a kneebar leading to a stalemate. More lightning-quick chain grappling leads to a headscissor takedown into a neck lock on the mat. They continue their back-and-forth until Ibushi hits a jump kick as TJP comes off the ropes. Ibushi sends TJP into the ropes but TJP hangs on to taunt Ibushi and then sidesteps to send him to the floor. TJP charges for a big dive but Ibushi hits first with a big springboard dropkick out of nowhere. Ibushi goes for his triangle moonsault but TJP cuts him off before he can dive and he goes falling to the floor.

Ibushi barely makes it into the ring at the count of 9.5, at which point TJP lands a snapmare/dropkick combo for a two-count. Ibushi fires up and drops TJP with a roundhouse kick, but a second one gets countered with a dragon screw leg whip. TJP cranks one of Ibushi’s ankles and applies a sort of prison lock. Ibushi fights out and lands another standing dropkick, followed by a standing Frankensteiner to block another charge. TJP falls to ringside and Ibushi follows with his Golden Triangle moonsault which gets a huge pop from the already-excited crowd.

Ibushi tosses TJP into the ring and covers for a two-count. TJP blocks a corner charge but runs into a snap powerslam. Ibushi goes for a second-rope moonsault to complete the combo but TJP gets his knees up and locks in another kneebar. Ibushi gets a ropebreak and blocks some more corner charges. TJP fires back with strikes and goes for a fireman’s carry but Ibushi escapes and lands a bridging German suplex for a two-count. Ibushi follows with a barrage of roundhouse kicks using his good leg and keeps going until the referee makes him back off.

Ibushi goes for an over-the-rope German suplex but TJP elbows out and hits a diving drive-by dropkick. TJP goes to the top rope to capitalize but Ibushi lands a Pélé kick. Ibushi attempts a Last Ride Powerbomb. TJP counters with a sweet Samurai DDT followed by a chickenwing lungblower. He covers Ibushi but only manages a two-count.Ibushi escapes a fireman’s carry and tries another Pélé but this time TJP counters with another kneebar. Ibushi resists long enough to counter into a half nelson suplex attempt but TJP blocks that and tries another fireman’s carry. That’s blocked as well and both men slap the shit out of each other. Both men trade kicks and then Ibushi lands a Last Ride Powerbomb. One, two, TJP survives.

Ibushi misses a Phoenix Splash and then both men trade standing forearms. TJP ducks a roundhouse and lands a fireman’s carry kick and goes for a victory roll but Ibushi blocks it with a Bastard Driver/wheelbarrow piledriver. One, two, TJP survives again. Ibushi hits another roundhouse and attempts another Last Ride. But this time TJP rolls through into another kneebar. He tries countering like before but this time he has no leverage to do so. TJP grapevines the leg and then applies a camel clutch addition. He pulls back with all his might. Ibushi has no choice but to tap out. TJP advances to the finals of the tournament.

Winner after 14:51: TJ Perkins

Review

This was a great sprint of a match. Like Ibushi’s match with Cedric Alexander, this was a quick little cruiserweight sprint that kept in the spirit of the tournament in which it was held. Like that match, this was nonstop action without much downtime. And like that match, Ibushi didn’t sell a damn thing, which is what makes him an unrealistic and at times frustration wrestler to watch. This was especially egregious here because TJP’s finish is a damn leg submission hold that he applied twice before and worked over for a solid chunk of the match, only for Ibushi to ignore that completely so that he can do his typical flips, jumps, sprints, and dives.

And yet, even with that glaring issue, this match was tremendous otherwise. The grappling and transitions were smooth as silk. Both guys made the most out of the time they were given and never went that far into overkill territory. Control shifted back and forth many times to the point that it was impossible to tell who had the upper hand and who was going to win.

Even with Ibushi being an unlikely winner due to not signing with WWE, that fact didn’t loom overhead or otherwise cloud this match because he beat the crap out of TJP so much he looked to be within seconds of winning several times. Even though Ibushi was the flashier performer here, TJP was the better wrestler because he actually applied a strategy and stuck with it despite Ibushi’s almost stubborn approach to selling.

In the end, strategy proved to be better than wanton recklessness. TJP went back to the same well and found plenty of water still in it. Ibushi couldn’t find an answer for TJP and his myriad of high-risk moves ended up doing as much damage to him as they did to his opponent. It might not have been the most bedazzling of matches, but cruiserweight wrestling isn’t about high-flying alone. As TJP showed, being focused and telling a story can be just as exciting as all that high-flying craziness, regardless of how big or small the wrestlers doing it are.

Final rating: ****

This isn’t the best Kota Ibushi match out there but it’s a fun little introduction for anyone that hasn’t seen him wrestle. It also highlights just how far he has fallen from his peak. Ibushi was on fire from 2013 to mid-2018, and at one point was having monumental epics with pretty much everyone. But come 2019 he sort of faded into the background and became somewhat directionless. Then he got injured and since then it has felt like he hasn’t been living up to his sky-high expectations.

It’s a shame: Ibushi was once an exciting wrestler, albeit a crazy one that seemed to have no regard for himself and lacked any willingness to say no to anything. Many of his earlier matches, including this one – which amounted to more or less a sampler platter of what he could do – were so much better than what he has done in more recent years.

This match was only fifteen minutes long and with it being under WWE’s umbrella it was clear that Ibushi was moving at half speed and with plenty of restrictions. Yet considering how well he performed under those parameters, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many people still regard his pre-COVID matches as some of the best in modern times.

Thanks for reading. You can email me with any questions or comments, and be sure to check out my 5-Star and Almost 5-Star Match Reviews series here.