The IWGP Heavyweight Championship was first established in 1987, and ever since then, the Land of the Rising Sun has seen some of the very best in the world hold this belt over the past 35 years. Now with the 73rd champion attempting to shine out of the pack, fresh from walking out of the Tokyo Dome as the standard barrier, Kota Ibushi's first World Championship reign is set to begin, but not without a sliver of turmoil to begin the year of 2021...

Prologue: WrestleKingdom 15 - "Tokyo Dome Fever"

Kota Ibushi is feeling the energy inside the dome, the frail, lifeless body of Tetsuya Naito is seen with his head barely in an up-right position. The cinderella story may all come to a head, a Kamigoye lands on the tip of his opposition's chin! Naito falls backwards to the canvas, clearly not knowing his current surroundings, Ibushi falls to the cover! 1...2...3... Kota Ibushi is the brand new IWGP Heavyweight & IC Champion!

The champion's theme begins to play over the PA System, as the assigned official for this contest hands him both of his newly won belts, but before he has the opportunity to celebrate his recent triumphant victory, he attempts to help up his fallen opponent, only to be pushed aside, as Naito leaves the ring in utter disgust. Following this up by a similar walk of shame that occurred just 3 years prior, however back in the ring, Ibushi lifts both of his straps simultaneously, from the corner of his right eye, he sees SANADA entering the squared circle. Closer-and-closer he gets to the double champion, the only thing left to do was point at each selective title belt, with his intentions clearly being both the Heavyweight & Intercontinental belts, Ibushi declines and states "earn the shot!"

Heading to the backstage area of the Tokyo Dome, Kota Ibushi takes part in a press conference based around the greatest night of his career thus far. He's quickly asked about the clear challenge issued by SANADA just moments ago, he responds by stating that just like everyone else, he will have to earn his shot, and he will get that chance extremely soon, he can guarantee that. Although, for right now he would like to relish in his success, one that may never be replicated. On the other side of things, Naito states there's nothing that can change the result of tonight, but he will be back to obtain what was once his, while it may not be now, step-by-step he'll earn his top place in the company once again.

New Year's Dash!! - January 6th, 2021

Tetsuya Naito & SANADA v. Kota Ibushi & Toa Henare - Tag Team Match

Kota Ibushi comes into this bout with a new-found strut, feinting numerous claps along with the fans in attendance, being the usual fan favorite. He walks down the ramp, with both of his titles draping over his shoulder, sporting what a successful Tokyo Dome victory looks like. Ahead of him though is Toa Henare, a man who has been attempting to break through the NJPW glass ceiling for the past 4 years, but unfortunately to no avail. Tonight is a chance to start the new year off to a good start, once they both enter the ring simultaneously, Henare lifts both of his fists up in the air, while Ibushi does the same, the only difference being his hands aren't empty. The former begins to stretch, ultimately knowing this is truly the most challenging test of his career, however for Ibushi he currently stares forward, awaiting the arrival of...

LOS! INGOBERNABLES! DE! JAPÓN! are seen making their way out from the back, with both Naito & SANADA having such dissimilar nights at WrestleKingdom, a victory here is crucial for El Ingobernable. Tetsuya Naito walks out to some stellar claps, but he decides not to engage, instead marching to the ring without any of the usual gestures falling into place. Upon doing so, out comes SANADA! Making his way out from behind the curtain, The Cold Skull unlike his gracious partner, feels the ovation from the crowd and graciously accepts it, as he eventually meets Naito midway down the entrance ramp, as they push forward into the ring. Once they do so, both teams stare daggers at eachother, eventually moving to their respective corners, where both Tetsuya Naito & Toa Henare decide to begin this contest for their teams.

Once the bell rings, they are off! Both competitors engage in a lock-up, the two attempting for a test of strength, in-which Henare is able to outpower the veteran, pushing his opponent into the nearest corner. Attempting to land a shoulder attack deep into the abdomen area of one Naito, he quickly moves out of the way, quickly followed by an attempted Combinación de Cabrón. The leg sweep was successful, but upon coming back down to his grounded opponent, he found himself caught in a fireman's carry position. With his arms flailing in the air, Naito desperately began to kick his legs repeatedly in the air, but came CRASHING DOWN WITH A SAMOAN DROP! Instead of going for a pinfall attempt, he lifts up his opponent once more, hoping to inflict even more damage, a knife edged chop is turned into a back-and-forth sequence of left and rights.

As each shot to the skull passes by, both competitors begin to stagger, losing their balance as they back into their corners. Upon doing so, they are able to tag in each of their partners, as SANADA & Kota Ibushi rush into the ring and get set to do battle, as The Cold Skull hopes to earn a shot at the world title, he rushes at the opposition. Attempting for a running dropkick, Ibushi ducks under and lands a lower targeted kick to the shin, again-and-again, the kicks only become more forceful, ultimately landing a high kick to send SANADA down to the canvas. However, knowing this couldn't seal the deal, Ibushi began to feel the energy inside the arena, adrenaline rushing throughout his veins as he looked for a standing shooting star press... KNEES UP! Ibushi's ribs hurting now, but before he can even think of aiding to them, SANADA transitions into a Saito Suplex!

Even with him clearly in loads of pain, his aching wouldn't last long, as he crawls over to his corner to let Henare dive into this matchup once more. On the other side of the ring, SANADA decides to do the opposite and take his first crack at this beast, as the two circle around the squared circle, instead of locking horns. The more experienced talent places a couple of strong kicks to the shin of Henare, feeling it all out, but this simply angers him, as he pushes SANADA into the corner just as he did to his partner, but learning from his mistakes before, he slowly makes his way forward. Eventually making it to the corner, he secures the wrists transitioning into a huge throw across the entirety of the ring, SANADA backs up into the corner out of pure shock, not expecting such fiery offense from Henare, the latter simply laughs at the expense of his opponent's reaction.

Pushing forward to the opposite corner is Henare, as he senses this, SANADA begins to use his strength to lift himself up by holding only the ropes. Hoping it wasn't too late, the 231 pounder rushed in for the kill, but his OPPONENT MOVES OUT OF THE WAY, RUSHING OFF THE ROPES, HENARE ATTEMPTS FOR A SPEAR, BUT INSTEAD COMES CRASHNG DOWN WITH A GERMAN SUPLEX! Feeling that things are starting to finally go his way on this evening, SANADA escapes to the apron, calling for his opponent to make his way to a vertical position. Once he does, he proceeded to attempt for a springboard missle dropkick... HENARE EVADES IT WITH A MID-AIR TOA BOTTOM! However, before the thought of a pinfall attempt could be placed in the mind of one Toa Henare, Naito would rush into the ring, landing a running front dropkick! Knowing this couldn't stand, Ibushi decided to rush in aswell, grabbing Naito by his lengthy hair and sending him down to the outside area!

With both of the main players continuing the fight down on the outside, back inside the ring SANADA would take advantage of Henare's grounded position, picking him directly up from the neck, looking to lock-in the Skull End, but instead Henare was able to toss him over his head, giving the chance for him to recuperate a bit. Repositioning himself is SANADA, realizing that he might be in trouble, he rushes towards his opposition, BUT INSTEAD IS STRUCK WITH A RAMPAGE! Almost immediately rushing into the cover, the count had begun...1...2...KICKOUT! A spinning spinebuster approaching, the transitional maneuver is attempted, but SANADA is able to safely escape, EVENTUALLY LANDING A TKO! Feeling the exhaustion course through his veins, he falls right to his bottom, while Henare begins to crawl over to his corner, and proceeds to tag-in Kota Ibushi!

SANADA turns around, and is caught with a huge springboard dropkick!!! With Ibushi finally back in this contest, he would keep up this fiery offense, with a standing shooting star press... NO SANADA MOVES OUT OF THE WAY IN THE NICK OF TIME... AND LANDS ONE OF HIS OWN! Once he looks to finish the deal, SANADA's right arm begins to strangle Ibushi's neck, as he spins him around in a 180
° angle, hoping to set up for the finishing touches, his arms begin to wail in the air, losing consciousness by each second passing. Eventually the clear image of his surroundings become all black, and SANADA pushes Ibushi's lifeless corpse to the canvas, and proceeds to head to the top rope for a MOONSAULT PRESS... HE SOARS THROUGH THE AIR AND IT CONNECTS! HE QUICKLY TRANSITIONS INTO THE COVER UPON THE IMPACT...1...2...3... SANADA HAS PINNED BOTH THE IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT & INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION!

SANADA & Tetsuya Naito def. Kota Ibushi & Toa Henare (17:25)

New Beginning In Nagoya - January 30th, 2021

Kota Ibushi (c) v. SANADA - IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Championship Match

A real confident look comes across SANADA's face as he marches his way out from the back, his eyes glooming from utter confidence, knowing this could truly be his night, as he looks to obtain his first-ever singles championship in NJPW. Rolling into the ring, SANADA paces around the ring anxiously, until eventually gesturing a title belt around his waist, signaling the possible end of the cinderella run for The Golden Star. Before his opponent can take center-stage, a pre-match video package showcases The Cold Skull's past failures at capturing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the last time being at the expense of Kazuchika Okada, with him closing out the video by stating that he promises not to make the same mistakes as he did two years ago.

The GOD himself, Kota Ibushi is out next, stepping into Nagoya with the sole intention of retaining both of his well-known titles. With a 3-1 record against SANADA thus far, he's hoping that those same abilities that have launched him numerous victories before, will aid him in yet another one. With his head held up high, and his followers clapping to his existence, he thrusts forward to the edge of the apron, steadily standing there, simply standing there, feeling the open air of the arena. Upon eventually entering the ring, he lifts up his two titles in triumph, as the two eventually head to their individual corners, signaling the opening bell was just moments away from sounding.

Upon the bell ringing, the two begin to simply feel eachother out, circling the ring as they venture out for an early advantage. They quickly transition into a lock-up, tugging back-and-forth at one another, as they continue to push one another. This ultimately leads to SANADA sending Ibushi into the corner, but instead of using his forceful nature to send his opposition to the canvas, he taps on the tip of his chest, backing away slightly, as he demands for Ibushi to come at him! Upon request, he does so, and attempts for a huge thrust kick, but instead SANADA ducks under and lands a lariat, with the double champion almost immediately executing a kip-up. The two now at a stalemate, they stare at eachother quite deeply, waiting for either to make the first move, in-which neither does so, as a collar-elbow tie-up is locked in this time, with Ibushi quickly transitioning into a wristlock, sending his opponent down to a grounded position, landing a nicely placed stomp to the left hand.

A much-more aggressive side to Ibushi has returned, as he continues to stomp on the hand, with it only being ceased once the assigned official took mercy upon it. Ibushi backs away because of it, awaiting for SANADA to reach his feet, he looks to grab the same wrist once again, but upon looking for an attempted toss over the shoulder, he swiftly escapes, LANDING A PELE KICK! With SANADA stunned, calmly falling directly to his back, with his eyes clearly rolling in the back of his head. Ibushi takes advantage of this, setting up for a STANDING SHOOTING STAR PRESS! Quickly hooking the leg, the first count of this contest begins... 1...2...KICKOUT! With the matchup yet to conclude, Ibushi picks up his opposition yet again, attempting for a reverse frankensteiner, but instead is caught with a saito suplex from the challenger! With the champion's head currently spinning, SANADA attempts to repeat this maneuver, but is caught with a thunderous german suplex to the mat!

Rolling out of the ring, SANADA is able to fall on both of his feet, clearly staggered though. Ibushi rushes to the top rope, feeling the aura of the crowd here in Nagoya, as he SOARS THROUGH THE AIR FOR A GOLDEN TRIANGLE MOONSAULT! Both men had a full minute of recovery, before Ibushi was able to throw his opponent back into the ring, under the bottom rope he goes and once they were both back in a vertical position, a Dash Shoot would be executed, knocking SANADA right back down to the canvas. On his back he goes, which leads to Ibushi backing up into the nearest corner, lining his challenger up for a possible Kinshasa, the usual theatrics are included with this aswell. Once he makes it to his feet, IBUSHI LOOKS TO CONNECT WITH IT, HOWEVER INSTEAD SANADA LEVELS HIM DOWN TO SIZE WITH A PERECTLY LINED-UP DROPKICK! He isn't done here though, as he immediately executes a bridging roll-up... 1...2...KICKOUT!

So close, but yet so far, Ibushi kips-up yet again and lands a hurricanrana! SANADA once again falls to the ground, with Ibushi sensing it, he begins to leap over the top rope, but is caught by his opponent! SANADA uses his strength to send Ibushi over the barricade, showcasing his pure dominance in this contest. Upon realizing that it couldn't end like this, he began to run at the opposition, possibly a leap of faith aswell, BUT HE'S CAUGHT WITH A HUGE FOREARM TO THE BRIDGE OF THE NOSE! A leap of faith of his own is seen, as he jumps atop of the barrier, HE CATCHES IBUSHI'S LEGS UNDERNEATH HIM, AND SCOOPING HIM UP FOR A TKO! COLLAPSING ON THE CANVAS! Rushing both of them back in the ring, SANADA proceeds to head up to the top rope, with the crowd on the edge of their seats simultaneously, HE SOARS THROUGH THE AIR FOR A MOONSAULT PRESS... 1...2..NOOOO!

Not believing this to be true, SANADA heads up to the top once again, hoping to finally bring home the big one! MOONSAULT PRESS ATTEMPT, IBUSHI IS ABLE TO GET HIS KNEES UP! THE PAIN WRITHING THROUGH SANADA'S ABDOMEN AREA! He slowly makes it to his feet, wanting to finally finish off his challenger, he lifts him up and holds onto both of SANADA's arms, LANDING A KAMIGOYE! 1...2...KICKOUT! A sense of disbelief comes across the face of Ibushi, as he can't believe the recent kickout, so instead of doubting himself further, he LANDS A V-TRIGGER, FOLLOWED BY YET ANOTHER KAMIGOYE FOR GOOD MEASURE... 1...2...3...!

Kota Ibushi (c) def. SANADA to retain the IWGP Heavyweight & IC Championships (26:06)

While SANADA is helped to the back, the disappointment is once again shown for the world to see, almost parallel to his look from two years ago. But upon leaving the camera's view to the backstage area, it seemed Kota Ibushi wasn't done with LIJ after all, as Tetsuya Naito locked eyes with the double champion as he made his way into the ring. Quickly pointing at one singular belt of gold, the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, as he clearly is taking one step towards taking back everything he once held.

Naito is handed a microphone, and begins to state on how at New Year's Dash!!, his team was successful over both Kota Ibushi & Toa Henare, and while his foe in the form of SANADA was unable to take the crown, he will take one part of it at Castle Attack. Now while he's had Kota's number on numerous of occasions, the recent WrestleKingdom defeat will always over-shadow his past prominent victories, but he's ready to take a crack at the Golden Star once again. But this time, the Destino will get the job done, and intends on taking back the IC Championship. Ibushi responds by shaking the hand of Naito, holding it quite tightly, as he stares deeply into Naito's eyes.

Castle Attack - February 28th, 2021

Kota Ibushi (c) v. Tetsuya Naito - IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match

Tetsuya Naito's passion for simple revenge has carried on from the Tokyo Dome, where we saw his epic demise come at the hands of The Golden Star, and now almost two months later, he has the chance to regain 1/2 of what he once had possession of. Promising to this time seek victory, he strides past through the curtain, a mixed reaction for the LIJ Leader here in Osaka-jō Hall, as he graciously looks out into the open crowd, proceeding to roll under the bottom rope leisurely. Upon getting back up to a vertical position, he gestures for Ibushi to make his way out from behind the curtain, clearly in a rush for things to get started here. Within just a few moments, his request would be answered, with his 7th Intercontinental Championship reign possibly growing ever closer upon the arrival of the 2x Champion himself, Kota Ibushi!

Walking into a sea of cheers, The Golden Star gets set to defend the IC title exclusively for the first time, his eyes clearly showing the pressure that is mounted upon his shoulders, as he stares directly into his opponent's eyes for the entire duration of his march down the entrance ramp. He slowly, but steadily makes his way up to the apron, instead of taking his time to reflect his thoughts, he quickly enters through the middle rope, and steps up to Naito! Getting into the face of the former double champion, he knows what's at stake, which is why he proceeds to lift up solely the title that is being defended, showing prominence over his foe, the contest gets set to begin.

The fans' attention is instantaneously grabbed at the start of the match. It seems as though both men are equally matched in this contest, and with them having an identical height, El Ingobernable thuds down with clubbing blows to Ibushi, forcing the champion to crouch down slightly, moving him down to one knee. He sneers with a sadistic grin as he takes Ibushi's arm and whips him to the ropes, both men colliding with forceful shoulder blocks. Champion and challenger stare at each other for a moment before surprisingly, both men offer for the opponent to try again. Naito motions to run to the ropes, but spins on his heel and levels Ibushi to one knee again with a massive closed fist punch, much to the admonishment of the referee. He seems to only be invigorated by the disapproval from those around him, looking down as Ibushi gets back up to his feet, only to be met with a knee to the gut from his opponent.

Kota splutters and calls down to his knee again. He then elects to rebound off the ropes, hoping to unroot Naito from his grounded stance. However, he is met by a sturdy elbow strike from the challenger, who fires up at the attempt. Ibushi responds with a thunderous clap to the chest of Naito, who winces slightly, but laughs it off, giving one right back to his opposition. The Golden Star inhales sharply at the snap of pain across his chest, but this isn't his first rodeo like this, ending a chop just as if not more forceful back. Whether it be though stubborn pride, or idiocy, both men lay in the chops, the piercing clap of their impact tolling like bells from the Gates of Hell. Ibushi then takes the lead once more as he pushes Naito to the ropes, and then up to the lights on the rebound, letting him drop to the mat with a thud.

Ibushi then runs to the opposite corner of the ring, looking to perhaps rebound off the ropes one last time, in-which HE LANDS A RUNNING MISSLE DROPKICK! Naito is now gaining some momentum in this match, a dangerous prospect for his opponent. He follows up and connects with a FLYING FOREARM SMASH FOR GOOD MEASURE! Crumbling down to the canvas from the impact, Naito now picks his opponent up, and looks for the lead-up to the final touches, NAITO PICKS HIM UP AND LANDS A GLORIA TO IBUSHI! 1...2...KICKOUT! Naito perching up to a vertical position, he slowly picks up his opposition once more, LOOKING FOR A DESTINO, IBUSHI SAFELY ESCAPES AND LANDS A LARIAT! With both men now grounded, the recovery period now begins, and after a full minute of doing so, Ibushi slowly makes his way to the nearest corner, lining up for his idol Shinsuke Nakamura's vintage maneuver - Kinshasa! Upon making it to his feet, Naito senses his opponent's movements, and scouts it, countering with a Dragon Suplex!

The crowd gasp at how dangerous-looking and devastating the dragon suplex was, dropping Ibushi directly on his upper shoulders and neck. Naito once again gives a devious grin to the camera as he knows that he has the match now. While crawling over to make the pin, he rubs his chest, a welt forming from the impact of the numerous hard-hitting maneuvers during the duration of this contest, as he presses Ibushis shoulders to the mat. 1...2...NOOO! Ibushi is just able to get the shoulder up!! The crowd can't believe it and neither can Naito. However, instead of being stunned by the champion's resilience, Naito is more concerned with just using something more...potent. He motions for the second Destino of the night, moving his hand closer-and-closer to the final heartbeat of this matchup, the champion not looking to cower down just yet, laying in multiple elbow strikes to the neck of the challenger, sending Naito recoiling to the ropes a little in pain. Over the course of the match, Ibushi's targeted strikes to the neck have gradually taken their toll, now giving the champion enough time to get to his feet, not willing to let Naito take the Intercontinental Championship, not without a fight anyway.

With Naito being sent to the ropes, he comes back at the champion with a leaping forearm, but instead Ibushi blocks it by escaping the maneuver, sending him back with a slap to the left cheek this time around! Gazing around the arena as it knocks him loopy, causing him to turn around. Feeling the beginning of the end coming, Ibushi sets up for a V-Trigger, but instead Naito drives his opponent back to the ropes with an Enzuigiri! Being the Warrior he truly is, HE FIRES BACK WITH A TORNADO DDT, NOT DONE YET THOUGH, HE PICKS HIS OPPONENT UP AND EXECUTES A SWING DESTINO! Feeling the momentum truly shifting, he lifts up Ibushi for one last Destino, but instead is caught with a V-TRIGGER! The entire arena is spinning for Naito now, all of his hopes and dreams fading at this instant, he now grabs onto both of Naito's arms, SENDING HIM DOWN WITH A KAMIGOYE! Much like his WrestleKingdom victory, he falls to the cover, but this time the result is a bit different... 1...2...KICKOUT!

A sense of disbelief comes over the face of Ibushi, realizing that not just one Kamigoye will put away his challenger. Knowing this, he lifts up Naito once more by both of his arms, which ultimately leads for him going for yet another KAMIGOYE, NAITO CATCHES HIS KNEE AND HITS A DRAGON SCREW ON IT! FEELING THIS IS POSSIBLY HIS MOMENT, HE PICKS UP HIS OPPOSITION FOR ONE LAST HURRAH, AS HE STRIKES WITH A DESTINO! HE ISN'T DONE HERE THOUGH, AS HE PICKS UP IBUSHI FOR ONE LAST DESTINO! 1...2...3...!

Tetsuya Naito def. Kota Ibushi (c) to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship (26:09)

NJPW's 49th Anniversary is quickly approaching, and as it usually, the headliner of March 4th is announced to be IWGP Heavyweight Champion (Kota Ibushi) v. Junior Heavyweight Champion (ELP) in a special singles match. The reason for this being, due to Hiromu Takahashi's sudden injury, that has sidelined him for atleast six months, which ultimately led to a brand new champion being crowned on this night. This year's Castle Attack event came to a close with El Phantasmo joining Kota Ibushi inside the squared circle, they both raise their respective championship belts ahead of the big event. These two have yet to face off one-on-one, but now these two have the chance to have an epic showdown once and for all!

NJPW 49th Anniversary Show - March 4th, 2021

Kota Ibushi (Heavyweight) v. El Phantasmo (Junior Heavyweight) - Champion v. Champion

El Phantasmo would be the first man to come out, he is not far removed from becoming the brand new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, but he has intentions set elsewhere tonight. You can see the passion imbued in every step he makes towards the ring tonight, tonight is his Proving Ground, a coming-out party to prove that he can hang with the best of the best, showcase for all. He would waste no time getting to the ring, diving through the ropes as he shares a few too-sweets to the open air, the beats of the Bullet Club theme song ringing throughout the arena, as he awaits for the Heavyweight Champion to make his way out from behind the curtain.

As ELP settled in his corner, his music would come to an abrupt halt, as "The Golden Star" would begin to blare from the PA system in it's place. His standard commingly-known strut out to the ring wasn't seen immediately however, as the crowd would begin to pose the question, where exactly is their esteemed champion? He would finally trot out, moving at a snail's pace as he exited the curtain, World Championship in hand, no special attire for the occasion, just a lethargic descent for a man he clearly didn't think was worth a second of his time. He continued his descent at its painstaking rate, driving the crowd into a frenzy before the match even commenced. After what felt an eternity, he reached the ringside area, carrying the one title he had left to the general vicinity of the timekeeper's area before rolling in, lifting one hand to his title and one fist to the sky as the opening bell was set to ring throughout the arena.

And we're off! Naturally, the two men show off their contrasting personalities right away, with ELP attempting to circle the ring and look for an opening while Ibushi quickly paces the ring, making sudden bursts to try and get the upper hand. Eventually, Phantasmo slides into Ibushi, looking to take him down by his right leg, but he kneels down just in time, bringing an elbow down on ELP's back. As we have seen time-and-time again with the Junior Heavyweight Champion, that back is going to be a target point, so a smart call by Ibushi there. ELP momentarily stutters, and Kota capitalizes by locking in a headlock, keeping his opponent grounded for the time being. Eventually, ELP is able to force his way out of the maneuver, by shoving his elbow into Ibushi's abdomen area over-and-over again. Pushing his opponent across the ring and hitting him with a forearm as he charges back, with the momentum quickly switching gears just like that, the gloating had begun for the younger talent, as he shares a couple of extra too sweets to the crowd.

The fans jeer at ELP who simply decides to ignore them, but instead heads over to his opposition for the route of causing even more pain. ELP now looks at the body of the Heavyweight Champion and just begins kicking him in the head, taunting him, trying to get Ibushi to once again approach a vertical position. He slowly rises from the ring canvas, and begins slapping him in the face trying to bring out the ferocity from Kota, unleashing a barrage of strikes before pushing the Bullet Club member into the ropes and EXECUTING A BEAUTIFUL-LOOKING HURRICANRANA! Flying through the air and back down to the canvas, Ibushi's spine lands directly on the canvas, pushing his fists into the upper-part of his skull, transitioning quickly into a scissors-lock, he begins to suffocate Ibushi with both of his legs, wrenching the neck of his opponent, Kota clearly struggling to breath, he desperately wails his legs in the air, until he safely escapes out of the hold eventually.

Once he got out of the hold, he made the smart call and continued to hold onto the waist, having a tight grip on it, HE SENDS HIS OPPOSITION DOWN TO THE CANVAS WITH HIM, AS A GERMAN SUPLEX IS EXECUTED! With his arms still having a tight grasp over Ibushi's waist, he turns him around and heads for a Northern Lights Suplex, but ELP catches him, SCRATCHING HIS BACK! Kota is brought down to the mat from the pain, and upon continuous kicks to the head, a furious Ibushi FIRES BACK WITH A MID-KICK! Still not knocking the Junior down, he begins to unload wild and untamed punches to ELP's chin. As the blows start flying for a few moments, both men start to slow a little, the effect of continued impact starting to really show on their faces, taking moments to recover as the other waits to put the other down. Ibushi eventually connects with one last right hook to ELP, sending him down to the mat, followed by a massive REVERSE FRANKENSTEINER!

Phantasmo's eyes quickly rush to the back of his head, which gives Ibushi the incentive to head for the cover... 1...2...KICKOUT! Ibushi uses this time to his advantage and starts to wear down Phantasmo with a flurry of strikes, once again showing his more aggressive side. He proceeds to now use his feet to stomp on ELP's skull, over-and-over again, which ultimately led to him scaling the top rope for a vintage maneuver leading back to his junior heavyweight days, AS HE ATTEMPTS FOR A PHOENIX SPLASH, HE CATCHES HIM IN MID-AIR FOR A STYLES CLASH??!!! Six years ago, this led to Ibushi failing to accomplish his dream of becoming Heavyweight Champion, but now with his dream finally accomplished, this was make-or-break for him! 1...2...KICKOUT! Frustration begins to boil over for ELP, as this time around he stomps repeatedly on Ibushi's neck, clearly his emotions overshadowing his clear in-ring skills.

Once the assigned official had no other choice but to back ELP off of his opponent, he decided to get in the face of Red Shoes, simply distracting him for his own benefit, and upon lifting his dead carcus back up to a vertical position, he runs at his opposition. A smart heel tactic by ELP would be seen here, as he grabs the referee and shoves him in-front of Ibushi, as he has no other choice but to abruptly stop! Upon doing so, ELP would reposition the referee to the position of the turnbuckles, as he WENT FOR A LOW-BLOW, IBUSHI CATCHES HIS ARM AND TWISTS IT IN A CLEARLY AWKWARD POSITION! However, once he looked to transition this into a possible Powerbomb position, Phantasmo scouts it AND STRIKES WITH A ENZUIGIRI! IBUSHI IS STAGGERED! A ROPEWALK LA QUEBRADA FOLLOWS! Due to the damage already done to his back, he's unfortunately grounded, which leads to El Phantasmo perching up to the top rope, a final measure of desperation for the Junior Heavyweight getting set to be made!

He takes his time, as Ibushi desperately looks to rise to his feet, but he simply can't. Which is why, A THUNDERKISS '86 IS ATTEMPTED, IT CONNECTS! A PINFALL ATTEMPT FOLLOWS! 1...2...KICKOUT!!! IBUSHI SURVIVES! Realizing that he has yet to do enough, he picks up Ibushi one last time, CR II IS ON THE MENU, HE LIFTS HIS OPPONENT UP, AND GOES FOR IT! IBUSHI SWIFTLY ESCAPES, AND LANDS A V-TRIGGER, A LEAPING ONE AT THAT TOO! UTLIMATELY GRABBING BOTH OF ELP'S ARMS, HE LANDS A KAMIGOYE!!! 1...2...3...!

Kota Ibushi def. El Phantasmo (22:23)

The Golden Star has done it, but while ELP may be done-and-dusted, Ibushi isn't free for long. This year's New Japan Cup would decide his next challenger for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and one man had one hell of a run in the aforementioned tournament. That man being The Dragon, Shingo Takagi, as he manages to upset Kazuchika Okada in the first round to the surprise of many, followed by destroying former 3x NJC Winner, Hiroki Goto, then in the Quarter-Finals, he managed to score a highly meaningful victory over KENTA, smoothly riding into the Semi-Finals to outlast 2020 NJC Winner EVIL, eventually scoring his win-back against Will Ospreay in the Finals to take the cup. Quickly after the finals had concluded, Ibushi met Takagi in the ring, congratulating him on a well-earnt victory, before they share a tightly gripped handshake, with Shingo pulling him in extra close to share a few words "Don't you dare take me lightly!"