Kota Ibushi is vowing to return to AEW as he heads back into surgery on the right femur he broke last October.
Writing on Instagram, Ibushi said he was being admitted to the hospital ahead of an operation to remove every plate currently in his leg and replace them with sturdier hardware. The surgery is scheduled for September 17.
“I am being hospitalized starting today. Tomorrow, I will undergo a second surgery on my femur. They will remove all the current plates and replace them with the strongest available option, as the doctors said my current ones were simply too weak for my body and leg,” Ibushi wrote.
He didn’t hide his frustration. “Why now? It makes absolutely no sense to me. I am so exhausted from having to go through surgery after surgery.”
Then he made his intentions clear. “But I am not giving up. I refuse to let something like this end my professional wrestling career. I will make sure this surgery is a success and absolutely return to AEW.”
A Different Tone Than In May
The defiant message is a sharp turn from where Ibushi stood earlier this year. On his 44th birthday in May, he admitted an in-ring comeback seemed unlikely and shifted his focus to raising money to build a new wrestling venue following the closure of Shinjuku FACE.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter later reported that those close to Ibushi believe he still intends to come back, though he has worried his balance, lateral movement and ability to change direction might not fully return.
Ibushi first announced this procedure in late August, explaining that the plate inserted in the United States was too weak to heal properly. According to a translation reported by the Wrestling Observer, he also wrote that he had been told he wouldn’t be able to do contact sports, but still hoped for a comeback.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DcnQxe1k5Ox/Ibushi suffered the injury during a match against Josh Alexander taped October 8, 2025 at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville for AEW Collision Homecoming. He had surgery shortly afterward, then needed another operation in February to secure a screw that had come loose.
Shortly after the original injury, Ibushi said doctors gave him one year to fully recover and two years before he could step back into the ring.
