Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi's AEW Reunion: The Complete History of The Golden Elite

By Liam Crowley - July 17, 2023 03:29 pm EDT

The Elite and Blackpool Combat Club's blood feud is approaching its final battle. After going to war with each other at AEW Double or Nothing in an Anarchy in the Arena match, a bout that saw BCC walk away victorious, the two top factions faced off in traditional tag action with some allies from the Far East at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. There, The Elite claimed victory, evening the ongoing rivalry at one win apiece. The Elite and BCC will turn to AEW's take on WarGames for their threequel contest, battling one another inside a double steel cage at AEW Dynamite: Blood & Guts this Wednesday.

With Bryan Danielson injured, Blackpool Combat Club turned to longtime Elite adversary Pac to fill the void. The Elite's four-man unit of Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks and "Hangman" Adam Page elected to turn to outside of the AEW locker room for its fifth man, bringing in longtime friend Kota Ibushi. As teased on AEW Dynamite last week, Ibushi's history with these four men goes back well over a decade.

The Golden Lovers

Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega first united in January 2009, forming a tag team known as the Golden Lovers. Just one week after their first tag match together, Ibushi and Omega captured DDT's KO-D Tag Team Championships, embarking on their first reign with tag gold.

Ibushi and Omega spent most of their time teaming together in DDT but eventually made their way to New Japan in 2010. By the end of that year, the Golden Lovers held New Japan tag gold, defeating Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt [WWE's Finn Balor] and Ryusuke Taguchi) to become IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.

The Golden Lovers tagged together fairly consistently until 2014.

Initial Split

KENNY-OMEGA-KOTA-IBUSHI-GOLDEN-ELITE — (Photo: NJPW)

Despite both inking deals with New Japan, Ibushi and Omega went their separate ways upon becoming full-time NJPW talents. Ibushi opted to join the heavyweight division and pursued singles gold. Omega rebranded himself as "The Cleaner" and joined Bullet Club, abandoning his previous promise to never join a villainous foreign stable.

Ibushi found success in the New Japan Cup, winning the tournament in 2015 and going on to challenge then-Bullet Club leader AJ Styles for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. At the same time, Omega ascended the ranks of the juniors division, winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

The beginning of 2016 was a tale of two sides for Ibushi and Omega. Ibushi had suffered a cervical disc herniation months prior, resulting in him being put on the shelf indefinitely. This would lead to Ibushi resigning from NJPW in February 2016. One month prior to Ibushi's resignation, Omega was kickstarting his main-event run, as The Cleaner turned on Styles and replaced him as Bullet Club's leader.

Mainstream Success

KENNY-OMEGA-KOTA-IBUSHI-NJPW-WWE-GOLDEN-LOVERS — (Photo: WWE, NJPW)

2016 proved to be a career year for both halves of the Golden Lovers. Omega continued to skyrocket up New Japan's totem pole, capturing the IWGP Intercontinental Championship before winning the G1 Climax, becoming the first non-Japanese wrestler to ever win the tournament. This led to Omega challenging IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 the following January in what many deem to be the greatest match of all time.

As for Ibushi, he took his talents to the west, participating in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic. Ibushi impressed in the tournament, making it all the way to the semifinals. Ibushi went on to make sporadic appearances on WWE NXT but never signed a contract, ultimately opting to return to Japan that fall.

Bullet Club Dissention Leads to Golden Lovers Reunion

Just hours before Omega and Okada put on their historical bout, Cody Rhodes made his NJPW debut, revealing himself as the newest member of Bullet Club. It wouldn't be long until Rhodes was causing friction within the faction, often attempting to usurp control of Bullet Club from Omega.

Tension reached a boiling point when Rhodes matched up against Ibushi at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 in January 2018. After losing to Ibushi at that event, Rhodes would attack his new rival shortly after at New Year Dash!!. This led to Omega making the save for Ibushi, leading to questions about his allegiances. Weeks later, Ibushi returned the favor by saving Omega from some Bullet Club in-fighting, officially reuniting the Golden Lovers.

Bullet Club Civil War

BULLET-CLUB-GOLDEN-ELITE-CIVIL-WAR — (Photo: NJPW)

With battle lines drawn, Omega turned to Ibushi to back him in the brewing Bullet Club Civil War. Ibushi and Omega teamed together for the first time in four years in 2018, linking up with Bullet Club's Chase Owens in a losing effort against Rhodes, Hangman and Marty Scurll.

The Golden Lovers went on to have two major matches against Bullet Clubs teams, defeating Rhodes and Scurll at Honor Rising: Japan 2018 and besting the Young Bucks at NJPW Strong Style Evolved 2018.

Formation of The Golden Elite

GOLDEN-ELITE-KENNY-OMEGA-KOTA-IBUSHI-YOUNG-BUCKS

While Rhodes and Omega never got along during their time together in Bullet Club, Omega and the Young Bucks were considered best friends. They formed their own sub-faction within Bullet Club known as The Elite and went on to win gold together on multiple occasions.

As they say, winning solves everything. That summer at NJPW Dominion, the Bucks captured the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships while Omega conquered his white whale, winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Both Ibushi and the Bucks hit the ring after Omega's victory to celebrate, merging the two teams into a four-man faction officially known as The Golden Elite.

Omega and Ibushi continued to tag together throughout 2018, their last match coming that December when they defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Will Ospreay. Earlier that fall, Ibushi and the Young Bucks teamed together in the main event of ALL IN, beating Rey Mysterio, Rey Fénix and Bandido.

AEW Breadcrumbs

KENNY-OMEGA-AEW-NJPW-KOTA-IBUSHI — (Photo: AEW)

The launch of AEW pulled Omega and the Bucks away from NJPW, but that did not stop Tony Khan's wrestling promotion from utilizing outside lore in its storylines. Omega and the Bucks continued to operate as one unit in AEW, bringing Hangman into the fold. Hangman would eventually split from The Elite while Omega and the Bucks turned heel. Omega went on to win the AEW World Title and wreak havoc on the main event scene, using whatever means necessary to retain his title.

As he was making his way to the ring at AEW Full Gear 2021 for a defense against Hangman, Omega was confronted by a noteworthy sign: "WHAT WOULD KOTA THINK?" Both Omega and the cameraman paused to acknowledge the sign.

The following year, Omega donned a Kota Ibushi t-shirt during a match against Death Triangle on AEW Dynamite.

What's Next?

GOLDEN-ELITE-VS-BLACKPOOL-COMBAT-CLUB — (Photo: AEW)

As of this writing, The Golden Elite's reunion is a one-time deal. Ibushi is heading to Boston's TD Garden to aid his longtime friends in their battle against Blackpool Combat Club but is not contracted to AEW. Ibushi has long expressed his desire to compete for AEW but has always emphasized hesitation to ink any deals, as his focus is on opening his own wrestling school.

AEW Dynamite: Blood & Guts goes down on Wednesday, July 19th.