*crawls toward you, climbs up your car, and taps frantically on the window as you roll it up* ibushi won wk with the bte trigger ibushi won wk with the bte trigger IBUSHI KOTA WON WRESTLE KINGDOM WITH THE BTE TRIGGER

Does this sound unhinged? Perhaps. Am I correct? Absolutely.

Wrestling moves are tricky and complex storytelling tools. With time and experience they gain layers of meaning and significance so that everything that comes before influences the understanding of the present

Ibushi debuted the Kamigoye against Tanahashi during the 2017 G1, a time where Kenny was absolutely white hot in New Japan and having the run of his life but still taking public potshots at Kota. Kota, until now, had been giving him nothing

Kenny was quick to point out the similarity of this move to his own v-trigger. Was this the manic ranting of The Cleaner decompensating before our eyes? Or an accurate interpretation of the latest volley in this odd cold war they had been waging between each other for years?

At the time it was probably pretty easy to dismiss Kenny for attempting to claim ownership over the concept of knees but regardless, Kenny's promo subtly changed the meaning of the kamigoye from just a new finisher to something that is tied to him, even if just a little

In retrospect, the knowledge that it's only a couple of days later that Kota comes to see Kenny in that famous meeting after the G1 27 Finals makes it seem like the move really WAS targeted towards Kenny, turning it into a move much more strongly associated with his old partner

This is how meaning and impact is built for wrestling moves. When Kenny and Kota got back together, they made the kamigoye into a tandem move, the golden trigger, turning it into a representation of the bond between the Golden ☆ Lovers

So naturally they used it to murder Matt Jackson

Quick sidebar, lots of people make a big deal about the bucks using the golden trigger on Kenny without talking about how GL BLATANTLY stole the Bucks finisher and used it against them (with a modification they sorta botched. Serves 'em right )

But that's sorta what I'm trying to say here; with additional details and context, the meaning of a move can change, a moment can feel like less of an emotional low blow and more like a moment of payback for a past offense

So the kamigoye/v-trigger/golden trigger are already a collection of moves that that have a LOT of weight and history to them, when it comes to these four men. In the summer of 2020, when the Elite are already on shaky ground with each other, the bucks unveil their new finish:

The BTE Trigger, named after the show the Bucks and Kenny started together, using the moves that are so meaningful between Kenny and Kota and are so loaded with meaning for all of them, at a time when the Elite are slipping away from each other

At once the BTE Trigger, when considering the years of history behind it, represents all the resentments and tresspasses built up between these four men as well as all the bonds between them that bend and twist but never quite seem to snap all the way

Ibushi Kota has been chasing the IWGP Heavyweight Title for so long it's almost a meme. He has shed his relationships and sworn to become God. Over the past year he has annihilated every perceived obstacle except one; That damn Jay White who keeps managing to get one over on him

But in this massively long our long slog of a match, his second huge fight in a row were he spends so much of it getting just obliterated by JW, in the end, with the last of his strength, he reaches for Kenny - firing off a series of unmistakable V-Triggers

This isn't a taunt, this isn't a potshot or a plea for attention. This is Kota, in the most important fight of his career, his LIFE, exhausted from nearly an hour of fighting and pulling strength from someone important to him. You can practically feel Kenny in the ring with him

And with Kenny comes the Bucks; they're always with him. The blatant v-triggers evoke Kenny which evokes the Elite, just before the finish, so they're right on our mind when Kota reverses the Kamigoye in a way he has NEVER done before just before doing the reg one for the win

When done by one person these two pieces make up the BTE Trigger, summoning the spectre of the Golden Elite at the moment of Ibushi's greatest victory. After a year of isolating himself and declaring himself god, in the end he was successful, but only with the help of his friends

The Bucks had being wearing Golden Elite shirts and Golden Elite gear all the way up to when Kenny drove off without them after All Out. Despite their issues and their short time as a unit, Kota is clearly still important to the two of them, specifically.

And here, thousands of miles apart in different companies that are only barely starting to show signs of getting along, Ibushi Kota is signaling that maybe that sentiment is reciprocated. Maybe, even with Kenny all the way off the deep end rn, there is hope for the Golden Elite