Toru Owashi
Ibushi would start teaming up with Kenny Omega as the "Golden☆Lovers" and on January 24, 2009 they defeated Harashima and Toru Owashi to win the KO-D Tag Team Championship and lost them in May to Dick Togo and Taka Michinoku. In the summer of 2009, Ibushi won the first KO-D Openweight Championship Contendership Tournament and went on to win the KO-D Openweight Championship from Harashima. During his time as champion he also won the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship and would lose the Openweight Championship to Shuji Ishikawa. After winning the Best of the Super Juniors in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) his matches in DDT were mostly tag team matches with his partner Kenny Omega or matches involving IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Ibushi's fortunes in 2011 were better, he teamed up with Danshoki Dino to win the KO-D Tag Team Championship, however after dislocating his shoulder he vacated the title.