Katsuyori Shibata

Katsuyori Shibata
Shibata in November 2016
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Katsuyori Shibata
Makai #4
Born (1979-11-17) November 17, 1979
Kuwana, Mie, Japan
Billed height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Billed weight100 kg (220 lb)
Billed fromKuwana, Mie, Japan
Trained byAntonio Inoki
Kazushi Sakuraba
Kensuke Sasaki
Katsuhisa Shibata
Kotetsu Yamamoto
NJPW Dojo
DebutOctober 10, 1999
Other namesThe Wrestler
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight95 kg (209 lb)
DivisionMiddleweight
Light Heavyweight
Heavyweight
StyleKickboxing
TeamLaughter7
Years active2004, 2007–2011
Kickboxing record
Total1
Wins0
Losses1
By knockout1
Draws0
Mixed martial arts record
Total15
Wins4
By knockout2
By submission1
By decision1
Losses10
By knockout4
By submission4
By decision2
Draws1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Katsuyori Shibata (柴田勝頼, Shibata Katsuyori, born November 17, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler, trainer, and former mixed martial artist. He currently wrestles for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and their sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). He is a member of The Opps stable.

Shibata has also best known for his time competing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he also worked as a trainer. Other promotions he has wrestled for include Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) and Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro).

Shibata has won many Championships over his career. In AEW, Shibata was the winner of the FTW Contender Series with Hook. In ROH, he is a one-time ROH Pure Champion. In NJPW, he was a one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, three-time NEVER Openweight Champion, winner of the New Japan Cup in 2017, co-winner of the World Tag League with Hirooki Goto, and the Fighting Spirit Award in 2004.

While in New Japan, Shibata faced Kazuchika Okada in the main event of Sakura Genesis 2017. During the match, Shibata delivered a headbutt to Okada and afterwards collapsed backstage. He was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with a subdural hematoma with some paralysis on his right side. It was widely believed that he was never going to wrestle again but he eventually returned.[1][2]

Career

All Elite Wrestling

At Forbidden Door, Shibata made his AEW debut, helping save Orange Cassidy from being beatdown by the United Empire.[3] On the November 4 episode of Rampage, Shibata made his AEW in-ring debut, losing to Orange Cassidy in a match for Cassidy's AEW All-Atlantic Championship.[4]

On March 31, 2023, Shibata made his debut for Ring of Honor (ROH). He defeated Wheeler Yuta at Supercard of Honor to become the new ROH Pure Champion.[5]

At Forbidden Door, Shibata competed in a four-way match for the AEW International Championship but lost.[6] At WrestleDream, Shibata challenged Eddie Kingston for his ROH World Championship and NJPW Strong Openweight Championship but lost.[7] On the November 25 episode of Rampage, Shibata lost his ROH Pure Championship back to Wheeler Yuta.[8] On December 23, it was announced by Tony Khan that Shibata had officially signed a contract with AEW to become a member of the roster.[9]

On the March 16, 2024 edition of Collision, Shibata made his return to AEW and lost to Bryan Danielson.[10] At WrestleDream, Shibata challenged Jack Perry for his AEW TNT Championship but lost.[11] He began to team with Samoa Joe and Hook and they began to call their stable The Opps.[12]

References

  1. "新日本プロレス柴田勝頼「硬膜下血腫」で緊急手術 前日にオカダと激闘". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  2. "Daily Update: Shibata situation, YouTube revenue, JBL". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  3. "Katsuyori Shibata Confronts Will Ospreay After IWGP US Title Match At AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door". Fightful. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  4. "AEW Rampage (11/4/2022) Results: Orange Cassidy vs. Katsuyori Shibata, Mike Tyson Appears & More". Fightful. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  5. "ROH Supercard of Honor results: Powell's live review of Reach For The Sky ladder match for the vacant ROH Tag Titles, Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston for the ROH Championship, Athena vs. Yuka Sakazaki for the ROH Women's Championship, El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Komander for the AAA Mega Championship, Samoa Joe vs. Mark Briscoe for the ROH TV Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  6. "AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door results: Powell's live review of Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay for the IWGP U.S. Championship, MJF vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the AEW World Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  7. "AEW WrestleDream results: Powell's live review of Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage in a best of three falls match for the TNT Title, Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  8. "AEW Rampage (11/25/2023) Results: Katsuyori Shibata vs Wheeler Yuta, Kris Statlander, More Compete". Fightful. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  9. "Katsuyori Shibata signs with AEW". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  10. "AEW Collision (3/16/2024) Results: Shibata vs Danielson, Kyle O'Reilly, House of Black, More Set". Fightful. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  11. "AEW WrestleDream results: Powell's live review of Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship, Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet vs. Konosuke Takeshita for the AEW International Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  12. "AEW Dynamite results (2/12): Barnett's live review of Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin vs. Gunn Club for the AEW Tag Titles, MJF vs. Dustin Rhodes, Death Riders vs. Undisputed Kingdom for the AEW Trios Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 12, 2025.

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