10 Best Non-WWE Wrestlers Of 2016 (So Far)

6. Katsuyori Shibata

Jay Lethal WCPW
NJPW

For years, fans have been waiting for Katsuyori Shibata to truly live up to his potential as one of the cornerstones of New Japan pro wrestling. There have been teases and near-hits, but Shibata's push hasn't lived up to his talent, until this year.

At Wrestle Kingdom 10, Shibata defeated Tomohiro Ishii to win the NEVER Openweight Championship in the most brutal bout of the show - maybe of the year. It marked his first singles title win and a changing of the guard. When Shibata won a rematch at The New Beginning, it was official - "The Wrestler" had supplanted "The Stone Pitbull" as the face of the division.

He would go on to rack up successful title defenses against former IWGP Heavyweight Champions Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima, and while he lost the belt to Yuji Nagata, he would claim it once again in a rematch.

Since recapturing the championship, he's defended it against Tomoaki Honma, made his UK debut against Zack Sabre Jr., and been announced for both the G1 Climax (he's one of the favourites to win) and Ring of Honor's Death Before Dishonor show.

It's going to be a busy summer for Shibata.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013