10 Most Fascinating Unanswered Questions In Wrestling
1. Did Katsuyori Shibata Go Into Business For Himself?
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At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16, Katsuyori Shibata was scheduled to work a 'Catch Rules' match opposite a mystery opponent who was revealed to be his trainee and potential successor Ren Narita.
Per the stipulation, Shibata was not meant to take any bumps. He was not medically cleared to do so following the life-threatening subdural haematoma he suffered at Sakura Genesis 2017. That match, opposite Kazuchika Okada, was a masterpiece. It was literally too good to be true.
He flirted with returning in the months and years that passed. He claimed he was alive. He was decked by KENTA in a scorching angle that would have built one of the most compelling matches of the modern era, had it actually happened. It did not. Finally, Shibata worked a UWF-i rules match opposite Zack Sabre, Jr. on December 15, 2021. Shibata is such a genius that he was able to work a better match than most even under these restrictions, which created a huge level of expectation ahead of the Narita match. In a great moment, Shibata claimed that he wasn't going to bother with the stip, and while he didn't take anything on his head, it was as close as possible to a normal match.
Dave Melzer speculated that Shibata went into business for himself and that nobody knew he was going to do this. His report was rubbished because Dave also said that Shibata's most vital organ was removed from his head during surgery. He wasn't considered an expert on all things Shibata after that brainless bit of reporting. Then again, it's not as if Shibata has worked a match since.
is...is that because he can't be trusted?