10 Things Cody Rhodes Achieved From The List
7. Katsuyori Shibata (ROH/NJPW Honor Rising: Japan 2017)
If we're only going by singles matches here, then no, Cody Rhodes has never wrestled the legendary Katsuyori Shibata.
They did, however, compete in a tag team match on Night 1 of ROH and New Japan's co-promoted Honor Rising: Japan weekender in February 2017. There, Cody teamed with then-Bullet Club teammate Hangman Page, whereas Shibata was joined by Jay Lethal.
Tasked with semi-main eventing the Korakuen Hall, it was Lethal and Shibata who came out victorious after a 14-minute bout, with the former pinning Page via Lethal Injection. Though the match was nothing special, it did provide some interactions between Rhodes and Shibata, with a post-match confrontation seemingly teasing a singles match between the duo later on.
That, as we know, sadly never came to fruition.
Just two months later, Shibata would wrestle that epic IWGP Heavyweight Title match vs. Kazuchika Okada in which he headbutted the sh*t out of Okada, discovering soon after that he was suffering from a subdural hematoma. As of this writing, Shibata hasn't competed since.
There's no point in explaining how tantalising a singles bout between the duo sounds because it's that obvious. A marquee collision at one of ROH or New Japan's bigger events sounds appropriate. Still, Katsuyori Shibata can technically be crossed off the list.