5 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Rampage (Nov 4)

2. A Remarkable Performance

Being fair, he had an interesting match to sit in on.

The fact Katsuyori Shibata is even able to wrestle at all is incredible. This All-Atlantic Title bout vs. Orange Cassidy will mean more to him personally than it will live on in the history books of AEW, but it was one of two kickass matches on the show; it's also remarkable because of everything the man went through to be there.

Cassidy deployed his usual 'I'm too laid back to hit strikes properly' routine for some laughs, but that was minimised in favour of a strong-style battle that suited Shibata's rugged work. This was a bout pieced together to make him feel good about himself again, and there's something really nice about that.

The ex-New Japan Cup winner was working only his third match since 2017, and he looked energised when Orange dispensed with the character stuff and started hitting him back. Here's hoping this leads to more from Shibata in AEW.