6 Most Insane Wrestling Reports Ever Published
1. They Took Shibata’s Brain
At NJPW Sakura Genesis 2017, Katsuyori Shibata aimed a headbutt at Kazuchika Okada in their seminal match - a match that was literally too good, in that it was so violent and gripping that it wasn’t worth it. It crossed a line into both otherworldly drama and life-threatening reality. As Okada crumpled to the mat, the camera closed in on Shibata’s face. Blood trickled down his forehead as he adopted an instantly iconic, ultra-hard pose. This show of badass posturing obscured that Shibata had split his head open internally. The subdural hematoma he suffered, in tandem with severe dehydration, caused him to lose feeling in the right side of his body. His life was only saved when he received immediate emergency surgery after the bell rang.
According to the NHS, there are two ways in which this surgery can be performed; either a small section of the skull is removed to enable the removal of the hematoma, or the hematoma is sucked out through some small, drilled holes. Not that you need to Google this within seconds to find out, but this surgery does not necessitate the removal of one’s brain. That is because the removal of one’s brain would result in the rapid collapse of every function, leading to near-instant death.
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Shibata’s November 2022 return was more improbable than most because, when he underwent the procedure, the surgeon had to remove his brain before putting it back in. You literally do not need to be a brain surgeon to know that this is impossible. What an incredible mental image Dave conjured with this.
This was one of Dave’s most embarrassing ever moments. It is the dumbest thing he’s ever said - amongst the dumbest things anybody has ever said - and yet, people still give him grief for his supposed anti-WWE bias.
“Sure, Dave said that somebody got their brain removed during surgery - but it’s even dumber that Kurt Angle never had a five-star match!”