7 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (March 24)
5. New Japan Pro Wrestling Has Finally Given Katsuyori Shibata The Nod
It was thought that New Japan Pro Wrestling might never have forgiven Katsuyori Shibata.
Shibata left the company in 2005 when he was poised to enter the headline ranks as part of the New Three Musketeers alongside Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura. New Japan was in disarray at the time. They needed him. Previous owner (and company legend) Antonio Inoki had battered the aura of his previous fleet of stars by having them battered by the more popular MMA fighters of the time. Yuji Nagata, the company's brightest prospect at the turn of the millennium, was embarrassed by Mirko Cro Cop and Fedor Emelianenko. Bop Sapp held and devalued the IWGP Heavyweight Title. The MMA-hybrid matches Inoki was prone to book were far removed from the shoot-style 1990s vintage of UWF-i. They were tedious.
Tanahashi, Nakamura and Shibata were meant to rid NJPW of the weakling stigma it was drowning in, but Shibata, dismayed by the state the company had found itself in, left to become a freelancer. It was evidently a forgivable transgression - he returned in 2012 - but the timing infuriated Tanahashi, whose painstaking efforts as company Ace ushered in the ensuing golden period. It was felt by Tanahashi and others that Shibata was riding on his coattails.
Shibata won over fans (particularly in the west) with his insanely brutal, sadomasochistic matches and understated, sociopathic charisma. NJPW ignored their overtures. For every stature-enhancing performance Shibata entered, he was rolled up by obnoxious comedy jobber Toru Yano in just over a minute. It felt at times that the usually ultra-sensible company was indulging in a spot of WWE-style pettiness and obstruction, but the recent New Japan Cup has at last consummated the rekindled love affair. Shibata won it and challenged IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada to a gigantic reaction. Even if he doesn't win, he will finally cement himself as a main event act.
NJPW Sakura Genesis promises a major meeting between golden boy Okada and black sheep Katsuyori Shibata. It is a dream match - one only the most optimistic of fools could have convinced themselves was a possibility just a year ago.