After Orange Cassidy, Katsuyori Shibata Wants Dream Match With This Top AEW Star

The Wrestler is said to be extremely keen on facing this major AEW name.

by Andrew Pollard
Bryan Danielson Katsuyori Shibata
AEW

With last night's AEW Dynamite shockingly lining up Katsuyori Shibata to face Orange Cassidy on this week's AEW Rampage, the NJPW icon also has Bryan Danielson in his sights.

Speaking on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio (as per WrestlingHeadlines.com), Dave Meltzer stated that Shibata has plans for two major AEW matches. As revealed last night, one of those bouts will see the Wrestler challenge for Freshly Squeezed's All-Atlantic Championship on Friday's Rampage. Elsewhere, it's the American Dragon who is also in Shibata's crosshairs.

Many wrestling fans have long dreamed of a Katsuyori Shibata vs. Bryan Danielson contest, and Meltzer notes that Shibata himself is similarly keen to put himself up against the Blackpool Combat Club man. Considering how both men previously had to retire due to health reasons, such a match was viewed as one of the great missed 'what ifs...' of the business by some. Now, that once impossible dream seems like it may well become a reality at some point.

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The head coach at New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Los Angeles dojo, Shibata's Dynamite appearance last night - and subsequent upcoming Rampage outing - came about simply because he was free this week. As such, it was agreed that he'd face Orange Cassidy, with the three-time NEVER Openweight Champion having previously come to OC's rescue at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door earlier this year once Will Ospreay and United Empire laid a post-match beating on Cassidy following his loss to the Aerial Assassin.

In terms of seeing Shibata vs. Danielson, it's not known yet when that match will take place, but this latest report indicates that Katsuyori is clearly keen to push forward with that bout.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.