Major AEW Favourite To Take An "Extended" Break

This former title won't be on AEW or ROH programming for an extended period.

by Andrew Pollard
Shibata and Orange Cassidy
AEW

Having now dropped the ROH Pure Championship, Katsuyori Shibata is set for a hiatus from AEW and ROH programming.

Per Fightful Select, Shibata is due to return to Japan for an "extended period" as soon as possible.

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The initial hope was that Shibata's absence could've been delayed until after ROH Final Battle 2023, which takes place on 15 December from Garland, Texas' Curtis Culwell Center. It unfortunately was not possible for the 44-year-old to remain in the US for that long, and thus the decision was made for him to drop the ROH Pure Title to Wheeler Yuta on on last night's episode of AEW Rampage.

That loss to Yuta brought Katsuyori's Pure Championship reign to a halt at 239 days; the Wrestler having defeated the Blackpool Combat Club man for that prize back at last year's Final Battle.

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Shibata has enjoyed his time with AEW and ROH and is said to have liked teaming with Hook and Orange Cassidy, suggesting that the legend is open to working with the promotions in the future. For now, though, his focus will be on Japan.

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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.