MAJOR Return Confirmed For NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16!
After so long away, this top star will be returning to NJPW on 4 January...
Katsuyori Shibata will compete in his first billed wrestling match in close to five years on 4 January.
Today's NJPW Best of the Super Juniors & World Tag League Finals show in Ryogoku Sumo Hall saw Shibata break the news himself, doing so one week after hyping up a "major announcement."
Walking to the ring look resplendent in a suit, Shibata was holding back the tears as he addressed the crowd with the following:-
"January the 4th. Katsuyori Shibata has got a match, and that's it!"
This will be Shibata's first true wrestling match since April 2017, when he fought Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in a bout that almost had disastrous consequences. Rushed to hospital immediately afterwards, the former NEVER Openweight Champion was, in his own words, given an "18% or less" chance of survival after suffering a subdural hematoma requiring emergency surgery.
Shibata assumed the head trainer's role at NJPW's LA Dojo upon recovery. This year's G1 Climax Finals (21 October) saw him contest an unannounced grappling exhibition with Zack Sabre Jr., which ended in a no-contest upon hitting the five-minute time limit. Afterwards, Shibata declared that the next time fans saw him, he'd be in his wrestling gear.
And on 4 January, he will be.
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 takes place over 4, 5, and 8 January 2022. Shibata's opponent is yet to be announced.