Fans and journalists have a tendency to throw around the word “miracle” too loosely when it comes to seeing athletes return to their respective sports after serious injuries, but it’s hard to not apply that to Katsuyori Shibata on AEW Rampage last week, taking on Orange Cassidy. Five years removed from suffering a severe, life-threatening brain injury, seeing Shibata on U.S. television in a high profile match falls into the category of things few would ever have expected to see.
Though Shibata took the loss, as expected, it was a fun match that balanced his trademark, no nonsense style with Cassidy’s unique blend of athleticism and comedy to good effect. So you’d think that Shibata would be overjoyed with his performance, but it appears he remains a tough critic of his own work even though he’s fortunate to be back in the ring at all.
Shibata told Tokyo Sports he found the experience “frustrating” but did add that he “felt alive” (h/t to Fightful for the transcription).
“It’s frustrating, really,” Shibata said. “The result is the same, and I have a lot of things to reflect on in terms of my moves. I felt that I was back on the battlefield, and that the ring is special. Sometimes things go well, and sometimes things don’t go well.
“I really felt alive. I’ve been looking for a chance for a long time. I thought that if I waited in Japan, I would never get a chance. I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity I have now. I wanted to give it my all. I went there without hesitation.”
The 42-year-old Shibata has been heading up NJPW’s LA Dojo for several years. He has wrestled just twice in Japan since his return from injury, battling to a draw with Zack Sabre Jr. last year under UWF, shoot-style rules, then earning a victory over Ren Narita at Wrestle Kingdom earlier this year.
But it sounds like he hasn’t closed the door on more in-ring appearances, whether they come in the U.S. or Japan.
“I think I will fight in the near future,” Shibata said. “I’ve already started working on it.”