Backstage News On Why Katsuyori Shibata Is Wrestling For ROH And Not NJPW

It was a noteworthy first weekend of TV tapings for Tony Khan's Ring of Honor this past Saturday and Sunday, with the promotion utilizing talent such as New Japan's Zack Sabre Jr. and Clark Connors, independent wrestlers such as Lady Frost, and past ROH talent such as Silas Young and Shane Taylor. But perhaps the biggest news coming out of the tapings was ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta calling out New Japan legend Katsuyori Shibata, seemingly setting up a Pure Championship match for Supercard of Honor.

Shibata's inclusion in an ROH match has understandably led to questions of why Shibata isn't wrestling for New Japan, where he had wrestled full time before suffering a life-threatening head injury in 2017 and continues to work as a trainer. In the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer initially stated that Shibata wasn't being used in New Japan because he wasn't cleared before quickly correcting himself. "He double-crossed them, remember?" Meltzer said.

Meltzer is referring to Shibata's last match in New Japan against protege Ren Narita, which took place during Night One of Wrestle Kingdom 16 in January 2022. Originally billed as an exhibition match, similar to Shibata's return match with Zack Sabre Jr. a few months prior, Shibata and Narita instead worked a standard New Japan match, to the noticeable confusion of the announcers. It was later reported that Shibata changed the rules of his match on the fly, and New Japan officials backstage had "freaked out" over it.

Should Yuta-Shibata be made official, it will be Shibata's third match since the Wrestle Kingdom 16 bout. He unsuccessfully challenged Orange Cassidy for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship in November and defeated Tom Lawlor in a UWF Rules match in December.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.