Katsuyori Shibata's Next ROH Match Revealed

It seemed unthinkable at the start of the decade, but Katusyori Shibata is the Ring of Honor Pure Champion, and is not backing down from challenges.

Shibata defeated Wheeler Yuta for the championship at Supercard of Honor on March 31, and has subsequently successfully defended the strap against ROH original Christopher Daniels. On the April 13 edition of ROH TV, Shibata discovered who the next challenger to his title is, with Shibata’s former NJPW LA Dojo student Alex Coughlin wanting a match against ‘The Wrestler’.

Shibata anad Coughlin were fresh from a tag team victory over The WorkHorsemen on ROH TV when Coughlin approached his mentor for a future title shot, with Coughlin later tweeting the following to confirm his intentions: “I want the ROH Pure Title I want to fight Shibata for it I’m next in line Student vs Teacher It’s time to train”

Coughlin trained under Shibata as part of the first LA Dojo class in 2018, with Coughlin graduating alongside Clark Connors, and Karl Fredericks (NXT’s Eddy Thorpe).