Katsuyori Shibata To Be At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January 2023 will feature an appearance from Katsuyori Shibata
A year after going off script with Ren Narita at Wrestle Kingdom 16, Katsuyori Shibata has confirmed that he will be present at Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4, 2023, but has not revealed in what capacity.
Speaking with New Japan’s official website, Shibata confirmed he will be in the Tokyo Dome, saying the following:
“I don’t know how I will be a part of things, but for now I will say I will be at the Tokyo Dome January 4. I won’t let the words fighting spirit disappear from the wrestling world,” said Shibata.
‘The Wrestler’ retired from full-time wrestling in April 2017 after suffering a life-threatening subdural haematoma after a match with Kazuchika Okada at Sakura Genesis, but returned to the ring in 2021 for a special five-minute grappling exhibition with Zack Sabre Jr.
Shibata would later wrestle for 11 minutes with Narita at Wrestle Kingdom 16, before making a shock appearance at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door in June, and wrestling Orange Cassidy for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship on an episode of AEW Rampage in November 2022.
