Katzuhori Shibata

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Alan4L]

*Katsuyori (sorry to be a nitpicker buddy!)

 

His return has probably gone better than we could have expected. Well from a match quality point of view anyway (booking of him has been so-so). He's a guy that has an aura about him, and it's always exciting when he's wrestling because you feel anything could happen. His best stuff post return have been the June 2013 Goto match, the Dome 2014 Goto match, the G1 2013 Ishii and Kojima matches, the G1 2014 Honma, Tanahashi, Nakamura, Nagata, Ishii and (believe it or not) Shelton Benjamin matches. He also has the recent Tanahashi match that Dave gave five stars to. I wasn't as high on that as him but it was a really great match.

 

Before he left for MMA, his best stuff was the Akiyama match in 2005, the matches with Kawada and Tenryu (where they just NUKE him) and his TAKEOVER tag stuff with KENTA.

[W2BTD]

Long gap hurts, as I think he'd have been a lock had he never went away.

 

His post-MMA stuff has been totally unique in an "aww shit, its time for the Shibata match!" sort of way. You have to stop everything and watch this guy, he commands attention with his realism, and he is the easiest guy around to suspend disbelief for.

 

Also, dave is all alone on an island with that 5-star rating. I could buy 5-stars for the G1 match (I had that one at 4 3/4, I think), but the second match was not even close to 5. I had it at 4, and could easily see others at 3 1/2. 3 3/4. Good match, not an all time match by any means.

 

He really is a special talent, though. Might make my list anyway.

[Childs]

His post-MMA stuff has been totally unique in an "aww shit, its time for the Shibata match!" sort of way. You have to stop everything and watch this guy, he commands attention with his realism, and he is the easiest guy around to suspend disbelief for.

 

I agree with this. He's like the Lesnar of New Japan for me, though not as awesome physically. I see him come out, and I know someone's ass is getting beat. No shot at my list, but I'm happy he's around, doing his thing.

[W2BTD]

Rewatched the second Tanahashi match, and I vastly underrated it on first watch (I gave it 4-stars).

 

I can totally see where dave was coming from with 5. No wasted time with matwork or grappling. They get right into beating each other up, which is what the story called for. The work is intense, and the pace is actually pretty incredible and speaks to the cardio of each man. The structure is great, the peaks are perfect, but that's par for the Tanahashi course. The callbacks to G1 and the creative reversals are beautifully done. The match really has no flaws, aside from the somewhat abrupt finish. I can't go five, but it;s much better than four. Probably ****1/2, ****3/4. I would go somehwre in between if I could.

[Dylan Waco]

I couldn't even make it through the second Shibata v. Tanahashi match, though I did think the first one was great. It could be that I was just tired when I was trying to watch it, or it could be that I just find Tanahashi laughable in the role he was asked to play in match two. Honestly not sure.

 

Anyway I have found Shibata pretty disappointing for big chunks of this NJPW, albeit with some really high highs, including this years G1. I get why some would rate him, but ultimately what hurts him with me is that there are hundreds of guys I think are better

[pol]

I liked the second Shibata/Tanahashi match at the level of a ***3/4 match. Agree with Dylan that Tanahashi doesn't fit in the role he was required to play there. Hate popping up after suplexes and long boring forearm exchanges. Given all that I guess it's pretty remarkable I thought it was as good as I did.

[ohtani's jacket]

Tanahashi's strikes have never looked better than in that match. His role seemed to be to bury the hatchet in a tough fought match. It got over pretty well.

[GOTNW]

I like Shibata a lot. He was a fun junior/young lion but really blossomed once he settled into the role of a Makai Club faux shooter. His matches vs Tanahashi, Nakamura, Tenryu, Takayama, Fujita and Tenzan from that time period were all great. His brief Big Mouth Loud stint was awesome as was his tag with KENTA and he's been consistently performing on a high level since returning. As I worker I don't think he has any significant weaknesses other than sporadically busting out poorly done fighting spirit suplex exchanges.

[Boss Rock]

With his career having come to such an abrupt and unfortunate end, Shibata is one of the few modern day workers who we can really properly evaluate today. I think he was largely great and among the best in the world from when he returned to NJPW up to his injury. The Okada match in particular is one of the greatest performances I've seen. From the little bit I've seen of his earlier career, he was great as the young punk who tried to big league guys like Jun, Fujita, Kawada, and Tenryu only for him to get demolished. And while those who dislike Ishii may have similar issues with Shibata, the latter would still work submission and do a bit more grappling (not to suggest Ishii is one-dimensional, I think that's a misconception).

It's likely Shibata finds a place at least in the bottom-half of my ballot.

[Ed.]

The Okada match is the jewel in the crown, but Shibata's series of matches with Tanahashi were tremendous as well I thought, probably a little underrated.  Really enjoyed his stuff with the dads too over the NEVER title.  

He'll definitely make my list, but I probably have to cap him somewhere around 80-100.  His retirement leaves me wanting more with him going out in his peak, whereas I think a number of NJPW guys cases become weaker after 2017.

[strobogo]

It really sucks that NJ kept him at such a mid card role for so long after his return to the company. He should not have been in the tag/NEVER netherrealm for the majority of his time back with the company. Even if you didn't know his career was going to end in 2017, he came back in 2012 and it was 5 years before he got to an IWGP match. It didn't at all feel like he was rising up the ranks but that he was still being punished/humbled for leaving in 2004.

[Boss Rock]

He definitely would've gotten an IC title run at some point, but I also think a heavyweight title run wasn't outside the realm of possibility had he not gotten injured.

[Dav'oh]

Someone turned Shibata vs Okada into a funny:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3B889HPoe0

And to stay on topic, I'm a big fan of both but I won't be anywhere near the highest vote for either. I've seen most of Okada as it happened and need to brush up on Shibata, but they're not really on my radar at the moment.

 

[kid dracula]

Shibata quickly became a personal favorite when I started watching New Japan in 2016. I need to see some of his early career, but I love his aggression and his seeming contempt for whoever's in the ring with him. Obviously the Okada match is an all-time great performance from both, although it's somewhat marred in my mind by the aftermath (how excited can you get watching someone do something that ended their career? I dunno). I remember a very fun match against Matt Riddle from England that worked for the same reason as the Okada match -- they were both willing to look frightened and weak when confronted with Shibata's overwhelming manliness!

 

 

[Boss Rock]

I would definitely recommend the matches with Jun, Fujita, Tenryu, and Kawada for a glimpse at early Shibata.

[Tetsujin]

Well, The Wrestler is finally back. So hyped to see what he can do after four years to make his case bigger.