is a Japanese professional wrestler, commentator, trainer, and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Opps. He is a former one-time AEW World Trios Champion. He also makes appearances for AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former one-time ROH Pure Champion.
Known for his stiff offense, Shibata spent most of his career with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both a wrestler and trainer. In NJPW, he became a three-time NEVER Openweight Champion, one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion (with Hirooki Goto), and one-time winner of the New Japan Cup (in 2017). He is also a former holder of Revolution Pro Wrestling's RPW British Heavyweight Championship. From 2018 to 2023, he served as the head coach of NJPW's dojo in Los Angeles.
Early life Shibata was born in Kuwana, Mie, on November 17, 1979, the second child of professional wrestler Katsuhisa Shibata (柴田勝久, Shibata Katsuhisa) who excursion to Mexico's EMLL in the early 70s included main eventing the EMLL 37th Anniversary Show and teaming with Karloff Lagarde). Shibata's father Katsuhisa Shibata died on January 16, 2010 due to heart attack at the age of sixty six when Shibata was thirty years old. Shibata has an older sister. He attended Kuwana Kogyo High School in Kuwana, where his classmates included future professional wrestler Hirooki Goto. He was an amateur wrestler during his school days and competed at national level in 1997.
Professional wrestling career New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1999–2005)
Shibata made his professional wrestling debut on October 10, 1999, facing close friend Wataru Inoue at a New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) event. Alongside fellow rookies Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura, Shibata became known as one of the "new Three Musketeers". In 2000, Shibata took part in the 2000 Young Lion Cup, eventually finishing in third place with six points.Strong Style Spirit . Puroresufan.com. Retrieved on October 19, 2011. During the tournament he was involved in a serious incident when he hit Masakazu Fukuda with an elbow drop during a match. Fukuda was in a coma and died four days later in hospital.Strong Style Spirit
Shibata and Wataru worked their way up the junior ranks together, though Shibata was a slight step ahead of Inoue throughout their joint rise, and subsequently challenged for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship first against Kendo Kashin on October 28, 2001,Purolove.Com . Purolove.Com. Retrieved on October 19, 2011. but lost. Shibata and Inoue also challenged for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on two occasions both against Jado & Gedo, but lost both times.Purolove.Com . Purolove.Com. Retrieved on October 19, 2011.
By 2003, Shibata graduated to the heavyweight division and joined the Makai Club wrestling as himself and as Makai #4.Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Cagematch.de. Retrieved on October 19, 2011. From there, he continued to rise in the ranks. In July 2003, Shibata challenged for both the IWGP Tag Team Championship and the IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship but failed to win either title.Strong Style Spirit . Puroresufan.com. Retrieved on October 19, 2011. Shibata then entered the 2003 G1 Climax, where he placed 3rd in his block with 5 points.Purolove.Com. Purolove.Com. Retrieved on October 19, 2011. Shibata continued to grow in 2004. On July 19, 2004, he received his first shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kazuyuki Fujita but lost by knockout.Strong Style Spirit. Puroresufan.com. Retrieved on October 19, 2011. One month later, he entered the 2004 G1 Climax and won his block scoring eight points and defeated several former IWGP Champions including Masahiro Chono, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Genichiro Tenryu but would lose in the semi-finals to eventual winner: Hiroyoshi Tenzan.Purolove.Com. Purolove.Com. Retrieved on October 19, 2011. Following the G1, Shibata joined Masahiro Chono's new stable, Black New Japan, where he remained until eventually leaving New Japan in January 2005.
Independent circuit (2005–2007) In 2005, Shibata left New Japan, becoming a freelancer and has most notably fought for Big Mouth Loud and Pro Wrestling Noah. One of his more famous matches during his freelancing years was a heated confrontation with former amateur wrestler Jun Akiyama. In Big Mouth Loud, Shibata took on several big names including Satoshi Kojima, Kensuke Sasaki, & Taru.CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database . Cagematch.de. Retrieved on October 19, 2011. In Noah, Shibata teamed with Kenta on several occasions including challenging for the GHC Tag Team ChampionshipPurolove.Com . Purolove.Com. Retrieved on October 19, 2011. and defeating Go Shiozaki and Mitsuharu Misawa where Shibata pinned the future heavyweight champion: Shiozaki. On January 4, 2006, Shibata returned to New Japan at Toukon Shidou Chapter 1, where he defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi.Strong Style Spirit. Puroresufan.com. Retrieved on October 19, 2011. Shibata's final match for nearly six years took place on December 31, 2006, when he defeated Kazuhiro Hamanaka. By January 2007, Shibata left wrestling to focus on mixed martial arts.
Inoki Genome Federation (2011) On December 31, 2011, Shibata returned to professional wrestling to compete on the Inoki Genome Federation's (IGF) Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011 year end event. At the event, Shibata teamed with fellow pro wrestler-turned-mixed martial artist Kazushi Sakuraba to defeat the team of Shinichi Suzukawa and Atsushi Sawada.CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database. Cagematch.net. Retrieved on July 28, 2017.
Return to NJPW Laughter 7 (2012–2015)
On August 12, 2012, Shibata, alongside Kazushi Sakuraba, returned to NJPW. Shibata and Sakuraba wrestled their return match on September 23 at Destruction, defeating Hiromu Takahashi and Wataru Inoue in a tag team match. Shibata and Sakuraba, collectively dubbed Laughter7, continued their winning ways at the following two pay-per-views, King of Pro-Wrestling on October 8 and Power Struggle on November 11, both times defeating the team of Togi Makabe and Wataru Inoue. On January 4, 2013, at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome, Shibata suffered his first defeat since his return to professional wrestling, when he was defeated by Togi Makabe in a singles grudge match. On January 27, Shibata returned to Pro Wrestling Noah, once again affiliating himself with Kenta. Shibata and Sakuraba returned to their winning ways at the following New Japan pay-per-view, The New Beginning on February 10, where they defeated Hirooki Goto and Wataru Inoue in a tag team match. On April 7 at Invasion Attack, Shibata and Sakuraba suffered their first tag team loss, when they were defeated by Hirooki Goto and Yuji Nagata via referee stoppage, when Sakuraba was injured and unable to continue the match. Shibata and Goto faced off in a singles match on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2013, which ended in a draw. A rematch between the two took place on June 22 at Dominion 6.22, where Shibata was victorious. A third match between the two on July 20 ended in another draw. From August 1 to 11, Shibata took part in the 2013 G1 Climax, where he finished with a record of five wins and four losses, with a loss against Hiroshi Tanahashi on the final day costing him a spot in the finals. On September 8, Shibata and Sakuraba took part in the Wrestle-1 promotion's inaugural event, defeating Masakatsu Funaki and Masayuki Kono in a tag team match. On December 7, Shibata made his in-ring return to Noah, defeating Maybach Taniguchi in a singles match.
On January 4, 2014, at Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome, Shibata was defeated by Hirooki Goto, who was returning from an injury, which had kept him sidelined for the past five months. The match ended the rivalry between Shibata and Goto and led to the two forming a tag team. The two quickly entered the IWGP Tag Team Championship picture, defeating the reigning champions, Bullet Club (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson), in a non-title match at New Japan's 42nd anniversary event on March 6. Shibata also expressed interest in challenging for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but was told by the reigning champion, Kazuchika Okada, to earn his title shot at the 2014 New Japan Cup. In order to win the tournament, Shibata announced he was bringing back his old finishing move, the octopus hold. Shibata, however, failed in his attempt to win the tournament, losing to Shelton X Benjamin in his second round match on March 22. On April 6 at Invasion Attack 2014, Shibata and Goto received a shot at the IWGP Tag Team Championship, but were defeated by Gallows and Anderson. From July 21 to August 8, Shibata took part in the 2014 G1 Climax, where he finished fourth in his block with a record of six wins and four losses. During the tournament final event on August 10, Shibata and Goto faced off in another singles match, where Shibata was victorious. After entering a rivalry with Shinsuke Nakamura and becoming the number one contender to his IWGP Intercontinental Championship, it was announced that Shibata would be working the full October to November "Road to Power Struggle" tour, his first full tour with New Japan since his return. Shibata received his title shot on November 8 at Power Struggle, but was defeated by Nakamura. Later in the month, Shibata and Goto entered the 2014 World Tag League, where they opened with a three match losing streak, only to come back and win their four remaining matches, winning their block and advancing to the finals. On December 7, Shibata and Goto defeated Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson in the finals to win the 2014 World Tag League. This led to a rematch between the two teams on January 4, 2015, at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome, where Shibata and Goto defeated Anderson and Gallows to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions. Shibata and Goto's reign ended in their first defense on February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka, where they were defeated by Anderson and Gallows.
On March 8, Shibata and Goto once again faced off in the second round of the 2015 New Japan Cup in a match, where Goto was victorious. On April 5, a rivalry ignited between Shibata and Kazushi Sakuraba, after Sakuraba submitted Shibata in a tag team match at Invasion Attack 2015. The two faced off on July 5 at Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall in a match, where Shibata was victorious. From July 20 to August 14, Shibata took part in the 2015 G1 Climax, where he finished in the middle of his block with a record of four wins and five losses.
NEVER Openweight Champion (2016–2017)