Katsuyori Shibata is back in All Elite Wrestling and is heading for a huge championship match on the November 4th episode of Rampage.
On the November 2nd edition of AEW Dynamite Orange Cassidy put his All-Atlantic Champion on the line against Rey Fenix and Luchasaurus. The match was made the previous week after both Fenix and the former AEW World Tag Team Champion argued via Christian Cage that they deserved a shot at the gold.
After Cassidy successfully retained his title he was attacked by PAC, who he defeated for the championship back on October 12th.
Katsuyori Shibata To Face Orange Cassidy On Rampage
However, with the beatdown in full swing, PAC was interrupted by Katsuyori Shibata who arrived with Rocky Romero, Chuck Taylor, and Trent Beretta. Once Orange Cassidy recovered he offered his open contract for a match on Rampage to the Japanese star, who quickly accepted.
Shibata has only wrestled twice since an injury-enforced hiatus in 2017 which saw him undergo surgery for a subdural hematoma after collapsing backstage. At the time it was widely believed that the star would never wrestle again. Despite this, Shibata competed in a five minute exhibition against Zack Sabre Jr. in October 2021.
The star was successful in his first ‘proper’ match back on January 4th 2022 at Wrestle Kingdom 16 against Ren Narita. Although he hasn’t wrestled since.
Shibata’s only previous AEW appearance came at Forbidden Door where he confronted Will Ospreay after his IWGP United States Championship match against Orange Cassidy.
The show also featured the AEW debut of WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett. The former Intercontinental Champion instantly made an impact by smashing his signature guitar over the head of Darby Allin. It was later confirmed by Tony Khan that Jarrett will be working as Director of Business Development.
Elsewhere on Dynamite, Colt Cabana returned to the show for the first time in a little under a year when he challenged Chris Jericho for the Ring of Honor World Championship.