Katsuyori Shibata

Katsuyori Shibata is, to me, one of wrestling's most genuinely respected figures. A Mie Prefecture native who crossed between pro wrestling, MMA, and kickboxing, he built a reputation on stiff, uncompromising, real-feeling combat. What moves me most is his resilience: after a career-threatening setback he returned to the ring and now competes for AEW. That kind of comeback demands extraordinary will. I find his refusal to dilute his style admirable in an era of spectacle, and his run as ROH Pure Champion fits a man who treats the craft seriously. Shibata is the rare athlete whose intensity feels entirely earned.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Name (English)

Katsuyori Shibata

Name (Japanese)

柴田勝頼

Reading

しばた かつより

Born

November 17, 1979 (age 46)

Origin

Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, Japan

Occupation

professional wrestler / mixed martial arts fighter / kickboxer

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Scorpio / Goat

• Official sitehttp://hightide.jp/file/shibata/
• Xhttps://x.com/K_Shibata2022
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katsuyori%20Shibata
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9F%B4%E7%94%B0%E5%8B%9D%E9%A0%BC
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6378241

Tags

• Mie Prefecture
• professional wrestler
• mixed martial arts fighter
• kickboxer

Last updated

September 25, 2026

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.