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Katsuyori Shibata made a surprise appearance at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view following Will Ospreay's match against Orange Cassidy.
After Ospreay successfully retained the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, he and Aussie Open further assaulted Cassidy. Shortly afterward, Rocky Romero and Trent Beretta made their way out to make the save but were also laid out.
Katsuyori Shibata's music played as the United Center went wild. He took out Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis on the ramp before setting his sights on The Commonwealth Kingpin.
Shibata hit a corner dropkick on the IWGP US Heavyweight Champion before going in for a rear-naked choke. However, Aussie Open saved their United Empire leader by pulling him out of the ring.
The Wrestler then had a face-off with Cassidy inside the ring, with the latter giving his sunglasses to Shibata and a thumbs up.
Judging by Shibata's actions at Forbidden Door, NJPW could book a match between him and Ospreay for the IWGP US Heavyweight Title in the near future. However, the title is still in the possession of Juice Robinson, who appeared at the pay-per-view along with the Bullet Club.
Katsuyori Shibata made his return to in-ring action earlier this year at Wrestle Kingdom 16
At Wrestle Kingdom 16, Katsuyori Shibata competed in his first official match since April 2017. He faced Ren Narita at the show and secured a huge win upon his return.
Prior to the Tokyo Dome match, Shibata wrestled Zack Sabre Jr. on the final night of the G1 Climax 31 in 2021. The match between the two was a 5-minute UWF rules exhibition bout that ended in a draw.
After the bout, Shibata promised that he would return for a proper match at some point down the road. He eventually lived up to his promise at Wrestle Kingdom.
At NJPW Sakura Genesis 2017, following his match against Kazuchika Okada, Shibata collapsed backstage. It was later reported that he suffered a subdural hematoma and eventually, it was noted that he was probably never going to compete inside the ring again, but that wasn't the case to be.
