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What’s the story?
As confirmed by New Japan Pro Wrestling earlier today, NJPW Superstar and former three-time Never Openweight Champion Katsuyori Shibata is set to undertake the role of head coach of the New Japan Dojo in Los Angeles.
In case you didn’t know…
Katsuyori Shibata made his professional wrestling debut in 1999 under the NJPW banner, alongside rookies and fellow wrestlers Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Shibata has held the IWGP Tag Team Championship just once along with his former tag team partner Hirooki Goto and is also a former three-time Never Openweight Champion. Outside of Japan, he has wrestled for promotions such Ring of Honor and RevPro UK where he is a former one-time British Heavyweight Champion.
Following his impressive New Japan Cup win in 2017, Shibata seemingly suffered a subdural hematoma after his IWGP Heavyweight Title match against Kazuchika Okada at Sakura Genesis, 2017. The injury caused Shibata to be paralyzed on his right side and it was reported by Dave Meltzer that the 38-year-old star might never be cleared to wrestle.
The heart of the matter
As previously announced, on March 19, 2018, New Japan Pro Wrestling will kick-start their Spring Camp in Los Angeles, California as part of the newly introduced New Japan Dojo in LA and it has also now been confirmed that “The Wrestler” Katsuyori Shibata will be the head coach of the LA Dojo along with 17-year-old veteran and current Ring of Honor star Scorpio Sky.
When asked about taking up the role of head coach and position in the Los Angeles Dojo, Shibata stated that with rehab and training, he has been sensing that it is time to move past the struggle of finding what he has been capable of doing. With Shibata currently not able to compete in the ring, he has taken on a new challenge and claimed that he needed a change of pace, thus deciding to take up the role of head coach in the LA Dojo.
"These days have been full of discovery, and as I teach them things, I am learning, too. Los Angeles’ weather is great, and it would be difficult to find an environment with better conditions. As I continue with my rehabilitation and training, I have a desire to pass down the fundamentals, the know-how and techniques and the philosophy that I have built up through my own experience in pro-wrestling to the younger generation here in Los Angeles," Shibata stated.
What’s next?
New Japan’s LA Dojo will kick off on the 19th of March and it is undeniable that both Shibata and Sky are absolutely capable of guiding the up and coming future stars of the Pro Wrestling industry.
Author’s Take
As mentioned in the previous section, I believe that both Shibata and Scorpio Sky are an explosive duo and are perfectly capable of guiding the future stars of this business.
