11 Dream Matches For Katsuyori Shibata

3. Shingo Takagi

There is no one on the New Japan roster currently performing at a higher level than IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi.

Throw in that his style would mesh perfectly with Shibata’s and the fact that they have never wrestled before and you have the formula for one of the biggest dream matches possible in New Japan today.

Takagi is one of the wrestlers who brings an unbelievable amount of explosiveness and dynamic energy to his matches. Very similar to the likes of Tomohiro Ishii and Shibata himself.

Takagi has a strong claim of being the best wrestler in the world today and if that doesn’t scream dream match I don’t know what does.

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2. Bryan Danielson

Since Bryan Danielson arrived in All Elite Wrestling he has been on an incredible roll.

His matches with Kenny Omega and Minoru Suzuki have been match of the year candidates and he seems like the perfect person to clash with a newly healthy Katsuyori Shibata.

Danielson is wrestling again after a decade of working as a sports entertainer. That is not said with disrespect but you can see a clear switch has been flipped with his work in his limited matches in AEW.

He is one of the very best wrestlers of his generation and his desire to work with New Japan talent has been well-documented.

Shibata was one of the best in the world four years ago. A match with Bryan Danielson is as good a measuring stick as you will find in wrestling today.

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1. KENTA

If unsettled business was a person, it would be named KENTA.

Wrestling fans haven’t forgotten about KENTA’s shocking betrayal of Katsuyori Shibata at the 2019 G1 Climax Final. Now, we may finally get to see a resolution.

KENTA turned on Tomohiro Ishii that night and joined Bullet Club only for Shibata to try and fight him off. Shibata had been the one to walk KENTA through the doors of New Japan just two months earlier.

Their history is thick as they worked as a tag team during their time in Pro Wrestling NOAH before KENTA’s eventual betrayal in 2019.

It would be a shock if Shibata has moved on from this moment. If we are going to look forward to one major match between former friends and rivals, Katsuyori Shibata vs. KENTA tops that list by far.

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