Shibata officially signs with AEW and dedicates his wrestler life to Tony Khan

Katsuyori Shibata nearly died in 2017 from a brain injury after wrestling Kazuchika Okada in NJPW. He was never supposed to wrestle again, which is why it was a big deal when he showed up in AEW for the first time at Forbidden Door 2022.

Shibata has been a mainstay in Tony Khan’s Ring of Honor as its Pure Champion for much of 2023. And today, Khan and Shibata announced that The Wrestler has now signed a deal with AEW:

Here is Shibata’s letter dedicating his wrestler life to Tony Khan:

Dear Tony Khan

Today, I have signed the contract with AEW under a permission from New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

In the past year, I worked for AEW/ROH and I learned how wonderful the AEW is.

This is the best environment where wrestlers can focus only on fighting in the ring.

And the love for professional wrestling is overflowing from Tony and all the people who work for him.

I want to make AEW’s ring the last end point of The Wrestler’s career.

I dedicate my wrestler life to Tony Khan, and AEW.

Thank You

Katsuyori Shibata

Are you excited to see a lot more of Shibata in AEW going forward, Cagesiders?