Katsuyori Shibata suffered what was thought to be a career-ending subdural hematoma in 2017 after a bout with Kazuchika Okada.
Shibata would eventually return to the ring in 2021 for an exhibition match and then take on a more active schedule in NJPW and AEW in 2022. While writing about how remarkable Shibata's return was given what he went through in 2017, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer wrote, "They had to remove his brain during surgery and put it back."
RJ City got to the bottom of this line on Hey EW!
RJ: Is it true you had your brain removed?
Shibata: Are you trying to make a joke out of this? An injury that took me five years to come back to the ring, you think it's funny? You think it's funny?
RJ: Not funny. A series of remarkable, heroic, tough....more questions. Sorry about this one. Whose brain did you get instead?
Shibata: I'm not RoboCop.
That settles that.
Shibata last wrestled on the November 25 episode of AEW Rampage, losing the ROH Pure championship to Wheeler Yuta.
