Katsuyori Shibata is ready to commit, and Tony Khan says he wants him to stay.
Shibata was previously signed to NJPW. He was forced to retire after he suffered a subdural hematoma in 2017. After he returned to the ring, he made his AEW debut at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2022. Shibata then competed on the November 4 episode of AEW Rampage, where he lost to Orange Cassidy. Shibata has been featured since ROH's weekly TV show returned in March 2023, and he won the ROH Pure Championship at ROH Supercard of Honor 2023. At AEW WrestleDream, Shibata challenged Eddie Kingston for the ROH World Championship and the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship.
At the AEW WrestleDream post-show media scrum, Katsuyori Shibata was asked whether he has any contractual ties with NJPW or if he’s signed exclusively to AEW/ROH.
"If Tony wished, I am ready to make a commitment," Shibata said.
Khan responded by stating that he wants Shibata to stay forever.
"I want you to stay forever, you're my favorite," Khan said.
Fightful will provide more information about Shibata's contract status as it becomes available.
Click here to catch up on our coverage of AEW WrestleDream. Check out the post-show podcast on our YouTube channel.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
