Shibata competes in an exhibition match at the G1 finals.
Following an intermission at the G1 Climax finals, Zack Sabre Jr. made his way out to the ring and was soon followed by Katsuyori Shibata. It was announced that a UWF rules exhibition match was going to take place between the two.
There was a series of reversals and back and forth exchanges but Shibata did not take any bumps during the bout. It went to a five minute time-limit draw and Shibata said the next time they wrestled, it would be an actual match.
Shibata was last in action in a traditional one-on-one match in April of 2017. He suffered a hematoma while wrestling Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Title and was forced to step away from the ring because of the injury.
Shibata is the head trainer at the New Japan Dojo in Los Angeles, California.
