Japanese wrestling legend Katsuyori Shibata has been challenged by ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta.
Yuta defended his title against Clark Connors, a product of the NJPW LA Dojo, where Shibata is head trainer, in this week’s ROH TV main event. Yuta then cut a promo in which he stated that he was ready to face Shibata.
ROH has not officially announced Shibata vs. Yuta, but it is likely that this match will take place at ROH Supercard of Honor on Friday, March 31 in Los Angeles.
Shibata has been wrestling since 2009, but he returned to the ring in 2021 after a four-year hiatus caused by a brain bleed suffered during an April 2017 match with IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada. Shibata has only wrestled a few times since coming out of retirement. On the November 4, 2022 edition of Rampage, he made his AEW in-ring debut, losing to AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy in Cassidy’s first singles title defense.
Yuta has been the ROH Pure Champion since December, when he defeated Daniel Garcia at Final Battle. He has since retained over Hagane Shinno, Timothy Thatcher, and now Connors.
As PWMania.com previously reported, ROH World Women’s Champion Athena has challenged Yuka Sakazaki to a Supercard of Honor match. On next week’s ROH TV episode, ROH is expected to confirm Sakazaki vs. Athena and Shibata vs. Yuta for the pay-per-view.
The 2023 ROH Supercard of Honor pay-per-view will take place on Friday, March 31 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California.
The current announced card is as follows:
ROH World Television Title Match
Mark Briscoe vs. Samoa Joe (c)
Reach for the Sky Ladder Match to Crown New ROH World Tag Team Titles
The Lucha Brothers vs. other teams TBA
