By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Tony Khan announced the official signing of Katsuyorhi Shibata on Saturday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
It’s official: @K_Shibata2022 is ALL ELITE!
Welcome to @AEW for one of the greatest fighters + champions ever in wrestling, legend Katsuyori Shibata! Thank you @njpwglobal for making it possible!
See you all moments from now for #AEWCollision NEXT on TNT after this huge news! pic.twitter.com/91RDUmBQHd
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) December 24, 2023
Powell’s POV: Shibata has apparently been allowed to wrestle for the Ring of Honor promotion, yet he was not actually signed by AEW. It’s unclear whether the signing means Shibata will be working for the AEW promotion or if he’ll continue to be featured in ROH.
On a side note, it’s a little known fact that Will Pruett wrote a very similar note pledging his “writer life” to me and ProWrestling.net when he originally joined our staff. Okay, I made that up, but Will’s AEW Collision audio review will be available late tonight or on Sunday for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
This was a real no brainer.