5 dream opponents for Katsuyori Shibata in AEW

AEW changed professional wrestling by opening "The Forbidden Door" between promotions. The promotion lets its talents wrestle at other companies and vice versa.

Christian Cage, a veteran AEW star, is the World Champion of Impact Wrestling. NJPW's Yuji Nagata and Minoru Suzuki have made several appearances on Dynamite and Rampage.

An exciting choice for AEW is to have Katsuyori Shibata wrestle at their events. Until a day back, Shibata as an active wrestler was a distant dream. But now that he has returned, Tony Khan can contact NJPW and invite him for a match or two.

As a prominent and steadfast practitioner of the (in)famous strong style, Shibata will bring a unique fighting spirit to battle his opponents. There is no shortage of wrestlers among the AEW roster who would be thrilled to face Shibata.

Here is a list of five such dream opponents for Katsuyori Shibata in AEW.

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#5 AEW Casino Ladder Match winner Hangman Page

Hangman Page is back in his rightful position as the number one contender for the AEW World Championship. He might win the title by defeating Kenny Omega as well.

Page knows how strong style works. Despite not winning a title there, he was fairly successful in NJPW.

A match between Hangman Page and Katsuyori Shibata would undoubtedly be excellent. The latter could show his respect for the AEW star following their showdown, softening Page's path to becoming a top-tier superstar.

#4 AEW star Bryan Danielson

The AEW Rampage pre-show match between Bryan Danielson and Minoru Suzuki displayed the former's ability to adapt to any match style and his capability to accept severe punishment.

He defeated Suzuki in an excellent and highly physical match. Bryan Danielson is more than capable of reaching the depths of his seemingly unlimited arsenal and dishing out offenses, attacking Shibata with strikes and submissions in a dream matchup.

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#3 AEW star Jake Hager

Jake Hager is the only contracted AEW star with major MMA success, and he currently spends his time fighting fellow MMA fighters from the American Top Team.

Although he had a less successful career, Katsuyori Shibata dabbled in MMA. Hence, a match between the two performers with MMA backgrounds can be exciting.

Of course, AEW must avoid the mistake of setting an MMA rules stipulation like they once did between Hager and Wardlow. A professional wrestling match would be enough, although Hager would have to go above and beyond his means to equal Shibata's intensity.

#2 AEW star Malakai Black

Malakai Black has troubled AEW EVP Cody Rhodes since his debut. The former WWE NXT Champion has sent Rhodes to the edge, and the outcome of their intense rivalry could make Black be a bigger star in AEW.

Black had all the signs of reaching the main event status in WWE. However, WWE had no plans for him. Interestingly, Black has continued his WWE storyline of the damaged eye in AEW.

Black uses a visually spectacular strike-based offense, kicking his opponents down with relentless perfection. However, would it be as easy for him to kick Shibata to the mat? He will also have to be on the receiving end of some damage, especially the hard-hitting corner dropkick.

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#1 AEW World Champion Kenny Omega

Kenny Omega and Katsuyori Shibata have only met once before. The latter won their B block match during G1 Climax 26. Any further chance of a matchup vanished due to the severity of Shibata's injury.

If Shibata appears in AEW for a match against his old opponent, it will help Omega reach his "The Best Bout Machine" status.

The AEW World Champion will look forward to finally scoring a singles victory over Shibata, the only member of the New Three Musketeers he hasn't defeated yet.