5 Wrestlers to look out for at NJPW Invasion Attack 2016

5: Katsayuri Shibata

Katsayuri Shibata takes on Tomohiro Ishii at Wrestle Kingdom 10 (courtesy New Japan Pro Wrestling)

The first full New Japan show I saw was earlier this year was at Wrestle Kingdom 10. I was almost instantly a fan. One of the matches on the card was the inconspicuous bout between Shibata and Tomohiro Ishii.

I’ll just begin with saying that this match had a completely different feel to any matches I had seen in a while. Shibata and Ishii didn’t bother about rest holds and suplexes and beat the living daylights out of each other.

At first glance, Shibata may come off as a bit generic because of his look, but once the bell rings he’s a legit badass. He’s the guy who’ll kick your face off, no questions asked, when pissed. His strikes and kicks looks brutal and he’s a very good worker otherwise. He defends his NEVER Openweight Championship this Sunday against Hiroyoshi Tenzan.

Match: Katsayuri Shibata vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan for the NEVER Openweight Championship