Katsuyori Shibata wins ROH Pure Championship at Supercard of Honor

Katsuyori Shibata has marked another milestone in his comeback from life-threatening injury to win the ROH Pure Championship at Supercard of Honor.

Shibata, 43, defeated the Blackpool Combat Club’s Wheeler Yuta to lift the title.

#ANDNEW #ROH Pure Champion @K_Shibata2022!
Order #ROHSuperCard now!
📱: @BRWrestling
📺: InDemand Cable & Satellite
🌏: @FiteTV | 🇨🇦: @ppv_com pic.twitter.com/9WnfF8iCzC

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) April 1, 2023

It was once thought that Shibata would never wrestle again.

Following a very physical match with Kazuchika Okada on April 9^th, 2017, Shibata collapsed and was hospitalized. He underwent emergency brain surgery to treat a subdural hematoma.

He engaged in limited physicality as part of Bullet Club angles in 2019, but did not wrestle again until 2021, when he took part in a five-minute grappling exhibition with Zack Sabre Jr.

On January 4^th, 2022, at Wrestle Kingdom 16, Shibata competed in his first full match since 2017, defeating Ren Narita.

During the November 4^th, 2022 episode of AEW Rampage, in his AEW in-ring debut, Shibata was defeated by Orange Cassidy for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship.