Katsuyori Shibata vs. Genichiro Tenryu (NJPW, 11/13/04)

In his last match with New Japan, Shibata faces Genichiro Tenryu, who promptly exits the ring to meet Shibata on the entrance ramp and throws him down into some chairs before returning to the ring. Awesome. This was all kinds of ridiculous in maybe the best way possible? I don’t know. They trade finishers maybe half a dozen times before Tenryu tries to kill him with a rope-hung DDT from the apron to the floor. Holy shit. Shibata comes back pissed and stiff with strikes. He connects with the second PK of the match but Tenryu’s not going out like that. He DDTs Shibata through the slaps and nearly KOs him with a front necklock. Loved the look on Tenryu’s face after Shibata kicks out, followed by a barely coherent Shibata stumbling into a pair of guh! punches for the finish. 

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Toshiaki Kawada (NJPW, 11/3/04)

This is Shibata's second-to-last match in New Japan before his exodus and it's against the Triple Crown Champion, Toshiaki Kawada! It isn’t much but what we get is Shibata trying to get in as much offense against Kawada as he can, riffing some of Kawada’s own signatures, before Kawada snaps and goes apeshit on him, chopping him in the throat and backdropping him on his head! Surprisingly, Shibata is able to wear Kawada down with the sleeper for a big PK for two but that’s as close to victory as Shibata is able to taste. The finish is something else as he and Kawada go at it until Kawada rocks him silly with shots, including a KO punch, which Shibata mistakenly sits up from so Kawada kicks him in the head and drops the knee for the three count. Kawada's selling made this thing all the more enjoyable. A sub-10 minute match with a great back half. 

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hayato "Jr." Fujita (Michinoku Pro, 12/17/06)

Is there nothing more satisfying than watching Hayato "Jr." Fujita get his ass beat? Maybe not. In continuing down the post-New Japan Shibata road, one of his last stops before heading off to MMA land is Michinoku Pro, home to resident shooty punk Fujita. I thought this was fun for what it was, with Shibata quickly taking control of the situation after Fujita tries to rush him before the bell with kicks. Shibata stiffs him with his own kicks and slaps, suplexes him a couple of times onto the hardwood floor and even encourages Fujita to try and bring some fire before shutting him down. Fujita's comeback was actually my favorite part of the match, as he kept right on top of Shibata, transitioning from move to move in accordance with Shibata's actions. When Shibata struggles against a sleeper, Fujita German suplexes him and eventually goes back to the sleeper. When Shibata gets too close to the ropes, Fujita backdrops him on his head and applies a hanging front necklock. Again, Shibata fights it off so Fujita DDTs him and re-applies it on the ground. Fun stuff. Alas, Fujita's hope spots run out as he eats a big slap and a running knee from Shibata to set up the PK. But Shibata's not ready to end Fujita's punishment. He spikes him with a Pedigree, holding on for a brutal powerbomb follow-up before locking on a crab hold for the quick submission win. Well worth the 10 minutes.  

Daisuke vs. Mr. Gannosuke (GUTS World, 5/8/16)

Another top notch performance from Mr. Gannosuke in what may be my favorite GUTS World match of the year so far. Great energy and hustle from Gannosuke, awesome old man armwork, and a hot finish. Can't ask for much more. Daisuke was good here, too, with decent selling throughout and a fun callback to his earlier work in the match. But the narrative here was Gannosuke showing off some of that hard-earned wrestling wisdom and experience. Once he took control of Daisuke's arm after banging it around the ringpost, the match really fell into place. He swanks it up with a fireman's carry into the armbar. He wrecks it old school with some grinding elbows and stiff, ole-fashioned wrenching.I could watch this all day long. The way he manipulates Daisuke's fingers while he has him in the armbar. Pulling Daisuke's elbow pad off, tossing it into the crowd and kicking the arm. I loved the running armbreakers. Just relentless work from the veteran. 

Daisuke fires back with some elbows using his good arm and gets in some offense, including a cool slingshot corkscrew splash, but Gannosuke turns the lights off on the party, attacking the bad arm to escape a top rope move and superplexing Daisuke. He hits a gutwrench suplex and a tribute Falcon Arrow but Daisuke avoids the Fire Thunder and goes back to the leg he worked in the beginning, hitting a dragon screw legwhip and locking in the figure-four. When he tries for a sliding elbow, Gannosuke counters and hits another pair of running armbreakers before forcing him down with the wakigatame, really putting his weight into it. Daisuke gets a little frog splash crazy there in the end, hitting two back-to-back and trying for a third, clearly exhausted. Gannosuke blocks it, release germans are exchanged, before the vet clobbers Daisuke with a hard lariat. The champ survives a powerbomb and a Fire Thunder Driver but Gannosuke hits him with a second one and it's lights out. A very well-earned victory for Mr. Gannosuke. 

Tatsuhiko Yoshino vs. Mr. Gannosuke (GUTS World, 3/22/16)

Continuing on my journey through GUTS World, I really enjoyed this match-up for the most part, especially the performance from Mr. Gannosuke and the Hayabusa tribute spots. Yoshino takes control early on after a big somersault plancha to the outside, staying on Gannosuke’s neck with neckbreakers and holds. Good selling from Gannosuke throughout, going back to remind us of Yoshino’s previous work. Gannosuke does a tremendous job of working over Yoshino’s back and dictating the flow of the match, smartly taking breathers and forcing Yoshino back into his game. Really neat transition from the surfboard stretch into the single leg crab. Yoshino’s failed comebacks were well-sold but some of his selling down the stretch left something to be desired, particularly on those back-to-back German suplex spots. I loved Gannosuke’s use of the full nelson slam into the Nirvana Strangle as a wear down mechanism for the dragon suplex. Yoshino gets off one last gasp with a Michinoku Driver after escaping the Fire Thunder Driver but when he misses the Firebird Splash, Gannosuke delivers vicious lariats to the back of the neck and front, setting up the kneeling powerbomb for two. When that doesn’t do the trick, he relies on the trusted Fire Thunder Driver to get the job done. Really fun match!

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Jun Akiyama (WRESTLE-1, 8/4/05)

This is Shibata post-NJPW, bottled full of spitfire and ready to make someone bleed. That someone just happens to be daddy Akiyama and when he bleeds...well, he ain't too happy about it. Holy shit this match. I first watched this nearly 10 years ago in college but re-watching it today has only reaffirmed my love for these two bad dudes. Non-stop savagery. The one downside to this match is the shitty camerawork and poorly-timed cutaways.  Shibata is brutal right out of the gate, rushing Akiyama with a dropkick before backdropping him on his pre-bald head. He gives him a little love tap kick to the face before busting him wide open with a follow-up shotgun blast of a kick (see photo above). Shibata only pisses him off and Akiyama starts throwing elbows and knees and chairs on the outside. Back inside, the two slap it out but when Akiyama sneaks in a backdrop, Shibata smartly holds on and turns it into a sleeper upon impact. What a visual of the blood draining from Akiyama's face in this moment. The sleeper wears him down and Shibata drills him with the PK. But he doesn't want to pin Jun,  he just wants him back on his feet so he can continue dishing out the pain. Love that fight. 

Shibata with a big running knee to Akiyama's gut while he's using the ropes for support. The referee does everything he can to prevent Shibata from going after Akiyama on the outside but Shibata's not having it. He misses a kick and connects with the ringpost, allowing Akiyama to take advantage and backdrop Shibata on the commentary table. Takayama is sitting there like "what the fuck, you guys?" Akiyama kills Shibata's knee with repeated chairshots on the guardrail, exposes the cold concrete and proceeds to piledrive him. But he's not quite done and goes back for the chair, laying into Shibata with some shots to the head. Jun welcomes him back to the ring with a running knee, kicking and kneeing him in the face before delivering another backdrop. Shibata kicks out at one so Akiyama cinches in the front necklock. Such great psychology from Akiyama throughout.

I love the desperation in the strike exchanges, with Akiyama throwing himself at Shibata. I love Shibata teasing the Exploder and in turn, planting Akiyama with the STO into a neck crank. When he tries for the sleeper, Akiyama's in the ropes so he tries for a full nelson suplex but Akiyama struggles...so he settles for a quick German suplex instead. The toukon no sold rush of back-and-forth offense was inserted perfectly into this and yeah, Shibata is blowing off most of Akiyama's neck work but he works in such an adrenaline-frenzied way that it takes a couple of head-drop Exploders to really faze him. Good counterwork from Akiyama as he catches a kick, elbows the knee and hits another Exploder before going right into the facelock. A pair of knees gets a one count and Akiyama lays into Shibata with some vicious slaps. He hits a sheer-drop Exploder and a running knee, finally putting Shibata to bed with am awesome Exploder '98 for the win. Comfortably in my top 3 Shibata matches of all time, just balls to the wall from bell to bell. Probably WRESTLE-1's greatest match to date. 

Daisuke vs. Buffalo (GUTS World, 4/24/16)

Buffalo did a fantastic job in his role as the dominating heel, continually cutting off the champ’s efforts to turn this thing around in his favor. I liked his use of the low blow to escape the German suplex attempt and the referee not making the count because of it. On the receiving end of Buffalo’s beatdown, Daisuke isn’t the most compelling guy to watch. His selling is okay at best. He gets busted open after a fat chairshot to the head and Buffalo proceeds to bully him for the next ten minutes or so with piledrivers, lariats, and a tiger driver. The majority of this match felt very one-sided, with Buffalo unloading everything in his arsenal and Daisuke surviving it all. The last quarter of this match was filled with big offense and a ton of kick-outs, as well as a couple of cool spots (including a deadly plastic bin being smashed over Buffalo’s head). After no selling a German suplex, Buffalo delivers a killer sliding lariat to the back of Daisuke’s neck, which could easily be the finish of the match, but nope – Daisuke holds on. He kicks out of a backdrop driver and another lariat, managing to throw Buffalo into the turnbuckles with a release German. After a dragon suplex hold, Daisuke hits two sliding elbows to finally defeat Buffalo and retain his title. Kind of a quick turnaround for Daisuke after taking the brunt of Buffalo’s offense and not really selling the long-term physical exhaustion.