Orange Cassidy looks back on facing Katsuyori Shibata and comments on people who say he’s insulting professional wrestling.
Cassidy defeated Shibata to retain the AEW All-Atlantic Championship on the November 4, 2022, episode of AEW Rampage. The dream match was particularly special, as it marked Shibata’s first time wrestling on AEW TV. Shibata had been forced to retire due a subdural hematoma in 2017, but he subsequently returned to the ring.
Speaking with Justin on The Wrestling Classic, Cassidy’s match against Shibata came up in the conversation, and he emphasized that it was an honor.
“There are a lot of people that don’t care for me, that don’t care about what I’m doing. They don’t like what I’m doing, they don’t appreciate it,” Cassidy said. “They think I’m insulting professional wrestling or whatever you want to call it. Then there is a living legend and a phenomenal professional wrestling in Shibata. He said he wanted, on his return, because he actually almost died doing what he does in the ring, and when he came back and was able to wrestle, he mentioned two people. One of them was Bryan Danielson, and the other one was me.
“I don’t think people understand that, but I never thought that a person of that stature would even consider me for something like that, and it was truly an honor. I barely beat him. I mean, I was terrified because he is Shibata. But because of that, Shibata and I actually played roulette last night, so we’re friends.” (H/t Fightful for the transcription.)
The full interview is available here:
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