Katsuyori Shibata nearly died after suffering a haematoma in his brain from a headbutt, but was his brain really removed from his head?
The Japanese star had a match with Kazuchika Okada at NJPW’s Sakura Genisis 2017 show has gone down as a historic bout for many reasons.
Dave Meltzer awarded the match a 6-star rating, and it is currently the third-highest rated wrestling bout of all-time according to Cagematch users.
However, despite how great it was, Shibata’s performance was marred by a horrific injury that nearly killed The Wrestler.
Read more: Explore Katsuyori Shibata’s career and the full history of New Japan Pro Wrestling in Lion’s Pride: The Turbulent History of New Japan Pro Wrestling by Chris Charlton, available in paperback or Kindle.
A headbutt in the final stretches of the match rocked Shibata, as blood trickled down his forehead. It would have been an incredible visual, if he hadn’t collapsed backstage as being pinned by Okada in the IWGP Heavyweight title fight.
Shibata was rushed to hospital, having suffered from a Subdural haematoma. This is bleeding on the brain and required surgery to save his life.
However, some reports of the surgery seemed farfetched, include Dave Meltzer’s report that his brain was removed from his head during the procedure.
Dave Meltzer claimed Katsuyori Shibata had his brain removed from his skull during surgery
Following Katsuyori Shibata’s return to the ring at the G1 Climax in 2021, he was booked in an exhibition match at Wrestle Kingdom 16.
This was four years after many thought he may never wrestle again, and became a mainstream moment in Japan.
Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in the weeks following Shibata’s match with Ren Narita in Tokyo, Meltzer wrote about his surgery following the injury.
The wrestling journalist claimed that surgeons “had to remove his brain during surgery and put it back in” in order to treat the wrestler’s bleed on the brain.
The full quote read:
"But Shibata's return is an amazing story because he had brain surgery and was very close to death after his April 2017 match with Okada where he delivered a sick head-butt and ended up with bleeding on his brain, and needing emergency surgery to save his life."
"They had to remove his brain during surgery and put it back in. At the time doctors said there was no way possible he could ever wrestle again."
In the October 25, 2021 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer had referred to it as simply "brain surgery", indicating that he was given more details between October and January of the following year.
This seems like an outlandish claim from arguably wrestlings top journalist, but could it be true?
Nobody could survive having their brain removed
The evidence against that claim being the truth is overwhelming, as no surgeon in the world would remove a patient's brain unless they were already dead.
Once a brain in removed from the skull, all brain function is lost. This includes the regulation of all necessary functions, such as breathing and heartbeats, leading to brain death.
No modern surgery would ever remove the brain with intent to put it back in again.
There are no peer-reviewed evidence that a brain transplant has ever successfully been completed by humans and without a significant improvement in the field, will never be possible.
Verdict: FALSE
Dave Meltzer's claim that Katsuyori Shibata had his brain removed and put back into his skull during surgery is categorically false.
There is no way he could have survived that impossible surgery, let alone return to wrestle regularly for AEW over the past three years.
However, it may not have been a lie, but an error on Meltzer's part.
Dave Meltzer may have translated a different procedure in error
Meltzer could have been lying about the procedure, but we cannot assume his intentions.
However, it could have been a translation error, or a simple misunderstanding of a real procedure Shibata could have undertaken for his subdural haematoma.
Some patients will have a craniotomy to allow the brain to swell safely, permanently or temporarily removing part of the skull to allow this.
Presumably, this is what surgeons did to Shibata in 2017 when he nearly died, to ease pressure on his brain.
Meltzer may have had a mistranslated from sources in Japan, or may have simply misunderstood when explained the procedure.
Either way, it was sloppy reporting and something somebody with close to half a century of work as a journalist should have spotted.
Thankfully, Shibata didn't have his brain removes and lived to wrestle another day.
For a deep dive into the history and legacy of Japanese professional wrestling, check out Lion’s Pride: The Turbulent History of New Japan Pro Wrestling by Chris Charlton, available in paperback and Kindle. It’s the ultimate guide for fans who want to understand the legends, the rivalries, and the matches that defined NJPW.
