The headbutt nearly killed Katsuyori Shibata.
It is a cautionary tale for anyone ever considering lacing up a pair of wrestling boots. The dashing Shibata, a physical specimen, used the headbutt, hitting opponents in the ring with his head. But that is a maneuver where the brunt of the blow falls on the one delivering it.
With each headbutt damaging his brain, Shibata collapsed four years ago. He had just wrestled the match of the night at New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Sakura Genesis in April 2017 against Kazuchika Okada, a 38-minute clinic that emphatically signaled his arrival in the main event.