December 4th, 1943 – January 16th, 2010

Katsuhisa Shibata, former New Japan wrestler and referee, and father of second generation pro wrestler Katsuyori Shibata (who he is pictured above with when Katsuyori was 3-years-old), passed away earlier today following a heart attack. Shibata wrestled on the very first New Japan show on 3/6/72 and after retiring in February, 1976, would become a referee for the company. He temporarily retired as a referee on 6/25/99 at Korakuen Hall but would return for sporadic appearances, recently officiating in Tatsumi Fujinami’s DRADITION promotion.