Alex Coughlin Recalls Best Advice He’s Been Given By Katsuyori Shibata

On Thursday’s episode of ROH TV, Alex Coughlin will challenge Katsuyori Shibata for the ROH Pure Championship. 

Shibata is a legend in wrestling who has returned to the ring after retiring in 2017 due to a subdural hematoma. During his retirement, Shibata led the NJPW LA Dojo with Alex Coughlin being one of his standout students. 

Shibata returned to the ring in an official capacity in 2022 and has been active in ROH and AEW, winning the ROH Pure Title. 

Speaking to Jeremy Lambert & Joel Pearl on In The Weeds, Coughlin revealed the best piece of advice he’s gotten from Shibata. 

“One thing he would always say is, ‘don’t think, just do. Keep it simple.’ It’s a problem that I, and I think a lot of people have. You get overwhelmed with the thoughts and the possibilities of everything that goes into pro wrestling, everything that goes into life. One thing that I always try to keep in mind is take a breath, don’t overthink it, and just kick some ass. That’s exactly how I’m going to walk into June 1st. When I’m across the canvas from him, I’m not going to overthink it, I’m just going to do what brought me to the dance and what got me this far,” said Coughlin. 

Elsewhere during the interview, Coughlin discussed his friendship with Shibata and getting the opportunity to smack him in the face. You can find his full comments by clicking here. 

Fightful will have coverage of ROH TV beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday. 

Check out the full interview with Coughlin in the video above.