AEW's Kevin Knight Recalls 'Monotony' Of Katsuyori Shibata's Training At NJPW Dojo - Wrestling Inc.

Given that they are now AEW coworkers, it's easy to forget that Kevin Knight was once a pupil of Katsuyori Shibata, who trained him and the likes of AEW's Clark Connors, former WWE star Karl Fredericks, former NJPW Alex Coughlin and others at NJPW's LA Dojo early in their careers. And while getting to train under Shibata was an overall positive experience for Knight, it was also not an easy one, especially compared to training with NJPW's KUSHIDA and WWE's Natalya.In an interview with the "Battleground Podcast," Knight discussed some of the hardships of training, including adapting to the Japanese style, which he had been unfamiliar with, and wrestling matches in front of no fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But what Knight took the most getting used to was Shibata's training style, made more difficult because of the language barrier between Shibata and his trainees."At the time, I feel like I hated the monotony, the monotony of it all," Knight said. "We did the same thing every single day, the same warm up, the same rolls, the same squats, the same drills. And there wasn't much detailed feedback, if I can say that correctly, because you know, Shibata's English isn't the best."So we just had to go off of vibes, you know, straight vibes. We had to feel him out if he liked it or not. We had to, you know, really trust our instincts in there with Shibata-san, because he has a very unique way of training. And with that language being in front of his unique way of training, it was very hard to engage, you know, if we were doing it correctly, or what he was exactly looking for." In the end, Knight feels that Shibata's teachings helped make him a better overall performer, something that's hard to argue given Knight's success in AEW since joining the promotion in 2025. When asked what's the best bit of wisdom that Shibata imparted to him, Knight revealed it was getting him to change his mindset towards how quickly he did things, a sharp contrast from Knight's background as a football player."I would say patience," Knight said. "He would always say 'Be patient,' whether that's in the ring or out of the ring. And I always think about that, because I came from a football world, where you've got to do everything fast, fast, fast, you know? So being able to be patient and slow everything down was so foreign to me. I always tell myself that, like, I don't have to move at a thousand miles per hour. I can slow myself down, whether I'm talking, wrestling, whatever it is. And yeah, just having that patience has gotten me to where I'm at, and it's paying dividends."If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Battleground Podcast" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription