As of the date of this writing, Kenta Kobashi has just retired.
Perhaps one of wrestling's best athletes and toughest individuals, Kenta Kobashi has carved himself out a huge chunk of the pro-wrestling world.
According to Wikipedia:
Championships and accomplishments
- AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Tiger Mask II / Mitsuharu Misawa (1), Johnny Ace (2) and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (1)
- AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[1]
- AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Mitsuharu Misawa (2), Johnny Ace (2) and Jun Akiyama (2)
- Champion Carnival (2000)
- World's Strongest Tag Determination League (1993–1995) – with Mitsuharu Misawa
- World's Strongest Tag Determination League (1998, 1999) – with Jun Akiyama
- One Night Six Man Tag Team Tournament (1999) - with Jun Akiyama & Kentaro Shiga[22]
- January 2nd Korakuen Hall Heavyweight Battle Royal (1993)[23]
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- GHC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[1]
- GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship (1 time)
- GHC Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Tamon Honda
- One Day Six Man Tag Team Tournament Winner (2002) - with Kenta and Kentaro Shiga[22]
This man has faced perhaps the best of the best in this crazy world of professional wrestling, and even one particularly nasty opponent outside of the ring as well.
Kenta Kobashi combined powerful holds with deadly strikes to create an offense that was nigh-impenetrable. His toughness both in the ring and out of it was, and is something to be admired.
Not to mention the man takes one hell of a wedding picture:
I first became aware of him through playing Virtual Pro 2 on the Nintendo 64, a game that was a close cousin to the WWF Wrestlemania 2000 that we got stateside. I was struck by his moveset... deadly strikes, vicious chops, a hellacious lariat, a tough moonsault (which took a nasty toll on his knees) and suplexes that could turn your neck into an accordion.
Today I'd like to take this time to look back at his awesome career with some of my favorite matches with Kobashi. Despite my efforts, I cannot for the life of me decide which one is better than the other, so I present this in (mostly) chronological order.
And now that I set up those rules, let's break it right away by starting with something that is, at least technically, not even a match!
Kobashi's Theme vs. Other Theme Songs
There are very few that even compare. Kobashi's theme song is regal, yet hard hitting. Very fitting of an athlete the caliber of Kenta Kobashi.
When I saw my first event at the Budokan, Kobashi was on the card (more on this in a future post). When this theme song hit, I went NUTS! Not only was one of my favorite guys making his way to the ring, but his BEST theme song was accomanying him! A song VERY similar to the one used in the aforementioned VPW2!
Kobashi Vs. Steve Williams 1993.9.3
Here is a special treat, as up-and-comer Kenta Kobashi takes on the grizzled veteran Dr. Death Steve Williams. Williams appears to school the younger Kobashi in wrestling at first, but Kobashi's will drives him to continue until he can get some sort of advantage. So many times this match could have ended. Kobashi struggles through TWO backdrop drivers, a move that would put ANY normal competitor away!
Kobashi vs. Stan Hansen Champion Carnival 1994 (Sometime between March 19 and April 16)
Slap, LARIAT! A paintbrush lariat by Hansen! Kobashi gets so punch drunk that he just starts throwing himself LIKE A MISSILE at Hansen!
This is also historically significant, as it was the first time Kobashi beat the legendary Hansen!
Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada 1998.2.12
Triple Crown
HALF NELSON SUPLEX! POWER BOMB! TIGER SUPLEX! It's Kobashi's power versus Kawada's deadly kicks. You can really see the pain these two inflict on each other. Kawada is a master at selling, and this match is no exception.
Both of these competitors knew his opponent well, and it's on display here.
Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa 1998.10.31 and 1999.6.11
Triple Crown
I really don't even know what to say. Both Kobashi and the late Mitsuharu Misawa are both fantastic wrestlers in their own right. I HAD to include BOTH of these matches!
Again, like his above match with Kawada, both of these guys know each other EXTREMELY well.
Kobashi vs. Vader (C) 2000.2.27
Triple Crown
Kobashi fights on despite injured ribs at the hands of a Vadersault. Vader keeps going at those ribs LIKE A BEAST. Kobashi kicks out of a number of moves, including a VICIOUS German suplex, chokeslam, even his signature punches! However, Vader is a beast himself, and not even the infamous Burning Lariat is enough to put the big man down.
Kobashi vs. Kensuke Sasaki 2005.7.18
The Battle of the Chops
Two guys known for their ability to send their opponent's chests on a bloody hell-ride! These guys give each other hell here. I don't think I've seen two guys hit each other harder in the contest of a pro-wrestling bout.
Kobashi vs. Samoa Joe 2005.10.1
This is the match most Americans are familiar with if they are familiar at all with Kobashi's work. I remember seeing this match during the first broadcast of Pro-Wrestling NOAH's weekly Friday Night show. Even though I had a few drinks with friends prior, and even though the show came on at 3:00 am(!), I was determined to see it. And everything about this match is magical; seeing Kobashi in New York, seeing the fans give him his just due, EVERYTHING was fantastic. Even the Japanese announcers here do a fantastic job of emphasizing how over he was there! And in the American DVD version, they do a very interesting thing for this match... THEY DON'T COMMENTATE AT ALL, and it works, too!
Another interesting moment happens during the Kobashi introduction... when the call is made, the fans throw in SO MANY streamers, it causes the Japanese announcer here to beg the question, "Is this really America?" Brilliant!
And, needless to say, the match itself is FANTIASTIC! Even callbacks to Kobashi's previous opponents like Toshiaki Kawada are here, especially in Joe's use of kicks, particularly the little soccer kicks to the head.
Kobashi vs. CANCER 2007.02.12
Return Match: Kenta Kobashi and Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama
Just to show you how tough this man is, he not only has wrestled with bum knees due to his moonsault finisher (which he used years later... IN HIS RETIREMENT MATCH), but he came back from cancer not only once, but TWICE! Here is his emotional FIRST return and... to be completely honest, it brought me to tears when I first witnessed this. Not even CANCER could keep this man down!
The reaction to Kobashi making his entrance is absolutely ELECTRIC! Even the announcer's voice is trembling! It's especially apparent in after the match is over.
And now for something a little bit different:
Special: Misawa / Kobashi vs. Williams / BIG BOSS MAN 1993.11.24
This was not on any particular "Best Of" list for me, but it's special nonetheless. It's not everyday you see the late Big Boss Man in Japan, much less taking on wrestlers of this caliber! Having one of my Japanese favorites in Kobashi taking on one of my childhood favorites in Boss Man was trippy to say the least.
So, while we may be saying a not-so-fond farewell to one of wrestling's greats, and one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, at least we have these wonderful matches to look back on.
Of course, my favorite memories have to do with the two times I was able to see him live at the Budokan; once by myself, and another time with some visiting best friends. Thank you for the inspiration, Mr. Kobashi.
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