At long last, a return to my look at the career of Kenta Kobashi. Plus, the G-1 is nearing completion!
Section 1- Results
All Japan: Kea & Suzuki retained the tag titles against Suwama & Nishimura. Young lion KAI won the junior singles league.
New Japan: G-1 day 1 results included Ohtani over Nakanishi, Bernard over Kojima, Tenzan over Kawada and Nakamura over Nagata. Day 2 featured Kawada over Goto, Yano over Tenzan (stemming from GBH attacking Tenzan after his match with Kawada), Kojima over Nakanishi, and Makabe over Tanahashi. Day 3 gave us Goto over Tenzan, Bernard over Ohtani, Yano over Nakamura (that one was clean) and Nakanishi over Tanahashi. Day 4 saw Ohtani over Makabe, Nakamura over Kawada, and Kojima over Tanahashi. Day 5? Why that had Nakanishi over Makabe, Nagata over Tenzan, Bernard over Tanahashi, and Goto over Nakamura.
The following are out of contention in the G-1: Inoue, Tanahashi, Tenzan, Yano.
The following are likely out of contention, unless there are several non-finishes or a run-off on the final night: Nakanishi, Yoshie, Kawada, Makabe.
Block A currently has a 4-way tie, however Nakanishi only has 1 match left and the others have 2, so there’s no way he gets in. I would bet the farm on the winner of Ohtani vs Kojima tonight making it to the final.
Right now Nakamura is tied with Nagata atop Block B. Nagata has two matches left to Nakamura’s 1. Nakamura would win a tiebreaker between them if he wins and Nagata only goes 1-1. The dark horse scenario is Hirooki Goto beating Nagata on the final night, which after a win over Yano tonight (just a hunch) would get him into the final based on having beaten both Nagata and Nakamura. Nagata vs Goto is the match to watch.
Section 2- News
All Japan: The Sumo Hall show will have Mutoh defending against the G-1 winner, Suwama defending against Kea, and Hijikata defending against KAI.
NOAH: The junior tag tournament will once again not have a final. The two relevant matches on the last day at Budokan Hall will be Nakajima & Ibushi vs The Briscoes, and Kanemaru & Suzuki vs KENTA & Ishimori.
Section 3- You know what goes here
There are a lot of reasons to watch Japanese wrestling. One of the best: it isn’t TNA.
Section 4- Kobashi part 5 of 8
First off, here are corrected links to a goodly chunk of the first 29 matches in the set. Larger files on my sites have moved to megaupload.
2. Tenryu & Hansen vs Jumbo & Kobashi, July 15th 1989
5. Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi, October 19th 1990
7. Can-Am Express vs Kobashi & Kikuchi, May 25th 1992
13. Kawada vs Kobashi, October 23rd 1993
16. Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue, May 21st 1994
17. Williams vs Kobashi, September 3rd 1994
18. Kawada vs Kobashi, January 19th 1995
19. Misawa & Kobashi vs Williams & Ace, March 4th 1995
22. Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue, June 9th 1995
23. Taue vs Kobashi, July 24th 1996
24. Kobashi vs Kawada, October 18th 1996
25. Kobashi vs Misawa, January 20th 1997
27. Misawa vs Kobashi, October 21st 1997
28. Kawada & Taue vs Kobashi & Ace, June 5th 1998
29. Kawada vs Kobashi, June 12th 1998
Whew! And that’s before we even get to today’s batch.
When we last left our hero, he had won the Triple Crown. This set brings us through his final years in All Japan as he moves out of Misawa’s shadow, and into the very beginning of NOAH.
30. Kobashi vs Akiyama, July 24th 1998
Importance: Akiyama had two title shots and a Champions Carnival final against Misawa over the last year, all losses. This was the end of second tour Misawa had missed after the Tokyo Dome loss to Kawada, and in that time Akiyama got to be his own man. Add to that the recently debuted Exploder ’98 and Akiyama’s first-ever pinfall on Kobashi earlier in the year, and Akiyama is a real threat.
Uniqueness: This is the first time Akiyama really delivered in a big match as something other than a young underdog. Meanwhile it also drove home Kobashi’s physical vulnerability, even if they do so in a very kayfabed manner.
Why it’s a good match: One of the most creative jobs of attacking the leg you’ll ever see, and it’s sold to the hilt. Plus Akiyama dies a bunch in the closing minutes.
31. Kobashi vs Misawa, October 31st 1998
Importance: Misawa had at this point won his last three Triple Crown challenges. The last time they were in this situation Kobashi couldn’t close the deal. Will he finish the job?
Uniqueness: Kobashi was in the odd role of being a champion facing the company ace, who was favored to win. Thus the tour was booked to try and make Kobashi look stronger, even after two successful defenses. Kobashi pinned Misawa with the lariat early in the tour, then later pinned him even more decisively by debuting the Burning Hammer. This gave Kobashi something to go for late in the match, whereas in the past Misawa had a plethora of bigger moves at his disposal.
Why it’s a good match: For my money this is the last really technically sound singles match Misawa had. The start and middle are really cohesive in a uniquely All Japan way, the sort of Kings Road style that is a lot more than just impact moves. Of course it then goes on to have a bunch of finishers, but they do so better than the 6/11/99 and 3/1/03 rematches.
32. Misawa & Ogawa vs Kobashi & Akiyama, October 23rd 1999
Importance: Misawa and Ogawa had recently held all the titles in the company, which would signal their complete dominance. However they lost a title shot against Burning earlier in the year, meaning they had something to prove. This would be the last tag title shot for Kobashi and Akiyama.
Uniqueness: There are better Kobashi/Akiyama matches out there from before this, but they don’t work as well in the context of a Kobashi set.
Why it’s a good match: It’s good, not great, but these teams work well enough together and the finish is big enough that it’s worth your while. This is the next to last time a match for All Japan’s main tag titles was worthwhile, at least in my opinion.
33. Kobashi & Akiyama vs Takayama & Omori, October 30th 1999
Importance: I said ‘next to last time’ above. This is the last of the good All Japan double tag title match.
Uniqueness: We’ve seen Kobashi’s fighting spirit rise up when he feels slighted. Here he’s up against out-and-out heels, seeking to avenge slights from Team No Fear over the course of the year.
Why it’s a good match: KOBASHI SMASH.
34. Vader vs Kobashi, February 27th 2000
Importance: Kobashi’s last shot at the Triple Crown, Vader’s last time headlining a show this size.
Uniqueness: Kobashi comes in at a big disadvantage, having gone 0-2-1 against Vader to date and having lost the tag titles earlier in the tour (Vader pinning Kobashi). To top it off Kobashi’s ribs are taped, and Vader has plenty of ways to crush ribs.
Why it’s a good match: I’ll grant that it isn’t the sort of epic we would have seen out of them in the mid-90s, but it’s still Vader vs Kobashi, and there is a story to the match.
35. Kobashi vs Omori, Champions Carnival 2000 final
Importance: The last pre-split Champions Carnival wraps up, and Omori has his career highlight.
Uniqueness: More so than match #30, Kobashi is the top-ranked veteran against a scrappy up-and-comer. Part of what makes that so interesting is Kobashi still hadn’t won a Champions Carnival to this point, meaning it would be his last opportunity.
Why it’s a good match: Omori had run wild with his cheesy axe bomber, but that won’t cut it against Kobashi. Omori does bring it as best he can, and Kobashi dishes out a lot of pain in response.
35. Kobashi & Akiyama vs Misawa & Taue, 2/3 falls, August 5th 2000
Importance: The first main event for NOAH. The last match for the original Burning tandem.
Uniqueness: 2 out of 3 falls is the kind of stipulation almost never seen in modern All Japan or NOAH. Also, the end result of the match (and post-match) was absolutely gigantic.
Why it’s a good match: Pretty much brute force of ‘these four guys in the same ring’.
Before I wrap up, I’d like to point out that originally I’d planned 50 matches in 7 batches, but with all the time that’s passed I’ve decided to add a post-script covering Kobashi’s 2008.
Next Time: Kobashi gets hurt! Kobashi comes back! Kobashi strikes gold in NOAH!
