Happy Belated Easter! "Dying he destroyed our death; rising he restored our life". THIS is His Story.
No one rose to the occasion in 2003-2004 quite like the GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi, who was on absolute tear both in the ring and at the box office. We left off with him vanquishing New Japan's ace at the Budokan and the build was on to the Dome against Akiyama. First, he defended the title against Misawa's BFFL, "Rat Boy" Yoshinari Ogawa. In the history of wrestling odd couples (such as Raven & Stevie or Eddie & Chyna), I don't think there has been an odder one. Misawa is the stoic, ultra-serious golden boy ace. He is going to hit you hard, but everything is well within the rules. Misawa transcends babyface and heel. He just is. Ogawa is a total, absolute departure from Misawa. He is a sleezy, slimy, dirty, no good, annoying, egg-sucking, nasty rat. He is not above any trick to take an advantage. He gets under your skin with his irreverent attitude. He wears zebra-print tights, long hair and sunglasses. He thinks he is cooler than you, but he is not even cooler........ He is totally, utterly shameless. That is why he is a man after my own heart. People talk about spirit animal, well my spirit wrestler is Yoshinari Ogawa. The match he has with Kobashi for the title at the Budokan in November of 2003 is glorious. I may not have it ranked as the highest match, but it is undoubtedly my favorite match I have watched so far.
From there, Kobashi moved on to defending against the Bleach Blond & Bad Giant of Japan, the top freelancer in puroresu, Yoshihiro Takayama. Coming into this project, this was my favorite to take the number one spot. I just love Takayama and Kobashi dynamic. They just feed off one another so well. Kobashi just has that natural babyface, cant say die attitude. Takayama is a giant prick. Even though, it fell short of the mark on the first go around (placed third as of now), I still give it 5 stars as just an outstanding match and best match in a slew of badass matches.
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| My spirit wrestler |
Finally the climax of Kobashi's reign, he defends against NOAH's top contender, ex-tag partner, archrival Jun Akiyama in the Tokyo Dome (NOAH first Dome show) drawing 50,000 fans. There are no two puroresu wrestler more equipped to wrestle an epic Dome match. Kobashi has an enormous personality. Save for Kobashi himself, there was nobody better than Akiyama at working the epic NOAH style. True to form, they deliver a bombfest that had the crowd and the viewer hanging on every move. The home stretch is one for the ages with each one-upping the other building to a huge climax. It was an amazing climax to what has been a bitchin' reign. However, after this there is a real sense of where do you go from here now that Kobashi retained. I explained my feelings on the booking below, but I will say the match is definitely a match of the decade contender and currently have it ranked #7.
Below, I also explain that the "falling action" of Kobashi's reign does drag on and ends in a whimper rather than a blaze of glory. I really enjoyed Akira Taue's one last run for the title in September of 2004, but you could already see the fans becoming restless as they were solidly behind Taue throughout the match. It is definitely a match I recommend, but it is a clear level below the other. Of course, when in doubt, bring in a invader to defend against and there is not many better at being a surly prick than Minoru Suzuki. Suzuki, who founded Pancrase forerunner to Pride and UFC, is a legitimate badass, but brings his own brand of mercurial crazy to the ring. He is sure to frustrate any opponent and especially the macho Kobashi with his antics. It was again a great match that I would recommend but the reign was clearly running out of steam. Kobashi finally faltered from the fatigue to NOAH youngster, Takeshi Rikio in match that is pretty universally panned (I have never seen it). I don't blame NOAH one iota for trying to push young talent, but they could have handled it a lot better. It sucks that the reign ended in such a disappointing fashion, but why be sad when you can be glad.
Holy shit, what a title reign this was! If you include the title win, Kobashi had two 5 star matches and seven 4-star singles matches. It was an incredible run of badassery that should go down as one of the best damn title reigns of the 00s if not ever. When I first started this project, I was looking forward the most to watching Kobashi tear it up during his title reign and that did not disappoint.
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| Smart Marks Heads Explode~! |
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1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00
2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03
3. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04
4. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00
5. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01
6. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00
7. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Tokyo Dome 07/10/04
8. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03
9. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00
10. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Kanemoto & Minoru - NJPW 6/25/00
11. IWGP Champion Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - 10/00 Tokyo Dome Non-Title
12. Keiji Mutoh vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival 04/01
13. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue - NOAH 09/10/04
14. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs Takehiro Murahama - NJPW 4/20/01
15. Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka vs Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murkami - Tokyo Dome 01/04/00
16. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda - NOAH 04/13/03
17. Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya - AJPW 6/30/01
18. Kenta Kobashi vs Takao Omori - Champions Carnival Final '00
19. GHC Tag Team Champions Sterness (Akiyama & Saito) vs Burning (Kobashi & Honda) - Budokan 6/6/03
20. GHC Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 07/27/01
21. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yuji Nagata - Budokan 9/12/03
22. New Japan (Liger & Minoru ) vs. NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 4/7/02
23. GHC Tag Champions Akiyama & Saito vs Kobashi & Shiga - NOAH 10/19/02
24. Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen & Taiyo Kea - Budokan 07/23/00
25. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki - 01/04/00
26. Genichiro Tenryu vs Toshiaki Kawada - Vacant All Japan Triple Crown 10/28/00
27. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki - Budokan 01/08/05
28. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax '04
29. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival '00
30. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - NOAH #2 08/06/00
31. Genichiro Tenryu vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan - Vacant IWGP Championship 02/15/04
32. GHC Champion Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa - Budokan 09/23/02
33. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Vacant GHC Title 04/15/01
34. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 07/07/02
35. U-30 Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuyuki Fujita - Vacant IWGP Championship 6/5/04
36. IWGP Champion Yuji Nagata vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - Tokyo Dome 05/02
37. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Vader vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 2/27/00
38. All Japan Triple Crown Champ Toshiaki Kawada vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW 11/03/04 Non-Title
39. IWGP Jr Tag Champions Kanemoto & Minoru vs Liger & Makabe - NJPW 9/12/00
40. Keiji Mutoh vs Yuji Nagata - Sumo Hall 08/12/01 G-1 Climax Final
41. Jun Akiyama vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - G-1 Climax Finals 08/17/03
42. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Champions Carnival '00
43. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata - Budokan 02/17/02
44. Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama - NOAH #1 08/05/00
45. New Japan (Liger & Inoue) vs NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 2/17/02
46. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Liger & Minoru vs. Kikuchi & Kanemaru - NJPW 8/29/02'
47. Sterness vs. Burning 8-Man Tag - NOAH 08/03
48. Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW 01/17/00
49. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 02/24/02
50. Yoshihiro Takayma vs Osamu Nishimura - G-1 Climax Semifinals
51. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax Round Robin
52. SUWA vs Dragon Kid - Toryumon 08/24/00 Hair Vs Mask
53. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Shinya Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka - Zero-One 3/02/02
54. Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata - Tokyo Dome 10/08/01
55. NJPW(Liger, Minoru , Makabe) vs Osaka Pro(Delfin, Murhama, Tsubasa)-NJPW 12/14/00
56. Toshiaki Kawada vs Vader - AJPW 2/17/00
57. Shinya Hashimoto & Yuji Nagata vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - Zero-One 3/2/01
58. Toshiaki Kawada vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 06/06/01
59. Naoki Sano vs Minoru Tanaka - Battlarts 01/30/2000
60. Dick Togo vs Tiger Mask IV - M-Pro 08/25/02
61. GHC Tag Team Champions Wild II vs Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito - Budokan 9/23/02
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GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03
I did not know until I watched this match that I have a spirit wrestler and his name is Yoshinari Ogawa. If I stepped into the ring, I would look pretty much same right down to the bitchin’ zebra print tights. I’m an inch taller than his billed height. We have a similar build and the same hair color/hair style. I would be the most obnoxious, cheating prick you ever did see. Needless to say, it took all of 30 seconds for Ogawa to become one of my favorite wrestlers ever. I can’t wait to see his dynamic with the Golden Boy, Misawa. I am feeling the Sting/Luger ’96 dynamic on steroids.
Liberal cheating, blood and closed fist punches sound like something out of Memphis, but remarkably it happened in the Budokan in 2003 during a Kobashi match. You can only have so many “epic” matches and this served as a great change of pace. Instead of Kobashi trying to best a warrior on his level in a struggle for the prestige of the GHC Championship, we just wanted to see Kobashi murder this little douche and we got it. Very rarely, do you see Kobashi filled with hate. He fires up and gets angry, but he has respect for his opponent. For Ogawa, he holds him in contempt and is going to punish him. However, this can only be conveyed if Ogawa does his part to live up to the name, “Rat Boy”. This is one of the better heel performances I have ever seen as Ogawa just lays it on thick trying every trick in the book to prove lightning could strike twice and pull off a major upset to become the GHC Champion again.
He sets the tone of the match right off the bat by spewing water in Kobashi’s face at the bell and beating down Kobashi with a big ‘ol shit-eating grin. Of course, Kobashi fires up and just lays in some wicked chops, which Ogawa’s due to his character can really sell well because he does not have to protect his image. Ogawa next trick is play dead off Kobashi’s chops. Kobashi argues with the ref and Ogawa chop blocks Kobashi’s knee. Kobashi’s knees are why he was out for all of 2001 and a good chunk of 2002 and they are heavily braced. Ogawa is just relentless on the knees including trying to take the braces off. Two spots, I loved during this segment were Kobashi blocking the kneecrusher and Ogawa turning it into a Dragon Leg Screw and Kobashi doing push-ups out of a half-crab and chopping the fuck out of Ogawa. In a moment of hubris, Ogawa thinks he has effectively weakened Kobashi starts to toy with him by poking him in the forehead. This leads to some suplex reversals and Kobashi being thrown into the ref. Ogawa actually gets a visual pinfall off of the enziguiri and back suplex. Ogawa realizing the ref was out gets the friggin’ ring bell and goes to town on Kobashi’s knee. You know it is coming now that big blowoff to all the heat they were building.
They struggle on the outside and Kobashi sends him head first into the post. It looked wicked. He sends into post again head first and a spinning back chop puts him out. The ref are trying to restrain Kobashi and I don’t speak Japanese, but I am pretty sure he said “Fuck that little prick”. Ogawa comes up bloody and Kobashi unloads with closed fists on the cut. It is such a shame All Japan/NOAH is worked so straight because Kobashi has a badass worked punch. When Ogawa tries to cut off Kobashi at the knee literally, Kobashi rocks with a huge punch and then DDTs him on the ramp. Kobashi hits the mother of all powerbombs, but only gets two. Kobashi only gets two off the sleeper and punches Ogawa again in the head. The ref has enough and tries to restrain him and Ogawa low blows Kobashi! Kobashi right back on top with chops and a superplex. Ogawa’s last ditch effort was quick pinfall attempts with the feet on the ropes just like how he beat Akiyama and pinned Kobashi in a tag match. Ogawa refused to take the half-nelson suplex (proving he was smarter than everyone else in the promotion) and eats a Burning Lariat for the mercy killing.
These two played their roles to a tee. On paper, Ogawa is totally overmatched by the awesome Kobashi. He cheats and needles Kobashi and then he has the audacity to go after his knees. Throughout the whole heat segment, I was just so pumped for the forthcoming destruction. I am just thinking I am going to get some suplexes, throws and Lariats. Then on top of that, I get BLOOD and CLOSED PUNCHES! That’s some sweet icing on the cake. I have some minor quibbles, no reason for Ogawa to get the visual fall and the ending stretch could have been tighter (low blow-> leads to pinfall attempts ->Kobash BURNINATES). Overall, a match that totally caught me unawares and is just a bitchin’ curveball out of NOAH. ****1/2
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| LANDS. ALL. OVER. HIS FACE. |
GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04
Going into this project, this was my pick for the best match of the decade in Japan of the 00s, granted I had only seen something like 20 matches from the decade. While it is just as excellent as I remembered, it did not quite have enough to dislodge Misawa/Akiyama and Misawa/Kobashi from the top two spots. From the first time I watched this in 2007 until now, I have been impressed with the hellacious beating Takayama dishes out on the champion. For the first time in the title reign, it feels like Kobashi could actually drop the title.
These two have insane chemistry together. I loved their outing in 2000 and this match has enough differences to make this a unique great match. Instead of the hook being that Takayama is a outright heel, here it is can Kobashi surmount Takayama's strength advantage when in all the previous major title defenses he has been the larger competitor. Takayama is a big man, but he absolutely wrestles huge ensuring his stature being the crux of most of his matches. Early on they put over his size that Kobashi has to wear him down before he can hit big bombs like the half nelson suplex or delayed vertical. Kobashi pays for treating Takayama like any another opponent when Takayama reverses a delayed vertical into a guillotine choke. Takayama establishes control with a nice running knee/butterfly suplex combo. At first, it looks like Takayama was going to target leg, but when Kobashi keeps chopping him he takes his arm and hyperextends it over his shoulder. I loved this showcase of adaptability. He came in looking to take a limb and when Kobashi presented one to him he took it. Kobashi's verbal selling really put over the double wristlock. Outside the ring, Kobashi hits a rebound lariat off the railing, but his ailing arm prevents him from getting in the ring and Takayama hits a monster German off the apron. They milk this for all its worth with a double countout tease.
Reminiscent of their 2000 match, Kobashi's right arm has been rendered useless he has to find ways to circumvent it. Takayama picks off Kobashi with a butterfly suplex and transitions immediately into a cross-armbreaker, but Kobashi makes the ropes. Takayama continues to try to hyperextend the arm. Kobashi grabs desperation sleeper, but cant leverage due to height disadvantage and bad arm. Takayama hits a wicked half-nelson suplex and a big German to get a two. The "Ko-Bash-I" chants ring out in the Budokan. He goes for the Human Capture German suplex, but here comes Kobashi. Kobashi throws Takayama down on his knee attempt, spinning back chop and a half-nelson level the playing field even though Kobashi is still favoring the arm. Takayama takes advantage of this to hit a dragon suplex and running knee, but the ropes save Kobashi.
Takayama makes his last stand just landing nasty punches and kicks really smothering Kobashi and pushing the ref aside. This was really the first time Takayama was heelish and it puts over the desperation. Kobashi gets behind to hit the half-nelson and then a brainbuster for two. Burning Hammer, but his arm cant handle it. Takayama throws a wild kick BURNING LARIAT~! still only gets two. Kobashi with a bloody lip and a crazed look in his eyes signals for the Moonsault and the crowd loses shit for this. Moonsault right on Takayama's face wins the match!
This match was wrestler more like an intense title match with a David vs Goliath dynamic rather than 2000 match where Takayama heeled it up. It shows how far Takayama had come as a credible challenger to any major Japanese title. The match showcases Kobashi at his best working from underneath. Using his histrionics to full effect to get the crowd cheering for his eventual comeback and who better to dish out punishment than the Bleach Blond Badass. Takayama gave as good as he got as his chest looked like raw meat after this match. The right arm was why Kobashi could never string together a combination of offense until Takayama had finally punched himself out and also why Kobashi had to bust out the moonsault (on the face) because he could not physically hit the Burning Hammer. Also for the first time, Kobashi was pushed to the limit as he was forced to dig deep in his bag of tricks to beat this giant. It was an excellent payoff to many different levels of storytelling before the biggest match in NOAH history against Akiyama in the Dome. *****
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GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Tokyo Dome 07/10/04
The pinnacle of Pro Wrestling NOAH pits the red-hot Kenta Kobashi defending his title against NOAH's second best, Jun Akiyama in a suitably epic encounter. It is a testament to NOAH that they were able to draw 50,000 to the Egg Dome with a main event of two NOAH talents as the big matches of 00s tended to feature a company vs. company rivalry. Yes, All Japan and New Japan were represented on the show, but without a doubt the drawing card was the payoff to the collision course that Kobashi and Akiyama has been on since Kobashi returned from injury in 2002. With a victory, Kobashi cements himself as one of the greatest champions of all time with one of the best reigns ever. If Akiyama wins, it could be a similar torch seizure that took a place just a year earlier when Kobashi finally got the Misawa monkey off his back and took his place in the sun. It has the Clash of the Titans feel you want at a Dome show.
It is always a little weird to see the All Japan/NOAH boys at the Dome, but if there were ever two of them meant for the Dome it is these two. Kobashi wins an early exchange with a shoulderblock and Akiyama powders. Kobashi tells him he wants to get this done in the ring. Akiyama has Kobashi scouted grabbing a leg lace out of a Russian Legsweep attempt (that usually follows his short knee lifts). Akiyama looks for the guillotine choke (how he won the August 2000 match), but Kobashi urgently chops Akiyama's neck to stymie him. Kobashi turns Akiyama's neck/chest a nasty purple-red with some of the most brutal chops ever. He misses a spinning back chop and Akiyama capitalizes with a high knee. It is business as usual for Akiyama targeting the neck with knee-based offense and a wicked DDT onto the apron. Akiyama wrangles the choke, but Kobashi pops out so Akiyama goes right back to the neck with a double-arm DDT and a forearm to back of head. Akiyama grabs the choke and Kobashi goes limp, but summons the strength to make the ropes. In a bitchin transition, Kobashi actually clamps on a headlock after being hit with a back suplex. It is such a good headlock that it is a credible pinning predicament. Then in a HOLY SHIT bump, Kobashi suplexes him off the apron, which sounds nasty, but not that nasty. However, when you actually see the landing they fucking bounce off the floor.
They milk this for a double countout, but both get in at 15. Kobashi collapses in the ring and when he finally covers Akiyama he barley gets a shoulder up. Kobashi runs off his usual offense, half-nelson suplex and Burning Lariat He knows it is time for Burning Hammer, but Akiyama elbows out and a running knee levels the playing field. They tease finishers off the apron and Akiyama hits his Exploder off the middle rope to the floor. They tease a countout loss by Kobashi, who gets in at 19. Kobashi is able to get his foot on the ropes during the consequent pinfall attempt. More Exploders (top-rope version) are not doing the trick, so he tries choking him out and still only can get two. Wrist-clutch exploder gets two. Kobashi is not human. Akiyama must be like I am fucked at this point. Kobashi brainbuster out of some crazy Exploder variation and trade half-nelson suplexes and exploders. Burning Lariat and finally Akiyama collapses. It is academic at this point and a moonsault and Burning Hammer polish off Kobashi's biggest challenge yet.
There is something about the Kobashi/Akiyama that just does not do it completely for me. I like wrinkles and dynamics that add to forumla. I feel like Kobashi and Akiyama are the most proficient practitioners of the epic NOAH style so it is just formula executed as well as possible, but without the wrinkles that other opponents can add to the match. This had everything you would expect from Kobashi/AKiyama: chops, knees, suplexes, huge bumps, big bombs and a badass finish run. It felt like Akiyama pushed Kobashi to his limit moreso than any other opponent yet with his chokeout and Exploder off the middle-rope, but just did not have enough in the arsenal to polish off Kobashi. I can see why people feel like this match is the nail in the Akiyama as an Ace coffin. It was a very decisive Kobashi victory as he take literally every Akiyama bomb and then beat him clean with his two biggest bombs. I don't think this was the point of no return. Akiyama could have worked on a new super head drop finisher or if Kobashi dropped the title on the next defense he could take credit for Kobashi being so fatigued that he was easy pickings for the next challenger. There were options for Akiyama and I don't think this was a must-win for him. It was a great performance that put him right on Kobashi's level, but much like Kawada the resistance to pull the trigger ultimately fucked him. It is hard to explain, but I thought it was missing that little hook that other MOTDCs have had to give this the full monty. I felt Kobashi's desperation, but I just didnt think Akiyama was at the same level of urgency. For comparison, I thought Akiyama's performance in the Misawa '00 match really had the extra sense of urgency that takes the match to next level. I have said it before and will say it again when you are picking the best match of the decade you have to pick nits. ****3/4
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GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue - NOAH 09/10/04
"TAUE! TAUE! TAUE! TAUE!" Besides the one asshole twerp that screams "Kobashi" every 5 fuckin seconds (seriously it could kill your enjoyment of this match), this crowd is 100% behind Taue to lift the title off Kobashi. After 18 months, it is just the nature of the beast that the crowds start to get restless with Kobashi as a champion. Yes, they still had this match with a fellow Four Corner of Heaven, an invader match with Minoru Suzuki and the final title loss to rookie bust, Takeshi Rikio. However, after the Akiyama match there is a definite feel that Kobashi reign has climax. When you get that sense of climax, audiences tend to want to rush to the final resolution. Remembering back to high school English, they broke a story into 5 fundamental parts and the shortest one usually was the falling action (between climax and resolution). There is a reason it is short people just had their minds blown by the climax and now want the satisfaction of the resolution. Well, Kobashi's reign had a long falling action. It provided us this excellent match against Taue and a very good match against Minoru Suzuki, but I feel this explains the crowd behavior, which was dead in this match unless Taue was doing something awesome.
Normally, Kobashi does a little shine in the beginning because he is a macho badass champion well Taue aint having none of that. He boots him off the apron and goes diving through the ropes onto him. Whenever Taue dives outside, it is just so unexpected and ungraceful that looks awesome. Taue loves picking people up and dropping them neck first on unforgiving objects and that is why he is the Man. Kobashi starts firing off some chops and hits a plancha to the outside. Taue like most Kobashi opponents has raw meat for a chest now. Kobashi busts everyone's favorite move the 3-Handled Moss-Covered Gredunza and controls with various holds. Taue steals a move from his Holy Demon Army partner with a spinkick to turn the tide. He goes after Kobashi's knees as so many have tried using the half-crab, kneecrusher and a weird figure-4. Taue's chest is just gross at this point as it already starting to bruise. NODOWA ON RAMP~!
Taue going to take no countout win and goes out gets Kobashi. Taue just runs off a huge string of offense. When Kobashi tries to no-sell a German, he just kicks him in the head. NODOWA OFF APRON~! Kobashi keeps falling down, but nothing can stop the DYNAMIC BOMB~! At this point, the crowd relents and starts to cheer for Kobashi. Kobashi chops Taue's hand to stop the Nodowa and gets a Burning Lariat to create space (Vintage Cole). It truly is 2004 because Kobashi steals the Nodowa to no reaction, but hits on of his best powerbombs, but cant keep him down. Kobashi crashes and burns on the moonsault. Can Taue do it? Can he pull it off? The crowd has woken up! Taue busts out a backdrop Nodowa! Taue goes for the Super Nodowa, but Kobashi looks to powerbomb him and it is a Taue-rana!!! HUGE POP! Brainbuster only gets two. The crowd wanted Taue to win so badly there that you had to feel bad for Taue and them. Taue hits a flying friggin bodypress. Giants dont fly, but Taue does! Taue chants echo throughout the Budokan. One Kobashi lariat silences the crowd. He runs through some standard offense while the crowd chants for Taue before he finishes him with the Mutha of all FInishes: Wrist-Clutch Burning Hammer!
The fun of this match is undoubtedly seeing Taue get a crack at the title in his waning days and having the crowd fully behind him. He really puts it all on the line here flying through the air, ruthlessly attacking knee and Nodowas galore. The Nodowa is the opposite of the Kojima's Ace Crusher it is bitchin in all its variation. Kobashi sold like a million bucks to make you believe the Impossible Dream could come true. This was the least Kobashi-oriented match of the reign. It makes sense that after Akiyama pushed him into the limit that he was really out of gas. He was just hanging on my a thread in this match taking less offense than usual and being on the defensive early. He also needed to bust out his super-duper finisher to polish this one off. Bot in kayfabe and reality with Kobashi and crowds fatigued, the end was nigh for this historic title reign. ****1/4
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| I'm burnin'...I'm burnin' for you |
GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki - Budokan 01/08/05
In the Taue review, I said that the Kobashi reign had all but run its course. They did squeeze one more good match out of it before they had him drop the title to Rikio, which is this match against the mercurial Minoru Suzuki. The cackling, invading shoot fighter looked to wrest the time from NOAH's ace using his unique brand of head games and submissions. A lot of people would say this match screams styles clash, but styles make bouts interesting. Suzuki took Kobashi out of his comfort zone and together they had a more dynamic effort than say with Yuji Nagata. However, it just felt like it came to late in the reign. The Nagata match was a Clash of the Titans. The Kobashi reign was running on fumes at this point.
Right off the bat, we get Suzuki's head games that frustrate Kobashi and establish why Suzuki is such a lethal opponent. He is like Rat Boy with skills. You think a test of strength would be a bad idea on Suzuki's part, but he turns that into a crazy pinning predicament and triangle choke then into a cross armbreaker. When Kobashi gets out of it, he is laughing and having himself a grand 'ol time at the expense of Kobashi. Kobashi gets pegged as a meat head sometimes, but he aint no dummy. He knows he has the strength advantage and if Suzuki is quicker and shrewder well why not bring back to the basics and Kobashi works a headlock the majority of the opening. He does not let go. He puts a headlock on him outside and brings him with one. You can control the head; you control the body. Two can play that game, Suzuki.
Prematurely, Kobashi thinks it is time to unload the chops and Suzuki grabs his arm, sticks out his tongue and puts him in a triangle choke dangling over the ropes. Suzuki is such a badass heel, the perfect blend of cocky and dangerous. Even busting out the Dikembe Mutombo finger wag. You can sense Kobashi frustration over both his arm injury and Suzuki's behavior. Kobashi is able to get a sleeper and hit the sleeper suplex to turn the tide. Tease the half-nelson suplex on apron, but Suzuki slaps on a sleeper and Kobashi collapses off the ramp onto the floor. Nasty bump that puts over how messed up Kobashi is. When Kobashi gets back in, Suzuki lays it in with a cradle piledriver, a wicked back drop driver and an octopus stretch. However, a desperation BURNING LARIAT~! levels the playing field. Kobashi jacknifes off a weak powerbomb and Suzuki grabs a cross armbreaker out of it. Too sweet! Wild left handed lariat saves Kobashi. Axe bombah in the corner and Kobashi accelerates through the hole with a barrage of lariats and back drop drivers to win the match.
The story of the match is the story that has continued since Akiyama. Attrition is taking Kobashi down and it is inevitable that soon he will drop the title. Suzuki also accomplished the feat with a sound strategy of taking out the arm and avoiding Kobashi's bombs (like the half-nelson on the ramp). Suzuki just being Suzuki forced him to wrestle very conservatively from the outset with the headlock and once he tried to transition into a Kobashi match Suzuki pounced. The thing with Kobashi is that he always has a puncher's chance so when he hits off-handed lariat he is able to follow up with all those bombs that Suzuki just could not escape. It is an interesting match, but in terms of the reign it is just not at the high end (which speaks volumes about how bitchin this reign was) ****
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This GHC Title Reign from Kenta Kobashi will go down as one of the best in any country or anytime. Whether you use box office or in-ring quality as your performance metric, Kenta Kobashi hit a home run with his two year run on top. In the works, I have a look at the miscellaneous heavyweight matches from 2003-2004 in Japan and Part Two of the Shield's 2013 campaign.
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