I love Kenta Kobashi I've made a thread a few weeks ago and mentioned that he is my favorite of the four pillars. In this thread I just want to see who else appreciates Kobashi, and see what do you guys think of him and post your favorite match of his.
One thing I would like to add about Kobashi, is I truly believe he's one of (if not the) greatest at selling of all time. I mean good lord, outside of maybe Ricky Steamboat in a few others, I can't think of another wrestle that has the facial expressions that's able to display pain like Kobashi has, When his leg is worked on, after he takes moves to the outside, or getting suplexed on his head, his expressions are just top-notch.
I love his moveset, and he has one of my favorite moonsaults of all time, and for someone built like a tank, he almost moves like a damn lightweight.
Out of all the heavyweight wrestlers, I've seen in Japan, he's by far my favorite. His story of overcoming cancer, coming back and still having 5 star matches, and classics is amazing, and inspirational.
And let me add my favorite Kobashi match for me is his one Vs. Akiyama in 04. I know its not one of his classic 90s matches but some of the spots of that match still continue to take my breath away.
Anyone posting in this thread appreciates him. I preferred misawa and kawada, but its like asking which one of your kids you love more. All of them.
All japan 90s is what wwe should strive for: 4 or 5 super strong top guys where yeah there may be even booking but the matches are so strong the loser doesnt lose anything coming out of it.
Kobashi is my favorite wrestler of all time. He's one of the most likable pro-wrestlers of all-time, only rivaled by guys like Sami Zayn, Daniel Bryan and Ricky Steamboat.
He has a wide moveset, but can work a great match only using the bare basics. I recall a match he had late in his career against Masao Inoue for the GHC Hardcore Openweight title and Kobashi only uses chops, a lariat and few other basic moves and he's genuinely great in it.
My favorite match has to be the 6/9/95 tag. It's Kobashi and Misawa versus Kawada and Taue. It's actually my favorite match of all-time and I urge anyone to check it out if you haven't seen it, even if you're not a fan of puroresu.
Kobashi is my favourite wrestler. So much so that my wife allowed me to name our cat Kobashi. @Cactus, I was there live for that GHC Hardcore title defence! I was so happy that I got to see him wrestle live before he retired. He is such a great ambassador for pro wrestling, and he was like this modern day samurai. He was definitely the face of Noah even though it was Misawa's concept. His 2 year long run as GHC Champion was amazing.
His feud with Akiyama was my favourite feud and although his body was a bit more beaten up and he was slower than when he was in AJPW pulling out classics, his match with Akiyama in 04 over the title is a war for the ages. He knew how to adapt to his body slowing down and therefore made his offence more methodical and look more devastating. Another that is just as good is his title win over Misawa. and I do love his match with Samoa Joe. But there were so many. His match against Suzuki was brilliantly booked also.
His signatures such as the machine gun chops in the corner, his half Neilson Suplex, his Burning Sword, his Black Crush, orang crush, double undertook DDT, his moonsault, his lariat a and finally his Burning Hammer, we're all just amazing, were hit at the right time and looked devastating.
I have a tradition that I watch a Kobashi match on my birthday.
Anyway. Yes, the man is my GOAT @septurum also. Just an amazing warrior and the personification of puro.
He's my pick for greatest wrestler ever. This topic always frustrates me because whenever I pose it to other people, they just say "Undertaker" or "Shawn Michaels" or something like that. The 4 pillars were so far and away above anything WWE has produced that its not even funny. And it kind of bugs me that people who don't really know what they're talking about try to chime in with a so called "informed" opinion, when clearly the weight of something like "greatest ever" is lost on them.
Kobashi was always my favorite of the pillars (kinda goes without saying). I'm always entranced whenever I watch one of this matches, everything he did was so on the money that it was scary. Selling, psychology, telling a story, and his acting were all off the charts. I still remember my favorite singles match of his, vs Dr. Death from 8/31/93, where he's chopping him and Dr. Death starts no selling and showing his warrior spirit, and Kobashi just gets this angry/baffled look on his face like he's saying "what in the fuck ARE you?!" And there's a bit of panic in there as well. Kobashi's chops are famous, and seeing someone power back through them was startling, and for a split second he looked like he didn't know what to do. If his chops wouldn't work, what in the hell would? And this all got conveyed from one single look. His character was top notch, as well, from being a young lion and Misawa's buddy to emerging from his shadow and challenging him to NOAH where he was "the man". I mean, this is what I love about puro. When you look at it, its all so damn simple, yet so incredibly effective.
Agree with @Cactus, the 6/9/95 tag with Misawa vs the Holy Demon Army is the GOAT match. Its just a spectacle and the finest display of pro wrestling I've ever seen.
@amhlilhaus WWE can't even begin to fathom the big picture, let alone the intricacies, of something like King's Road. Even beyond 4-5 guys looking strong, the idea of the new generation taking over from the grizzled veterans of old, the struggle to be the best, the warrior spirit, the growth of the characters both in and out of the ring (ie. needing to innovate new moves because their opponents were becoming resilient to the old ones)...these are concepts completely beyond them.
I enjoy Kobashi when I see him in tag matches against Jumbo, Taue or Fuchi in the early '90s, vs Hansen in their famous rivalry or even vs Misawa in '97. However, I really dislike his late '90s AJPW run and his GHC reign. Don't care at all about those matches where he tooks bumps like this one or goes overkill with the finish. For that reason, I can't seriously consider him as my GOAT or something like that, not my cup of tea.
My GOAT alongside Kawada, both personally and objectively. From the early 90's when he was just an athletic monster, through his peak yers in mid-late 90's, all the way to his more methodical and just brutal NOAH style. For me it's him, Kawada and Misawa on top of the mountain, and everyone else, including Hansen, Liger, Flair, Muta, Funk, Baba, Tenryu, ... way down beneath.
The King's Road style is the closest wrestling can ever come to true art, and Kobashi was one of its masters.
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