Kenta Kobashi officially announces retirement

[Snitsky's back acne]

I know the rumours etc. have been announced elsewhere but felt that a man regarded as one of the all time greats in Japanese wrestling, Kenta Kobashi, announcing that he will be retiring from pro-wrestling, although he would like to work one more match, is threadworthy in its own right.

 

Kobashi was one of THE stars of the 90's, having blinding matches with everybody including perennial foes like Misawa and Kawada.

 

I'm no expert on the puro scene so I'm sure someone more enlightened on the subject can elaborate more on his career than me, however I felt I'd start this as a bit of a tribute thread to the man himself.

 

A few Kobashi matches - vs Misawa, 1995. http://youtu.be/fsacpkBVPWs

with Misawa v Johnny Ace and Steve Williams Part 1

and Part 2

with Misawa v Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada http://youtu.be/IOenStbR8Og

vs Kensuke Sasaki http://youtu.be/F-7IGJ2G90A

vs Samoa Joe http://youtu.be/VgsOn6Sy5E0

vs Jun Akiyama http://youtu.be/6pJs1vevNAg

[The Natural]

I know the rumours etc. have been announced elsewhere but felt that a man regarded as one of the all time greats in Japanese wrestling, Kenta Kobashi, announcing that he will be retiring from pro-wrestling, although he would like to work one more match, is threadworthy in its own right.

 

Kobashi was one of THE stars of the 90's, having blinding matches with everybody including perennial foes like Misawa and Kawada.

 

I'm no expert on the puro scene so I'm sure someone more enlightened on the subject can elaborate more on his career than me, however I felt I'd start this as a bit of a tribute thread to the man himself.

 

A few Kobashi matches - vs Misawa, 1995. http://youtu.be/fsacpkBVPWs

with Misawa v Johnny Ace and Steve Williams Part 1

and Part 2

with Misawa v Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada http://youtu.be/IOenStbR8Og

vs Kensuke Sasaki http://youtu.be/F-7IGJ2G90A

vs Samoa Joe http://youtu.be/VgsOn6Sy5E0

vs Jun Akiyama http://youtu.be/6pJs1vevNAg

 

Big fan of Kenta Kobashi. You have a nice selection of matches. Out of all those the Kobashi/Misawa vs. Kawada/Taue match is the best of the lot.

 

Here are mine:

 

with Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Can Am Express, 1992 with one of the hottest crowds ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ_hZoJDbD0

 

vs. Mitusharu Misawa, 2003:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1CyGiX1TtQ

 

with Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama, 2007:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWhnWxikxTk

[GPW Kristian Zane]

I was fortunate to see Kobashi wrestle live at the Coventry Skydome in 2005, it was him and Go Shizaki against Doug Williams and Jun Akiyama, quality match.

[Mr. Levity 84]

Gutted, but not surprised. His injuries never stopped coming, particularly after his arm operations in late 2008.

 

There are so many amazing things to remember from his career: he was a young lion full of fighting spirit in his bouts with Toshiaki Kawada, Jumbo Tsuruta and Akira Taue from 1989-1991, his tag team success with Mitsuharu Misawa (vs. Jumbo/Taue/Kawada) from 1992-1995, his epic Triple Crown matches vs. Taue, Misawa and Kawada from 1996-2000, not to mention his legendary tag matches with partners Tsuyoshi Kikuchi and Jun Akiyama (as part of the Burning stable).

 

His NOAH run got off to a bad start thanks to many injuries, but when he came back, he was unstoppable. He had incredible bouts vs. Jun Akiyama in the early part of the decade, and then completely obliterated the competition in what I believe to be the greatest wrestling title reign of all time; first winning the belt from - and finally defeating - the late, great Mitsuharu Misawa in their epic 2003 GHC Title match at the Budokan Hall, and then defending against the likes of Akira Taue, Yoshihiro Takayama, Yoshinari Ogawa, Takeshi Rikio, Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito, Minoru Suzuki, Mike Awesome, Tamon Honda, Masahiro Chono, Bison Smith, Yuji Nagata and Takuma Sano.

 

After he finally lost the belt in 2005, he had that epic match with Kensuke Sasaki at the Tokyo Dome, which some believe is the greatest NOAH match of all time. He also took part in blindingly good tag team matches with various different partners over the next eighteen months - all were awesome. After beating cancer in 2006 and returning in 2007, he still had good to great matches, despite his broken down condition, particularly the two six man Budokan Hall tag bouts in early 2008.

 

In my opinion, Kobashi is probably the 2nd greatest professional wrestler of all time, just a little behind Ric Flair, and he'll leave a lasting legacy that few will ever equal ... or even come close to ...

[Joey Joe Joe Jr]

By no means a huge fan of Japanese stuff but managed to be at that same Coventry show as the person above. Excellent experience seeing him live.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Definitely one of the best wrestlers I've ever seen in his prime. Someone who I used to actively seek out. He was a super worker and did all the Hulking Up shite which I'm well into. And he wore orange. I think he could have made it as a big star over here. One of the few Japanese wrestlers who I didn't want to see in a bowler hat throwing salt.

 

Must be in pain daily though. I couldnt imagine what its like waking up on a morning if you were him.

[wandshogun09]

For all the praise the matches with Misawa, Kawada, Akiyama etc get, and righly so, I always thought some of his best stuff were his matches with the monster US wrestlers like Vader, Dr Death and Stan Hansen. The Hansen match from 93 especially with the Lariat off the turnbuckle finish is a match I always had a soft spot for.

[Mr. Levity 84]

For all the praise the matches with Misawa, Kawada, Akiyama etc get, and righly so, I always thought some of his best stuff were his matches with the monster US wrestlers like Vader, Dr Death and Stan Hansen. The Hansen match from 93 especially with the Lariat off the turnbuckle finish is a match I always had a soft spot for.

 

Agreed. His bouts with Vader were fantastic, as were his clashes with Terry Gordy and Stan Hansen. The match you mentioned is, in my opinion, Hansen's best match by far.

[air_raid]

Definitely one of the best wrestlers I've ever seen in his prime. Someone who I used to actively seek out. He was a super worker and did all the Hulking Up shite which I'm well into. And he wore orange. I think he could have made it as a big star over here. One of the few Japanese wrestlers who I didn't want to see in a bowler hat throwing salt.

 

Must be in pain daily though. I couldnt imagine what its like waking up on a morning if you were him.

 

Fair play mate, you were one of the last people I would expect in here making a post in admiration.

 

I don't know if this is the right thread for predicting Kobashi's retirement match, but I expect it to be one of two things depending if Kawada wants to lace up again or not.

 

If he doesn't, Kobashi/Shiozaki VS Akiyama/Sasaki.

If he does, Kobashi/Akiyama VS Kawada/Taue.

[No use for a nick]

Awesome wrestler, really. His facials and mannerisms were great, unlike Misawa I think he could have succeeded anywhere. You see, I always thought that while Misawa was awesome in All Japan and NOAH, he would have been lost in the States or in Mexico. Kobashi on the contrary could have been very over absolutely anywhere, obviously if booked correctly.

 

I'm really glad he's calling it a day instead of continuing until his "energy bar" permanently runs out, like it happened with Misawa, he tortured his body in several different ways, during his career, hopefully he's in time to enjoy retirement.

[Sixteen Degrees]

Definitely one of the best wrestlers I've ever seen in his prime. Someone who I used to actively seek out. He was a super worker and did all the Hulking Up shite which I'm well into. And he wore orange. I think he could have made it as a big star over here. One of the few Japanese wrestlers who I didn't want to see in a bowler hat throwing salt.

 

Must be in pain daily though. I couldnt imagine what its like waking up on a morning if you were him.

 

Fair play mate, you were one of the last people I would expect in here making a post in admiration.

 

I don't know if this is the right thread for predicting Kobashi's retirement match, but I expect it to be one of two things depending if Kawada wants to lace up again or not.

 

If he doesn't, Kobashi/Shiozaki VS Akiyama/Sasaki.

If he does, Kobashi/Akiyama VS Kawada/Taue.

 

Kobashi isn't sure if he will even have a retirement match. His last surgery was on his neck, and part of the reason for retirement is that he's not recovering as he would like.

[reychampion]

One of my favorite wrestlers ever, very few can match him in ring. That all begun from seeing him live in Coventry. While its a shame that he's retiring, its the completly right thing. His bodies been breaking down for so long that he deserves the rest of his life to relax and repair.

I remember watching his title match in NOAH with Misawa with my mouth wide open, I'd never seen such an amazing match.

Good luck in his future, just wonder what it means for NOAH

[PunkStep]

In the grand scheme of things I haven't watched much Puro, but Kobashi is definitely a stand-out for me along with Muta and Tiger Mask. His match VS Misawa when he captured the GHC title is one of my all-time favourite matches, absolutely brilliant drama that you didn't want to end. I went on a bit of a puro-rush after that, but I still haven't watched the classic AJPW King's Road matches between Kobashi, Misawa and Kawada from the 90s though. They're supposedly better, so I really should.

 

Wouldn't dragging Kawada out of retirement be the logical choice for his last match given the history between them and Misawa? They could coin it as the end of an era- with Misawa having passed away and the other two now retired.

[wandshogun09]

I like air_raid's suggestion of Kobashi & Akiyama vs Kawada & Taue if it's possible. Would be about the most fitting farewell they could do. Plus with him being so knackered a singles match probably isn't the best idea.

[Mr. Levity 84]

I don't know if this is the right thread for predicting Kobashi's retirement match, but I expect it to be one of two things depending if Kawada wants to lace up again or not.

 

If he doesn't, Kobashi/Shiozaki VS Akiyama/Sasaki.

If he does, Kobashi/Akiyama VS Kawada/Taue.

 

Can't imagine Sasaki being part of a retirement match any time soon due to his serious neck condition. He's out of action at the moment, and his return date is still unknown (as far as I'm aware).

 

I'd like to see Kobashi/Akiyama vs. Kawada/Taue, but Taue really is completely broken down these days. His matches are 90% comedy and he can barely move at all. I doubt Kawada is going to return, as he seems perfectly happy with his new business outside wrestling ... but you never know!

 

I can imagine Yoshihiro Takayama being involved somehow (when he returns from injury), along with Akiyama.