Puroresu Central

Kenta Kobashi

Birthdate: Match 27th, 1967
Height: 6'1''
Weight: 264 lbs.
Debut: February 26th, 1988
Background: All Japan Dojo
Promotion History: All Japan (1988 to 2001) and NOAH (2001 to Present)
Alliances: Teams with Go Shiosaki
Ring Attire: Black trunks
Card Position: Main Event
Major Tournaments Won: All Japan Champion Carnival (2000) and the Real World Tag League (1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, and 1999)
Current Championship Held: None

Championship History:

Triple Crown Championship (Held 3 Times):
- Defeated Akira Taue on 7/24/96 and lost to Mitsuharu Misawa on 1/20/97
- Defeated Toshiaki Kawada on 6/12/98 and lost to Mitsuharu Misawa on 10/31/98
- Defeated Vader on 2/27/00 and Vacated in 6/00

All Japan World Tag Team Championship with Mitsuharu Misawa (Held 2 Times):
- Won Real World Tag League on 12/3/93 and Vacated in 11/94
- Won Real World Tag League on 12/10/94 and lost to Kawada and Akira Taue on 6/9/95

All Japan World Tag Team Championship with Johnny Ace (Held 2 Times):
- Defeated Kawada and Taue on 5/27/97 and lost to Williams and Albright on 7/25/97
- Defeated Williams and Albright on 10/4/97 and lost to Kawada and Akira Taue on 1/25/98

All Japan World Tag Team Championship with Jun Akiyama (Held 2 Times):
- Defeated Kawada and Taue on 1/7/99 and lost to Johnny Ace and Bart Gunn on 6/9/99
- Defeated Misawa and Ogawa on 10/23/99 and lost to Vader and Steve Williams on 2/20/00

GHC Heavyweight Championship:
- Defeated Mitsuharu Misawa on 3/1/03 and lost to Takeshi Rikio on 3/5/05

GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with Tamon Honda (Held 2 Times):
- Defeated Akiyama and Saito on 6/6/03 and lost to Nagata and Tanahashi on 12/6/03
- Defeated Morishima and Mohammed Yone on 6/4/06 and Vacated on 9/25/06

All Asia Tag Team Championship with Tiger Mask:
- Defeated Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas on 4/9/90 and Vacated on 5/17/90

All Asia Tag Team Championship with Johnny Ace (Held 2 Times):
- Defeated Rogers and Fulton on 9/7/90 and lost to Dynamite Kid and Smith on 4/6/91
- Defeated Dan Kroffat and Furnas on 7/8/91 and lost to Deaton and Billy Black on 7/18/91

All Asia Tag Team Championship with Tsuyoshi Kikuchi:
- Defeated Kroffat and Furnas on 5/25/92 and lost to The Patriot and The Eagle on 6/2/93

Biggest Matches:
- December 9th, 1995 with Misawa vs. Kawada and Akira Taue (tournament win)
- July 24th, 1996 vs. Akira Taue (Championship win)
- June 12th, 1998 vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Championship win)
- March 1st, 2003 vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (Championship win)
- July 18th, 2005 vs. Kensuke Sasaki

Pictures:
- A Half-Nelson Suplex from the Top Turnbuckle
- Kobashi gives KENTA the Burning Sword

Signature Moves:
- Burning Elbow
- Burning Lariat
- Burning Sword
- Half-Nelson Suplex
- Moonsault (HQ)
- Rolling Back Chop
- Sleeper Suplex
- Vertical Drop Brainbuster

Big Match Finishers:
- Burning Hammer
- Wrist-Clutch Burning Hammer

Super Signature Moves:
- Half-Nelson Suplex from the Top Turnbuckle
- Half-Nelson Suplex on the Outside
- Half-Nelson Suplex on the Ramp

Rarely Used Moves:
- Black Crush
- Diamond Head
- Nodowa Otoshi
- Orange Crush (HQ)
- Powerbomb into the Corner
- Tiger Suplex
- Second Turnbuckle DDT

Old School Moves (Pre-1996):
- Avalanche Leg Drop
- Backdrop Suplex
- Bridging Fallaway Slam
- Face Crusher
- Fisherman Suplex
- German Suplex Hold
- Kentucky Bomb
- Leg Drop
- Moonsault
- Powerbomb with a Jackknife Hold
- Rebound Bulldog

Special High Quality Videos:
- Kobashi wins his first Triple Crown Championship on 7/24/96, 1 min. 20 seconds, 7 MB
- Kobashi debuts the Burning Hammer against Misawa on 10/24/98, 30 seconds, 4 MB
- Kobashi wins the GHC Heavyweight Championship on 3/1/03, 1 min. 16 seconds, 7 MB
- Kobashi and Kensuke Sasaki engage in a Chop Battle on 7/18/05, Five Minutes, 37 MB

Matches:
- vs. Abdullah the Butcher, 1/28/90

Career History:

One of the most popular wrestlers in puroresu history, Kenta Kobashi would enter All Japan just as the old guard was fading and would lead them to become one of the most successful promotions in the 1990s. Through the 90s, Kobashi would prove that he was one of the most intense and talented wrestlers in the world, as he put on classic matches with wrestlers such as Stan Hansen, Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Jun Akiyama, and many more. Kenta Kobashi also helped in the formation and success of a new promotion, as NOAH became one of the top Japanese promotions with Kobashi as their champion. Still wrestling today, there is little doubt that Kobashi is one of the greatest wrestlers still actively competing and with his Burning Spirit he is sure to continue dominating for many years to come.

Debuting in 1988, Kenta Kobashi showed promise at a young age. As is the tradition in Japan, Kobashi did not immediately jump to the main event, but slowly worked his way up the card. After years of opening events and seconding the stars of All Japan, Kobashi finally won his first Championship in 1990 - the All Asian Tag Team Championship. While not the most prestigious Championship, it did allow him to have longer and more important matches on the cards and he quickly turned into a crowd favorite. Teaming with Johnny Ace, Kobashi dominated the mid-card, and it was only a matter of time until he moved into the main event picture.

During the early 90s, the face of All Japan was changing. Giant Baba was getting older, and he was no longer able to put on singles matches. Around that same time, Jumbo Tsuruta was diagnosed with Hepatitis, and he too was no longer able to actively wrestle as a main eventer. Luckily for All Japan, they had three wrestlers that were more then willing to carry on the workload: Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa, and Toshiaki Kawada. With Stan Hansen and Steve Williams' help, all three would become legitimate contenders for the Triple Crown Championship. By 1993, all three would have cemented themselves as the main faces of All Japan and they would continue to be for the next seven years.

Unfortunately, Kobashi did not immediately find success as a singles wrestler. In 1993 and 1994, he would suffer losses to both Williams and Hansen and for the time was still a step behind Misawa and Kawada. He didn't let it bother him though, and Kobashi continued finding success in the tag team division. With Misawa, he would win the Real World Tag League from 1993 to 1995 and hold the All Japan World Tag Team Championship a total of six times from 1993 to 1998.

Finally, Kobashi was able to win the Triple Crown for the first time when he defeated Akira Taue on July 24th, 1996. Even though he would drop the Championship to Misawa in a classic encounter six months later, Kobashi was no longer lagging behind his friend Misawa and his rival Kawada. Kobashi would defeat Kawada for the Triple Crown on June 12th, 1998... but again, it was Misawa who topped him and would regain the crown. In over eight years of encounters, Kobashi had not managed to pin Misawa's shoulders to the mat in a Championship match. Kobashi would one day beat Misawa for the Championship, but it would not happen for another five years.

In the meantime, Kobashi continued finding success in All Japan, as he would win the Triple Crown again from Vader in 2000. Kobashi would hold the Championship until June of 2000, when Japanese wrestling changed suddenly and dramatically. After Giant Baba (the founder and owner of All Japan) died in 1999, his wife Motoko Baba took the reigns of All Japan and began making changes that other wrestlers did not agree with. Misawa voiced his concerns, and in turn was demoted from the decision-making committee. This was the last straw, and so he and 23 other wrestlers from All Japan (including Kenta Kobashi) split off and formed a new promotion: Pro Wrestling NOAH. His old nemesis Kawada did not come with them, and Kobashi has not had a match against him since the split.

Misawa and Kobashi now had the daunting task of making a successful new promotion. Kobashi soon began a feud with Jun Akiyama, who had debuted almost 10 years prior and was considered a potential ace of NOAH. Akiyama and Kobashi had paired together in All Japan to twice win the All Japan Tag Team Championship, but now were pitted against each other. In the year 2000, both Akiyama and Kobashi would score victories over each other, and Akiyama was boosted up the card due to his encounters with Kobashi. This would end up being more important then originally thought, as the years of abuse on his body would finally catch up to Kobashi.

Throughout his career, and especially when he was younger, Kobashi used the moonsault as his finishing maneuver. As we now know (from both Kobashi and Mutoh), doing hundreds of moonsaults over 12 years can do terrible damage to a wrestler's knees. Kobashi was barely able to walk by early 2001, and he finally decided to have surgery. He would be out of action for over a year as he slowly healed. Finally, by late 2002, Kobashi was back in full form. On March 1st, 2003, Kobashi would get another shot at Misawa, and this time for the GHC Heavyweight Championship.

In what is considered by some one of the best matches of the decade, Kobashi would defeat Misawa for the GHC Heavyweight Championship when he delivered the Burning Hammer on Misawa. Kobashi would go on to hold the GHC Heavyweight Championship for over two years, defeating literally every major wrestler in NOAH. Along the way he had excellent matches against his old foes Akiyama and Taue, and also defeated some of the younger wrestlers such as Yoshinari Ogawa, Yuji Nagata, and Takeshi Rikio.

People ask, "What is Burning Spirit?" It sounds to some like a silly gimmick, but no one that has ever seen Kobashi in the ring would hold that opinion. One of the fiercest and most intense wrestlers to grace the squared circle, Kobashi not only has the wrestling ability and charisma to captivate a crowd but also demands the same from his opponent. Even though Kobashi is hampered by long-lasting injuries and will never be 100%, once he steps in the ring he brings everything he has. Leaving a permanent mark in the business, Kobashi was an integral part of the All Japan boom in 1993 and 1994, the head-dropping phase in 1998 and 1999, and the growth of NOAH from 2003 to 2005. A warrior to the end, Kobashi is a living legend and deserves every ounce of praise that he is given by his fans all across the globe.

2005 Recap:
Kenta Kobashi started the year as the GHC Heavyweight Championship, but would lose the belt to Rikio in March. That would be the last time Kobashi's shoulders were pinned for the remainder of 2005. Mostly teaming with Go Shiosaki towards the middle of the card, the two put on excellent matches against all comers. At the July Dome Show, Kobashi defeated Kensuke Sasaki in an epic duel. Kobashi also traded chops with Tenryu on more then one occasion, and it is expected they will have a single match at some point. The greatest NOAH Champion of all time, Kobashi exemplifies everything that NOAH stands for.

2006 Recap:
2006 was a sad year for Kobashi, as in June a tumor was found on his kidney, forcing him to have major surgery. He has recovered however and he has announced that he will return to wrestling sometime in the future. Before his forced vacation, however, Kobashi was having a great year as he defeated both KENTA and Marufuji in singles matches. He also won the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with Honda, but he was forced to vacate it in the summer.

2007 Recap:
Kobashi spent the vast majority of 2007 recovering from the surgery to remove the tumor from his kidney. Finally, on December 2nd he would return, drawing the first sellout of the Budokan in 2007. After the match Kobashi said that he felt healthy and hopefully he will be able to return to a full time schedule in 2008.

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