Written By: Super Mastodon (@SuperMastodon) 735 Days, 15 Single Matches, and 1 Legend. All encompassing the greatest World Championship reign in professional wrestling led by Kenta Kobashi. The name Kenta Kobashi to me will forever be connected to two words: Fighting Spirit. No other wrestler in my opinion has personified that more than Mr. Pro Wrestling himself. On March 1, 2003 arguably the most historic World Title reign in Japanese wrestling took place when Kenta Kobashi won the GHC Heavyweight Championship, the premier prize for the promotion: Pro Wrestling NOAH. To this day it still holds the record for longest title reign for a major championship in Puroresu at 735 days in the modern era. A record that will likely stand the test of time. What's even more legendary is what Kobashi was able to do within that timeframe with his 14 title defenses and how much it impacted NOAH, his career, and professional wrestling as a whole. While NOAH already got a lot of traction since the start, it was truly this title reign that put them on the map and Kobashi instantly became the face of the brand and was a hallmark for the GHC Championship, his wide array of opponents ranging from veterans of the scene and other wrestling legends added to why this run is put in such a high pedestal, and it also set the bar for future champions to come, in NOAH or otherwise. So for this article, similar to the one where we reminisced on Okada's run as IWGP Heavyweight Champion on PWPonderings.com, this time around we will be looking back on an even greater title reign by the man that made me love Puroresu and got me even more passionate about wrestling. Kobashi was already a highly regarded wrestler before this title reign, being a former 3x Triple Crown Champion in All Japan, but it helped in cementing his status into the upper echelon of not only great group of wrestlers in Puroresu but elite level talents that only few could ever truly grasp. His sole run with the GHC Title solidified him in my eyes as a Pro Wrestling God. Background Before we get in to the nitty-gritty so to speak, for the unfamiliar here are some quick background information that should be taken into consideration for added context when talking about Kobashi's career around this time. On January 31, 1999 Giant Baba, founder and promoter of All Japan Pro Wrestling passed away. It was a huge loss to the Puroresu scene being one of its most iconic wrestlers ever. Without Baba, AJPW loss its great leader that united them. Mrs. Motoko Baba, the wife, wasn't seen in the same vein as her husband by most of the wrestlers and backstage staff. Mitsuharu Misawa, the top star for the company at the time was supposed to be the one leading the promotion and take the spot that his mentor left behind but a lot of the things he wanted for the company, Mrs. Baba disagreed and the tension between both parties reached its boiling point on May 28, 2000. Misawa alongside almost the entire AJPW roster went on a mass exodus, leaving the company and creating what became Pro Wrestling NOAH. All Japan was gutted, they were only left with four main wrestlers, one of which was Toshiaki Kawada, but the rest of their workers from the top stars, midcarders, veterans, and even the young trainees left for this new company. One of the notable workers that joined in this exodus was Kenta Kobashi and instantly due to him already being a well established star prior, became one of the pivotal workers going forward for NOAH. But the early years weren't so rewarding for the man as he had to undergo multiple knee surgeries with years worth of injuries he has gotten over the course of his career. Needless to say, Kobashi had to change his style of wrestling, this is where he became more focused on striking such as his chops and lariats. April 15, 2001 a 16-man tournament took place to crown the first ever Global Honored Crown (GHC) Heavyweight Champion, which was the top World Title for NOAH. The finals ended up being between Mitsuharu Misawa and Yoshihiro Takayama, the former won and became the inaugural champion of the belt, laying down the foundation to what would become one of the most prestigious championships in wrestling. Since then there were other wrestlers that held the belt, Jun Akiyama, another one of the top stars for the promotion, defeated Misawa on July 27, 2001. He would lose it to former junior heavyweight ace Yoshinari Ogawa who dropped it to Yoshihiro Takayama, then it all circled back to Misawa again on September 23, 2002. After one successful title defense, Kenta Kobashi was next in line to face his long time rival for the belt. 1.) Mitsuharu Misawa Date: March 1, 2003 Event: Navigate For Evolution (Tag 9) Time: 33:28 The Story: Misawa and Kobashi are two of the Four Heavenly Pillars of AJPW in the 90's along with Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue. They were pretty much the top stars of the company around that decade and popularized what is known as the "King's Road" style when Jumbo Tsuruta's health went on the decline and Genichiro Tenryu left to start his own promotion. The future rivals were actually successful tag-team partners initially, they're 2x AJPW World Tag-Team Champions and their matches against the Holy Demon Army (Kawada & Taue) are the stuff of legends and often considered by most as some of the greatest tag matches of all time. When Kobashi became more of a man on his own, he became fierce rivals with Misawa who became the de facto ace, surpassing Tsuruta as the face of AJPW. The thing is, Kobashi was never able to beat Misawa in a 1-on-1 match in their entire careers in All Japan, he always comes up short against his opponent and despite being a 3x Triple Crown Champion, two of those reigns he lost to Misawa. No matter how good Kobashi has become, Misawa was always the more superior talent and that narrative continued into their path in NOAH. Misawa still had a strong dominant presence in the company and has an aura of a seemingly unbeatable final boss. Finally, after all the surgeries, Kobashi made his comeback and will be facing his toughest challenge yet, dethroning the man that was always seen as the better wrestler than him. His body may no longer be as durable as it once was, but his spirit is burning stronger than ever. Going in to this match, both men's careers are pretty much on the verge of legendary status, little did they know what they were about to do will forever be etched in the history books of professional wrestling. The Match: The Greatest Match of All Time. With all due respect to the trilogy of Okada & Omega and the sequel series of Mania bouts between Undertaker and HBK, all of those were great and had their own arguments for being the best, but to me with all the story that's been brewing up for years and how it led to this moment, you cannot write stuff like that, it just organically happens. The match that started the legendary reign for Kobashi was finally getting over the hump and beating Misawa for the first time clean in the middle of the ring, but obviously it wasn't an easy victory lap for him, both men went through hell and high water from the moment the bell rang. Even if you watch this match back, you can feel the tension that surrounded the entire place when the two of them made their entrance and started to lock up, it's as if the stakes couldn't get any more higher, especially for Kobashi being the challenger in this scenario. It could have very well been his last chance at taking over his long time rival. During the early going of the match, it was primarily Misawa who dominated and showcased once again that he is the superior of the two, talent wise. Especially now that Kobashi has become limited with his actions, Misawa took advantage of his foe's weaknesses a lot of times and made you feel like it will be another win for him, same old scenario as they say. But then classic Kobashi, he started heating up himself and gave Misawa a run for his money. When momentum started to sway his way, it became an even fight and both men were on equal footing, so much back-and-forth, it seemed like the tables have turned and the champion was no longer the favorite to get a win, the contender had his chances. Misawa hits Kobashi with everything he's got, numerous elbow shots, suplexes one after the other, Kobashi kicks out. Then we get to the outside, quite possibly one of the most memorable spots of all time, Misawa hits the Tiger Suplex on Kobashi from the ramp to the floor, you can literally hear the brutal thud as he lands on his back, literally putting their bodies on the line. That was the climax and pretty much signaled the match which was already full of intensity by this point, it was about to reach its peak. After a near count out on Kobashi, made it back in the ring then moments later, Misawa flawlessly hits the Emerald Flowsion but once again it got kicked out! This was a big deal as the Flowsion was one of the most protected finishers ever and rarely does it ever get a kick out and guaranteed finish to a match, but not this time. Everybody in the arena went nuts! At this point, Misawa all busted open, receives a lariat and brainbuster combination, but he himself rose back up and kicked out of that combination of signature moves. There was only one option left for Kobashi, The Burning Hammer. He has hit this move only three times in his whole career by this point, it's practically a sacred move, two of those occasions were against Misawa, then finally he executes it and we got the most iconic finish in NOAH history, Kobashi pins and finally got the three count over Misawa after a hard fought half an hour war between two of the all time greats. The torch has been passed over, he has become the GHC Heavyweight Champion and the two shook hands after the match as a sign of respect. It's not an exaggeration when fans claim this to be the greatest match of all time, it received 5 stars from Dave Meltzer, but dare I say it deserved even higher than that. This match is the reason why NOAH was considered the top promotion at the time for pure in-ring wrestling matches, eclipsing even NJPW and AJPW which were all having troubled times at this point. Despite Misawa and Kobashi not being in their "prime years" so to speak in the 90's, this had a different story in it in the sense that no longer were they the young hungry up and coming wrestlers, but are now veterans getting ready for their classic wars once more. The build up to the moment of Kobashi nailing the Burning Hammer as a last resort to an opponent he was never unable to defeat and finally being able to do so, that's what pro wrestling storytelling and psychology is all about. A match of this caliber stands at a level of its own and will never be replicated ever again. 2.) Tamon Honda Date: April 13, 2003 Event: Encountering Navigation (Tag 16) Time: 26:55 The Story: Tamon Honda is a legend in my eyes and you couldn't prove it to me otherwise. I think he is one of the most underrated performers ever, sure he may not be as flashy as most of his contemporaries, but in his prime the man could bring it against any opponent whether as a singles or tag-team act. Before becoming a pro, he had an accomplished amateur wrestling career and even represented Japan in multiple Olympic events. His credentials are pretty good and even though he looks like a friendly uncle, what's funny is that he could legitimately out wrestle the entire roster if he wanted to. Honda made his pro wrestling debut on 1993 for AJPW when he was 30 years old, so somewhat of a "late bloomer" if you will. His age probably factored in to why he was stuck as a midcarder for the bulk of his career and not properly developing a charismatic personality, as much as I'm a fan of his work, I can admit his shortcomings too. He is a 2x All Asia Tag-Team Champion in the late 90's winning those belts with Jun Izumida and Masao Inoue respectively. When Misawa led the mass exodus to create NOAH, Honda was one of the wrestlers who joined for the ride and it is in the promotion where he started a connection with Kenta Kobashi which proved to be one of the best tag-teams in company history, combining their skills and becoming GHC Tag-Team Champions for the first time June 6, 2003 when they defeated the Sternness duo of Jun Akiyama and Akitoshi Saito. When Kobashi won the big one from Misawa, his first challenger was his tag-team partner Honda, for the latter this is the biggest match of his career, it couldn't get any more high profile for the former Olympian, realistically this may be his only chance at ever becoming a World Champion, sharing the ring with his good friend but as they say, at the end of the day, it's every man for himself. The Match: I think due to Honda's lack of popularity this match often gets overlooked by most people's radars but it was the perfect first defense for Kobashi. They played off their history with each other so well, Honda utilizing his amateur wrestling skills to good use against his opponent. Most of the time it works in his favor too and realistically that's how it's supposed to be as in a pure mat-based style, it is the former Olympian that has the edge over Kobashi. A lot of submission hold exchanges and counters, it was mainly a technical showcase in the beginning parts of the match, which is great as post surgery Kobashi doesn't get to do tons of them, as we know he leaned more into the strike-based offense he is known for around these years. However as the match progresses, it gets more brutal and the intensity level grew higher for both men. The challenger started to bust out more of his suplexes towards the champion which really rocked him hard. The finishing sequence to this match is probably the most emotion I've ever seen in a Tamon Honda match, being punished by chops and backdrop suplexes, the desperation and desire to win was there, you can feel it in his wobbling body that despite running out of gas, he's still going strong. The closest he could have ever got on winning was successfully hitting the top rope German Suplex which granted a near fall, this was also after a Chickenwing which he locked him in for a good period of time. Honda's "final hoorah" if you will came when he hit the spear + quick release German combo then followed it up with a submission, but Kobashi still did not give up. After some more dramatic exchanges, he hits the contender with a Burning Lariat, with his damaged arm that has been worked out throughout the match, to finally get the win. What a wonderful presentation of fighting spirit from both men, mixing in elements of both amateur and professional wrestling. In my opinion this is the best singles match of Tamon Honda's career. Where Are They Now? Honda sporadically wrestles from time to time in various independent promotions and wrestler-produced events in Japan. In 2018 he had a short comeback in NOAH, participating in Naomichi Marufuji's 20th Anniversary event. His last recorded match as of this article was on November 15, 2019 at the memorial tribute show for The Destroyer, as a participant in a multi-man battle royal. 3.) Masahiro Chono Date: May 2, 2003 Event: Ultimate Crush PPV (NJPW) Time: 28:27 The Story: After his grueling match against Tamon Honda, Kobashi called out a bystander amongst the crowd as his next challenger. It wasn't just any other man though, but an individual by the name of Masahiro Chono, you've probably heard of him before. Kobashi and Chono are two successful athletes in different parts of the universe. One became an inspiring underdog tale in his road to becoming champion while the other started out as a clean-cut babyface but later on transformed into one of the most charismatic heel faction leaders ever. Both men are members of two iconic set of wrestlers that would influence many aspiring wrestlers of future generations in the 1990's, the Four Heavenly Pillars and Three Musketeers respectively. It was a dream match turned to reality, two legends in their own right that have never crossed paths before until now. Interestingly, Kobashi actually defended the GHC Title in outsider territory by competing against Chono in his home turf, this is the first and one of only two matches of Kobashi's entire career in an NJPW ring. The other wouldn't take place many years later in 2009 ironically enough as a partner in a six man tag for Chono's 25th Anniversary Event. But before that, they first met each other as enemies. Two contrasting styles of in-ring action and different personalities clashing against each other, at the end of the day though they have one similarity in common and that is being the best in their fields. Nowadays we rarely see promotions work together unless they have a formal partnership, so this match in itself has its own heavy historical implications. The Match: If I'm being honest, I thought the match was fine, nothing spectacular but understandable given the state of their bodies by this point. If this were to happen in the 90's then it would've been a completely different story. Still though, the match wasn't bad, it just could have been better especially in the early going which I admittedly found a little boring. It followed the New Japan formula of slow pace start during high profile matches, which works fine with wrestlers like Tanahashi or Okada, but Kobashi and Chono were already at the mid points of their careers this time and they should have played more to their strengths and just went with an all out brawl. What I can give credit to these two is that despite the underwhelming in-ring action in the start, they made up for it with their charisma. The match had this "big fight feel" to it throughout and in a lot of ways it is since this is after all two stars from the same generation but different companies and it was nice to see them share a ring together and the crowd ate up every moment of it. To be fair if I was in their position too, I'd probably go crazy as well just to be in that atmosphere with a match between legends. But anyway, the concluding parts is where things really started to go mental, Kobashi nailed Chono with six back-to-back half nelson suplexes which all looked painful. I winced in some of them too knowing Chono's history with his neck injury, at one point Hiroyoshi Tenzan must've felt the same too and added to the tension by attempting to throw in the towel for his Team 2000 stable mate but Chono channeled the inner fighter in him and refused to end the match that way. He took the Burning Lariat like a man which resulted to a three count. I was critical at the beginning portion of the match but like I said the finishing sequence was a testament to both men putting their bodies on the line and gave each other everything they've got, classic Puroresu high intensity action and you can never go wrong with that! Kobashi and Chono paid their respects to one another after the match, a nice way to end a short but compelling story between two of the best ever. Where Are They Now? Masahiro Chono retired from in-ring action since 2014. However he is still an active part of the business whether as a guest commentator in New Japan or having appearances in various other promotions in the country. 4.) Bison Smith Date: August 26, 2003 Event: Navigation Over The Date Line (Tag 3) Time: 23:32 The Story: Hailing from Denver, Colorado, Bison Smith was a regular gaijin wrestler in NOAH since 2001. It is the promotion where his career was mainly associated with but he has also worked in numerous indies both in the US and Puerto Rico. On August 26, 2001 he made his debut for the company in a six man tag with Vader and Bull Schmitt where they defeated the trio of Tamon Honda, Takuma Sano, and Takashi Sugiura. As a heavyweight, it did not take long before Bison became a well known commodity because big man gaijins have always been a part of Puroresu. His signature moves consists of lariats and powerbombs but his trademark is the Iron Claw submission hold as popularized by Fritz Von Erich, although Bison's version he turns it into a slam after sapping the energy off his opponent by clinging onto the hold long enough. Since the GHC Heavyweight Championship's inception there has only been one gaijin challenger so far and that was the aforementioned Vader who had a strong presence in NOAH during its early years, it was on December 9, 2001 when Jun Akiyama successfully defended the belt against him, heading into this match against Kobashi, Bison will be the second ever foreigner to contend for the prestigious title. In 2003 the stable KAOS was formed led by Vader. It consisted of many other gaijin wrestlers in NOAH at the time which included Bison Smith. After months of build up and momentum, facing and beating numerous native members of the roster, Bison had his opportunity at the championship and it was the biggest match of his career at that point. The Match: Admittedly I haven't watched a ton of Bison Smith matches but from the few that I have seen and evidently from his size, he was a solid hoss worker type so I expected this match to be like that and Kobashi around the 2000's really bulked up too. What we got though wasn't really much of a hoss match but more of a "power fight." A Herculean battle if you will, a contest between two athletes determining who's stronger than the other. Kobashi really brought out the best in Bison, his striking game and facial expressions were more on point in comparison to other matches. A lot of elbow-chop exchanges as you can expect, more test of strength battles in between and all that. My main critic on this match is that it felt like a "filler defense" and Bison was not treated as a legitimate contender, at least that's how I feel watching throughout. He did have his moments here and there but nothing that will make you believe at some point that there is a chance he could beat Kobashi, of course this is all in hindsight but even with other matches here, they can still convey that feeling all these years later. It doesn't help too that they weren't subtle about Yuji Nagata being in the crowd watching the match and building up to the next title match for Kobashi, made Bison feel like an afterthought. The crowd was not as loud too but probably because they weren't as familiar yet with the gaijin than anything. I did like the double Iron Claw spot with Bison getting the best of Kobashi since it is his signature move and slammed him afterwards for a near fall. Kobashi successfully executed a Half Nelson Suplex to his opponent then knocks him out with the Burning Lariat for the win. Like I said, pretty good match, Bison looked strong despite the defeat and I get that he's just a midcarder so he wasn't treated in the same vein as other main event level gaijins like Vader but maybe the match would've been more enjoyable had they built him up as a viable contender. Where Are They Now? On November 20, 2011 Bison Smith wrestled his final match in NOAH. While on a planned tour in Puerto Rico two days later for WWC, he sadly passed away due to heart complications. 5.) Yuji Nagata Date: September 12, 2003 Event: Navigation Over The Date Line (Tag 13) Time: 30:13 The Story: Another New Japan superstar attempting to make waves in Pro Wrestling NOAH but this time around instead of Kobashi going to the enemy territory, its vice versa as Nagata takes his talents inside the green mat and attempt to dethrone the World Champion. A month ago, Yuji Nagata's 392 day reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion ended at the hands of Yoshihiro Takayama. His run as champion was a mixed bag of both good and bad, on one hand it was the title run Nagata needed to solidify his status as the new ace of the promotion however this was also the point in time wherein Inoki was booking majority of his wrestlers to MMA fights and Nagata was no exception. He fought in PRIDE FC and was pitted against Hall of Fame level fighters such as Mirko Cro Cop and Fedor Emelianenko, losing in quick and embarrassing fashion. It damaged Nagata's credibility, especially being the reigning champion of the promotion which left a sour taste in the mouths of many fans. But it's not entirely bad for Blue Justice around this time as he was able to showcase his talents better by also competing in NOAH. He made his debut in the company a year prior, winning a tag-team match with his good friend Jun Akiyama and they defeated the legendary duo of Misawa and Kobashi. In 2003 he had more matches in the company and between June and September, had a trilogy of matches against NOAH's top stars, first was Akira Taue on June 6, Jun Akiyama on July 16, and finally he was set to face Kenta Kobashi for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. He has defeated his two aforementioned opponents, but this time around it's a higher profile match for the premier prize. Japanese fans are loyal when it comes to the wrestling promotions they support, it was evident that they did not entirely welcome Nagata and whilst he was a babyface in NJPW, in NOAH he was boo'd and treated like a heel, he couldn't be any more of a villain in the eyes of the fans as he is about to take on quite possibly the greatest babyface wrestler ever. The Match: When Strong Style and King's Road cross paths, it creates art. This match was so good! 2000's Kobashi and Nagata in his prime meshed well with one another, it was a match up that worked better than Kobashi vs. Chono. What I liked the most about this match was the intensity level never went down, even in the introductions you can already feel the tension between both men. I applaud Nagata for his masterful heel work here, really leaning in to his "outsider" persona being someone from another promotion attempting to defeat and take the belt from the champion. NOAH fans did not hide their bias and went all out booing Nagata throughout the match and of course heavily cheering for Kobashi. It's a testament to the level of character work they have which is a criticism by those who are unfamiliar with Puroresu that they don't have "gimmicks" or stuff like that, well it's actually better to have these types of characters because they feel like actual athletes and fighters rather than borderline cartoonish acts which you can barely take seriously sometimes that is popular in American wrestling and this is coming from an Undertaker fan. Anyways but I digress, back to the match. The back and forth was excellent, Nagata and his signature Takada inspired kicks looked even more brutal than usual, of course Kobashi wasn't going to lose that with his endless barrage of stiff chops. The suplexes they delivered to one another were so crisp too and they looked deadly as hell, especially Nagata's Exploders. Even the submission holds looked extra brutal with his executions. I think the best way to describe this match is action-packed, from the moment the bell rang to signal the start up until the end, the heat never slowed down and gave everything they've got to each other. An all out war if you will. The story by the end though is that Nagata was starting to get the upper hand but got somewhat cocky and started to disrespect Kobashi, well one does not simply do that and get away with it, Kobashi's momentum started to go up and all Nagata could do was take all the punishment that was given to him. After some more heated exchanges, with Kobashi surviving a near fall backdrop suplex, he attempted to finish the match with a Brainbuster but the challenger barely got a kick out at two and a half. A hellacious Burning Lariat which Nagata took face first was the one that signaled the victory and the conclusion to an amazing battle. Kobashi showed his respect to Nagata after the match and the crowd popped, despite being NOAH loyalists, after are still wrestling fans and what they just witnessed a great wrestling match. I know Nagata is a fantastic worker because to this day he can still go despite his age, but seeing him in his prime against another legend in the ring, it's even more impressive. Go out of your way to watch this i you haven't yet, truly one of the best title matches I've ever seen. Where Are They Now? On February 8, 2014 he defeated Takeshi Morishima for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. Four successful title defenses in a row before losing the belt to Naomichi Marufuji. Nagata is still going strong as an active wrestler for New Japan and also serves as a mentor for the trainees in the dojo. 6.) Yoshinari Ogawa Date: November 1, 2003 Event: Navigation Against The Current (Tag 11) Time: 23:51 The Story: Yoshinari Ogawa is another former AJPW wrestler who joined Misawa in his crusade to Pro Wrestling NOAH. Over the years, Ogawa has been somewhat underrated by fans and I don't think he gets the respect he deserves for being a solid worker. Because of his connection to Misawa, he is often just relegated by many as his tag-team partner and not much else, but in his own Ogawa could wrestle with the best of them and prior to his run in NOAH, he carried All Japan's junior heavyweight division alongside Maunakea Mossman (aka Taiyo Kea) at the height of the Pillars' popularity at the main event heavyweight scene in the late 90's. He is a 3x AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion and his last reign before moving to NOAH lasted for an astounding 698 days. He moved up in weight class in NOAH's creation but was more of an "openweight" as he still actively wrestled juniors too. On November 30, 2001 Misawa & Ogawa became the second ever GHC Tag-Team Champions by beating the inaugural duo of Vader and 2 Cold Scorpio however their reign was cut short just 9 days in losing the belts to No Fear (Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori.) Arguably the biggest moment of his career took place on April 7, 2002 when Ogawa pulled off an upset victory on Jun Akiyama for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, his first and only major World Title in his career. He reigned for 153 days with two successful defenses but then dropped the belt to Takayama on September 7. Before the year ended, he faced Misawa on December 7 in an attempt to win the gold again but has failed this time around. Heading into his match against Kobashi, this will be the third time he'll be challenging for the belt. Ogawa is nicknamed "Rat Boy" because of his in-ring style. A very opportunistic and sneaky approach in wrestling, he uses non-traditional methods to win his matches, often towing the line in cheating. It is to his advantage though as most heavyweights in NOAH were all bigger in size than him so he has to outplay them using mind games and be tricky, while also still being a formidable competitor, this is a recurring theme in a lot of his matches and it is no different against the fan favorite, reigning champion Kobashi. The Match: As a viewer who watched this bout for the first time, I really believe this was one of the most entertaining matches I've ever seen! From top to bottom, the momentum and heat of the match never stopped. It wasn't a showcase of technical prowess and stiff action per se like Kobashi vs. Nagata, but Ogawa being the trickster and trying every tactic in the book to win against the champion was definitely fun to witness. Right from the get go before the bell could even ring, Ogawa quickly attacked Kobashi and spat water in his face, then immediately went to work in his injured knee. This was primarily the story throughout the whole match, as the challenger damaged the knee as much as he could such as bashing it onto the barricade, removing the protected brace and continuously stomping on it, and even using the ring bell and bashing it in multiple times much to the dismay of the crowd, taking advantage of the main weakness. In the early going, it was Ogawa who had mostly the upper hand with a few comeback spots from Kobashi here and there but were quickly thwarted by the challenger's antics. A classic playing possum spot is always welcome when Kobashi seemingly knocked him out with a rolling chop, the referee pushed him away and checked on Ogawa who quickly rose up and was back onto the offense. A good ol' ref bump as well which took both wrestlers to the outside and continue their fight. The tides turned around drastically though when they went to the outside, Ogawa attempted to ram Kobashi's head to the steel post but it was him instead who got a taste of his own medicine and met the steel face first. A few moments later, we saw the challenger in a crimson mask, bleeding from his forehead from the damage taken from the aforementioned spot, I'm not usually a huge fan of useless blood in wrestling matches, especially if they're not hardcore or other related stipulations, but this one was executed properly and added to the drama of the match. Back in the ring, some more back and forth, and Ogawa actually showing some fight in him but it did not bode well in his favor as when it comes to raw power, Kobashi will always have the edge in that against him. He did almost win with a few sneaky pins but to no avail. In the end, after receiving some more variations of suplex and a clothesline, Kobashi hits the Burning Lariat to take the win after a hard fought battle. What a spectacle this was and highly enjoyable from the start up until the conclusion, fantastic storytelling from both men, especially to Ogawa who played his role tremendously, but he was still unable to dethrone the mighty champion. Where Are They Now? Ogawa has been actively wrestling in NOAH as long as the promotion's been around which is 20 years now as of the writing of this article. A strong veteran presence in the roster, specifically for the junior division, he won the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship for the first time on January 4, 2020. 7.) Takuma Sano Date: January 25, 2004 Event: The First Navigation (Tag 9) Time: 25:58 The Story: Naoki Sano is a graduate of the New Japan Dojo in 1984. He was on the same class as his future rival Jushin "Thunder" Liger and their battles together for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship were instrumental in developing the scene of the juniors in the early 90's. Being a student of the great Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Sano's offense was mainly circled around martial arts such as his famous rolling kicks. He competed in UWF-I and Fujiwara Gumi, two promotions that paved the way for modern day MMA and even Sano himself partook in on the sport by having fights in PRIDE and Pancrase but didn't find much success there. In 2001 he joined Pro Wrestling NOAH which would become his home promotion for the bulk of his career, now wrestling under the name "Takuma Sano." It was also in NOAH where he was able to transition from junior to heavyweight. Around these years he was a frequent tag-team partner to Akira Taue which allowed him to face other main event level talents and gain an opportunity for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. This is Sano's first chance at capturing a major World Title in his career but his path there wouldn't be easy as so far Kobashi has become the most dominant GHC Champion with five straight successful defenses, if Sano wins this one it will not only be a massive upset but a huge boost in the trajectory of his legacy. The Match: Similar to Tamon Honda, because of Sano's lack of appeal to a broader audience, this match is often overlooked by most but it was a solid bout for the two. Sano primarily had the upper hand for most of the match, using his martial art skills to good use, mainly for submission holds which were many throughout the match. As usual targeting Kobashi's injured knees to potentially make him tap out, but as we know this will only get the champion's energy to rise up and not give up, being challenged by the locks he was held in. At one point during the match, they even exchanged stiff looking headbutts and it did make me cringe a little because of what happened to Katsuyori Shibata years later. Anyway, I have to give it to Sano for always showing a lot of effort in high profile matches, granted I haven't seen many singles matches of his but this is probably his best one in terms of in-ring action when he turned heavyweight and since the Liger matches way back. He can be slow at times but I think that's deliberate, him being methodical rather than a hyperactive, moving all over the place kind of wrestler adds to the story of him slowly pushing down Kobashi to his limits, or at least attempted to. Hitting the stomach stomp over the top rope twice which always looked good whenever he executes them. They brawled out of the ring but only for a few moments, most of the action tend to focus in the mat. I like the story of Sano doing everything he can and pulling off moves in his arsenal to defeat his opponent but Kobashi always comes back up like a shonen anime protagonist, who only gains strength the more you dish out pain to him, it's really cool to see. There weren't really any "memorable" moments if you will, but from start to end it was just a very well performed match, and another testament to Kobashi's level as a worker in being able to bring out the best out of his fellow wrestlers. The champion successfully defended the belt when he hits him with a nice looking Brainbuster to get the win. Where Are They Now? In 2010 Sano won his only title in NOAH by becoming GHC Tag-Team Champions with Takayama. He was an active part of the promotion until in 2015, since then he has wrestled for various independent promotions until as recent as earlier this year, he wrestled his final two bouts at Wrestle Kingdom 14 as a part of his long time rival Jushin "Thunder" Liger's farewell matches. 8.) Takeshi Rikio I Date: April 6, 2004 Event: Navigate For Evolution Time: 25:28 The Story: So far Kobashi has faced mostly veterans in defending the GHC Title, wrestlers with years of experience behind them which led to a lot of exciting and familiar match ups. But now a new challenger has arrived and a much younger and hungrier for gold in the form of Takeshi Rikio. He is a former sumo wrestler who joined the All Japan Dojo when he went on to train as a pro, but before Rikio could gain momentum as a rookie, he got recruited by Misawa along with multiple other trainees in the mass exodus for NOAH. While the promotion has tons of promising talents by this point, it was Rikio was the first one to be projected as an ace someday. After all despite the likes of Misawa, Kobashi, Akiyama, and Taue being top draws, they are getting up in age and will have to pass on the torch for the future someday. Rikio was seen with a lot of potential and was slowly being booked to hopefully become the top star someday, with the rest of the company being built around him. In the beginning of his run, he actually was mentored by Kobashi himself, being frequent tag-team partners. But he found much more success as a duo with Takeshi Morishima, winning the GHC Tag-Team Championships for the first time on February 17, 2002 beating the No Fear team of Takayama and Omori. Rikio and Morishima were two top rookies of the promotion and had a great run together as a young tag-team. They successfully defended the tag titles four times against some formidable teams but eventually they were defeated by Jun Akiyama and Akitoshi Saito on September 23, 2002. We advance two years later on February 26, 2004, by this point Rikio was somewhat making waves and it is evident they see a lot in him, this became more clear when he defeated Akira Taue to become number one contender for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. In the weeks building up to the biggest match of his career yet, Rikio scored all wins in multi-men tags, he had a lot of momentum heading onto his toughest challenge against the dominant champion in Kenta Kobashi. The Match: This is the first match up between Kobashi and Rikio and I can say I thought it was pretty good. I observed that it did follow the title match formula that we're familiar with usually on Puroresu. Which is the first half being a lot of back-and-forth between both wrestlers, then the slow paced second half, then we get to the concluding parts where all hell just broke loose. Rikio, being the younger of the two went ahead and kicked things off in a heated manner, tackling Kobashi before the bell could even ring. This was somewhat the theme throughout the rest of the match wherein the challenger having the edge when it comes to athleticism and his youth, but he did try to have some striking and power battles with Kobashi at some points in the match which he would mostly lose. Rikio applying his sumo skills predominantly throughout the match which actually looked nice for the most part. It's kind of a running theme in these title defenses but he did work on Kobashi's right knee, whether in various submission holds, stomping on it multiple times, rushing it through the guard rails or steel posts, or even going as far as to splash his entire body weight on it, really did everything to take advantage of the number one weakness of his opponent. Just like the Sano match there was an exchange of headbutts spot but this one went even longer and probably more painful because Rikio's got quite the big size for his head. By the latter part of the match, both men were visibly gassed but still had some dramatic back-and-forth with some near falls on both sides, the crowd was really going louder by this point, mainly cheering for Kobashi though. Rikio attempted every move in his arsenal and even almost beating the champion with a lariat, oh the irony would've been something. But it wasn't his time yet and Kobashi powered through the young man's game and eventually get the win for himself with a Burning Lariat of his own. A solid affair, can get boring in some parts if you're not too keen on long submission spots, but not the worst thing in the world. This won't be the last time we'll talk about Rikio as we'll see him again down the line. 9.) Yoshihiro Takayama Date: May 25, 2004 Event: Encountering Navigation (Tag 14) Time: 28:47 The Story: Takayama got his start in pro wrestling under the mentorship of Nobuhiko Takada in UWF-I. He was one of the more notable fighters in the "shoot-based" style promotion and represented the company in their war storyline against New Japan Pro Wrestling. When UWF-I closed down, he joined All Japan Pro Wrestling along with former UWF-I alumnus Masahito Kakihara in 1997. Two years later he became tag-team partners with Takao Omori, together as "No Fear" wherein they held the AJPW World Tag-Team Championships and All Asia Tag-Team Championships. Just like many other stories you've already seen in this article, Takayama and Omori left AJPW in 2000 to become a part of the NOAH roster but instead of becoming a permanent worker, Takayama wrestled as a freelancer which also allowed him to wrestle pretty much anywhere else but NOAH was still his main promotion. This decision made wonders for his career, in 2002 he defeated Yoshinari Ogawa to obtain his first World Title by becoming GHC Heavyweight Champion but just weeks later dropped the belt to Misawa. In 2003 he won New Japan's IWGP Heavyweight Championship and years later in 2009 he returned to AJPW and became Triple Crown Champion making him one of only two wrestlers to win the heavyweight championship belts of the three major promotions in the country, the other being Kensuke Sasaki. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves, reeling back in 2004 Takayama had another opportunity for the GHC Title and this time he'll be facing a familiar foe in Kenta Kobashi. This time around due to his MMA background (remember that iconic fight with Don Frye in PRIDE?) Takayama became associated with Minoru Suzuki and their partnership wrecked havoc all over the country. The Match: Wow. Just wow. This match was everything I love about Puroresu, nonstop, intense action filled with high stakes and drama, which if all elements are done correctly it creates a beautiful and brutal piece of performance art. Am I overselling it? Not really as it was just that damn good and the match speaks for itself. I know Kobashi's best works are often associated with his fellow Pillars, but you can also never go wrong whenever he's in the ring with Takayama. It is always a guarantee that both of them will brutalize each other to no end, a lot of stiff striking from chops to kicks to elbows and even closed fists. Other than the submission holds, this was barely a "wrestling" match in the technical sense but more of a straight up fight. The barrage of suplexes they executed to one another all looked crisp, especially the one Takayama hit on Kobashi, a German while the champion is standing on the ring apron then being suplexed straight to the floor sans mat. It may seem silly because I've watched all of them in hindsight but out of all the title defenses we've discussed so far, this was the first match that made me feel the contender actually had a chance on beating Kobashi and I think that's a testament to the level of psychology they were able to showcase in the match as even though I already knew the end result going in, the journey towards the conclusion still left me doubting. The Everest German Suplex was a really close call on the challenger's part, really felt like a three count. Kobashi's selling was always top notch but he really took it even further when Takayama primarily worked on his right arm, the one he usually uses for the Burning Lariat. Finally after all the sweat they've collected and a barrage of unforgiving punishment from a variety of moves, Kobashi ended the match not with the lariat but busted out the Moonsault Press for this occasion! The already loud crowd went even higher in volume as it was always a spectacle whenever he hits that move at this point of his career. One of the best matches in the history of NOAH and the great careers of these two legends! Where Are They Now? Takayama hasn't wrestled since 2017 as unfortunately in his last match he suffered a career ending injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down. He has been in rehabilitation ever since and last I heard has been making progress. 10.) Jun Akiyama Date: July 10, 2004 Event: Departure Time: 35:34 The Story: One of the most pivotal matches in NOAH, a rivalry that's been brewing up for 13 years heading all the way back to their days in All Japan. This match does not only determine the GHC Heavyweight Champion, but a battle for supremacy and the one true ace of the company. Kenta Kobashi at this point is now the most dominant champion of the promotion, ever since he got the belt from Misawa, he was able to take on and defeat multiple top notch challengers one after another. However, a very familiar opponent is next on the line, the other superstar on the roster that being Jun Akiyama. On September 17, 1992 Akiyama made his pro debut in AJPW's 20th Anniversary event and his opponent was none other than Kenta Kobashi. The connection between these two goes a long way, Akiyama was seen by many as a potential top star due to his natural talents however during his rise among the ranks in AJPW, it was also when The Four Heavenly Pillars were dominating the main event scene and were taking over the Triple Crown Championship. While Akiyama is on almost equal footing with them in terms of skills, he was overshadowed by their popularity and the space for the top spot wasn't so wide. It wasn't until the mass exodus in creating NOAH where Akiyama had the chance to prove himself and established his career, getting away from the shadows of his seniors and become a man of his own. He became the leader of the faction "Sternness" and they were the number one rivals to Kobashi's own "Burning" which Akiyama used to be a part of in AJPW. On July 27, 2001 Jun Akiyama ended Mitsuharu Misawa's inaugural reign of the GHC Heavyweight Championship. It was a monumental achievement for his career, becoming a World Champion for the first time and had three successful defenses in a row before losing in an upset victory to Yoshinari Ogawa. It wasn't until this match when Akiyama finally had another chance for the GHC Title and this is even bigger than ever in terms of historical implications as they will headline the first show of NOAH for a sold out crowd in the Tokyo Dome! Two of the very best in the world at that point will go at it and permanently change the waves of NOAH's navigation. The Match: Earlier in the introduction of this article I mentioned the words: fighting spirit. This match is the physical embodiment of that. Not only from Kobashi, but Akiyama as well. Two warriors who entered that ring not to waste time, they went all out, made you feel with every move executed meant everything to their lives. After all this match was a culmination of their past eleven single meetings from their times in All Japan all the way to NOAH. Primarily on Championship Carnival tournaments, heading into this match their record is 9-2 in Kobashi's favor. Throughout his run until at this point, Akiyama was a believable babyface, often being portrayed like the young but passionate, hungry for success wrestler learning under the wing of his senior (i.e. Misawa) but this time around now that he's on his own, Akiyama was a heel and anyone will be in default whenever they're up against the fan favorite Kobashi. I absolutely loved the story of this match and it is the contrast to the previous Takayama match. Instead of the challenger having a dominant match with Kobashi seemingly in peril most of the time, this one felt like an equal match up. Yes, Akiyama had a lot of upper hand but Kobashi was able to retaliate just as good. The moment the bell rang, the heated action never stopped and even with the submission holds, there was a lot of drama packed into those as well, such as when the champion had a head lock to the challenger, despite Akiyama attempting to suplex his way out of it multiple times, the grip was too strong or when it was the other way around when Kobashi was nearly running out of gas and seemed like he'll collapse at any moment, but he kept through. The spot that totally changed the momentum of this match, the climax point if you will, was when Kobashi suplexed Akiyama from the apron all the way to the floor, you can see their bodies bounce from the nasty bumps and later on it was Akiyama who gave his opponent a receipt by doing an Exploder to the outside as well. Of course a slew of strike exchanges throughout the match, chops, elbows, running knees, pretty much nailed out all of their best hits. Then there was one of the most intense sequences when they exchanged Half Nelson and Exploder Suplexes respectively, where both men didn't back down and kept on standing up to hit one with the other, until a double lariat knocked them both out. Ironically their no-selling equated to some excellent selling in the end, which I think is another fantastic aspect of Puroresu. If done correctly, no selling for a few moments adds to the heat of the story. There were so many moments where the two of them could've been counted out or KO'd but once again the fighting spirit was so strong for those two that day, you can feel the stakes get raise up higher with every ounce of sweat falling from their bodies and each move being precise to eventually lead to victory. Akiyama had a lot of near falls and submissions but the finishing sequence to this match was perhaps one of the most memorable ever. Kobashi now had the upper hand, but barely, with their stamina pretty much on low. He hits the Burning Lariat which granted him a lot of victories in the past, but Akiyama kicks out. When that didn't work, he immediately went for the Moonsault Press, successfully diving onto the challenger, it was the move that got him the win over Takayama, but not this time around. What does he have left? The Burning Hammer. For only the fifth time in his whole career, Kobashi hits the most well protected move in wrestling to finally defeat Jun Akiyama after a grueling war of physicality. It was also the second time Akiyama fell down to the Burning Hammer and it was at that point, Kobashi cemented his status as Mr. GHC, the face of NOAH, and at that exact moment, the greatest professional wrestler in the whole world. Where Are They Now? Jun Akiyama played the heel role perfectly but unfortunately I think it was also the reason why it may have hampered his push as the top face of NOAH, had he won here perhaps there would have been a chance but the crowd for the most part were heavily in support of Kobashi so we will never truly know, that is an in-depth discussion in itself for another time.. After this match he won the GHC Title two more times down the line, although in 2013 he left NOAH and returned to AJPW, being the leading veteran of the entire company to this day. 11.) Akira Taue Date: September 10, 2004 Event: Navigation Over The Date Line (Tag 14) Time: 28:05 The Story: A classic matchup between two living legends, 2/4 of the Heavenly Pillars meeting each other once again and the first defense of the champion since his main event Tokyo Dome bout against Akiyama. Taue and Kobashi made their debut in AJPW just a month apart in 1988. They became two of the most popular wrestlers in the company throughout the 90's with their legendary tag-team and singles matches alongside Misawa and Kawada. Akira Taue though is always seen by many as the "outlier" of the Pillars, it is even quite the running gag at this point that he's the weakest of the four when it comes to wrestling skills but not to discredit him, Taue is an excellent worker in his own right. He started out as a sumo wrestler and used his abilities there incorporating them into his pro wrestling moveset while also gaining aggression over time with his devastating palm strikes, big boots, and his specialty the Ore Ga Taue, his own version of the chokeslam. On May 24, 1996 Akira Taue defeated Mitsuharu Misawa to become Triple Crown Champion for the first and only time in his career. By that point, Taue has loss many of his past chances with the belt and it seemed like he'll go down as someone who was great but never reach the same level of success by becoming a World Champion. He erased those doubts and earned a hard fought victory over one of his best rivals. But his reign wasn't for long, at only 61 days with a sole successful defense against Kawada, he dropped the Triple Crown to Kenta Kobashi on July 24, 1997 which was the inaugural reign of Kobashi with the belt. Moving forward on September 11, 1998 Taue had his final chance at the Triple Crown, this time he was the one challenging Kobashi who was in his third reign but failed to capture the belt once more. It wasn't long after this when both men joined Misawa and many others in the creation of Pro Wrestling NOAH. While Misawa, Kobashi, and Akiyama were leading the main event scene of NOAH, Taue has somewhat fallen on the pecking order until recently when he started to collect some momentum which granted him another chance in becoming GHC Heavyweight Champion but he has to beat the man who always seemed to have an upper hand in him for the majority of their careers. The Match: Any combination of the Four Pillars, you put them in a ring together and more often than not you're always guaranteed to have a top notch performance. This was another one of those nights where Kobashi and Taue brutalized each other, with the latter in particular being extra aggressive than usual. The start actually surprised me quite a bit, Taue doing work on Kobashi then got him to the outside then out of nowhere pulled off a suicide dive of all things! Imagine a 6'4'' and nearly 280 pounds of a man flying straight towards you, that's what nightmares are made of! As expected though the rest of the match slowed down in pace after those few moments. It was primarily Taue who had the momentum for most of the match, pretty much giving everything he's got against his long time opponent. A lot of back-and-forth submission holds with some chop fests intervening in between. Then the game changer spot took place around the middle part of the match when the big man hits the Ore Ga Taue to the outside, nearly knocking out Kobashi into his senses. It was a devastating looking bump too and both men sold the move perfectly in different ways. Kobashi just laid down flat onto the ground, as if he was lifeless from such a strong attack, Taue could've possibly gotten the win via count out but he was still an honorable contender deep down and dragged the champion's carcass back in the ring, attempted a pin but resulted in a kick out. Taue continued with his offense, hitting a powerbomb but once again, he wasn't able to finish it off completely, so he went for another Ore Ga Taue but it was stopped this time. This is when things pretty much broke loose and the two of them began to hit each other with all forms of strikes, anything to put down the other and take the win. Near the end of the match, Kobashi goes to the top rope for the Moonsault Press but Taue got out of the way, it was him who actually was able to hit a high risk maneuver off the top rope with a body press and by this point, the tunes of the crowd sang towards his favor and almost everyone in the arena were chanting loudly for the challenger. But Kobashi was not done yet, a Half Nelson Suplex led to a near fall, then a lariat out of nowhere knocked his contender out silly. Finally, as a last ditch effort he hits him with the iconic Burning Hammer to end things once and for all and still remain the GHC Heavyweight Champion. Just like the Chono match, this one followed the title defense formula of slow paced beginning then momentum changes as the conclusion goes near, and it totally worked for these two. They may have been past their youth by this point but they still delivered a captivating match especially for Taue who didn't have much high profile bouts left in him. Where Are They Now? Taue eventually won the GHC Heavyweight Championship on November 5, 2005 and just like his Triple Crown reign, it wasn't a lengthy run lasting for only 78 days before dropping it to Jun Akiyama. He continued wrestling for NOAH until in 2013 when he officially retired from in-ring action after an accomplished 25 year career. 12.) Akitoshi Saito Date: October 24, 2004 Event: Navigation Against The Current (Tag 10) Time: 28:55 The Story: Akitoshi Saito is a karateka who was mentored by another legend in said martial art: Masashi Aoyagi. He made his pro wrestling debut in 1990 competing for the promotion W*ING which mainly featured death matches headlined by Kintaro Kanemura but they also had traditional wrestling matches. A year later he joined NJPW and along with his master Aoyagi they joined Shiro Koshinaka's Heisei Ishingun (Force of Peace) stable. Saito wrestled in New Japan for eight years, mainly as a midcarder but then had a short two year hiatus in wrestling before finally returning this time however in NOAH being a part of their roster on October 2000. Saito joined Jun Akiyama's Sternness stable and the two of them became tag-team partners and were one of the most successful duos in the promotion, capturing the GHC Tag-Team Championships for the first time in 2003 beating the team of Kobashi and Honda. The rivalry between Sternness and Burning stables led by Akiyama and Kobashi respectively was at an all time high by this point. Later on Saito also formed his own stable: Dark Agents with Masao Inoue and Takashi Sugiura which helped Saito to rise up in the ranks even further, eventually with his continuous momentum he finally had a chance at the top by being the number one contender at Kenta Kobashi's GHC Heavyweight Championship. This was his chance at capturing a World Title in his career although he is facing a veteran of the industry with decades of experience behind him, Saito has his work cut out for him in this match and was far from the favorite in winning, if he gets the win it would be a major upset but an even bigger momentum booster for his career. The Match: Holy shit. I did not expect this match to be as brutal as it did. I thought the bout against Takayama couldn't be topped but here comes Akitoshi Saito destroying Kenta Kobashi's already beat up body. I'll just straight out say the two most painful looking spots in this match those are the suplex off the apron which barely scathed Kobashi's spine and then the insane German suplex later on which nearly had Kobashi landing on his neck! I'm not exaggerating that I feel like if those moves went wrong, we could've possibly seen Kobashi be crippled or worse, that's how deadly those spots looked. I could not believe what I was watching. Admittedly, I went in to this match with a story like Saito giving it his all and despite having years of experience already, it's still not enough to dethrone the clearly superior Kobashi but no, all of that was flipped off and it turned into the challenger trying to pick the champion apart. Throughout the match he also worked on Kobashi's arm primarily with karate kicks. Also did a lot of closed fist punches. I know it's a standard match for Kobashi to get beat up and he did retaliate plenty of times in this one but I haven't seen him beat up this badly since his AJPW days or at least in comparison to the rest of the matches in here. Unlike the Takayama match where it made me feel like there was a chance of victory for the contender, this one I legitimately feared for Kobashi's safety as some of the aforementioned spots looked reckless. Saito really played the heel role perfectly in this match which worked in Kobashi's favor for his standard superhero comeback. In the finishing sequence, Saito was positioned into the top rope then was chopped in the throat directly onto the floor, then a lariat, as he tried to fight back he got a taste of his own medicine with Kobashi giving him a closed fist of his own. After being dazed by the punch, Kobashi took advantage and hit him with a Brainbuster to mercifully end the match. You have to watch it on your own to witness the absolute beat down Kobashi suffered, his victory felt the more satisfying that way. As for the technicalities of the match, it was sloppy at parts but that's to be expected from Saito, he wasn't the smoothest of wrestler when it comes to the ring but otherwise, he can deliver some hidden gems like this one. It was a lesson for me that never judge a wrestling match based on what's presented in the card, because sometimes even the wrestlers you think are underwhelming may surprise you from time to time. Where Are They Now? Despite challenging for it numerous times, Akitoshi Saito never won the GHC Heavyweight Championship in his career. On June 14, 2020 he probably had his last chance ever at the belt but loss to Go Shiozaki. It's a safe bet he will retire under the NOAH banner as he's been a lifer ever since his debut in the company. 13.) The Gladiator Date: December 4, 2004 Event: Navigation, Uprising Spirit (Tag 12) Time: 28:21 The Story: Mike Awesome was one of the greatest big men ever, especially in his heyday. Most fans probably remember him best for his time in ECW where he was a 2x World Heavyweight Champion. But before he became one of the most memorable ECW Originals, he tasted initial success throughout the early to mid 90's in Japan for FMW. He was immediately put into the main event scene as "The Gladiator" aligning himself with Mr. Pogo who was the number one heel in the promotion against their top babyface and promoter himself, Atsushi Onita. The Gladiator became a staple part of FMW, having multiple championship reigns and tournament wins and establishing himself as a strong gaijin superstar. It was also in FMW where Awesome met his future eternal rival in Masato Tanaka and the two of them brought their brutal matches in the US for ECW and popularizing many hardcore style matches in the country. When FMW closed, Awesome still toured Japan but primarily for AJPW, bringing The Gladiator character with him. In fact his debut match in the company, it was a tag-team bout where him and Maunakea Mossman lost to the Burning duo of Kenta Kobashi and Jun Akiyama. On September 4, 1999 Kobashi defeated The Gladiator once more but this time in a singles match. In 2004 Awesome returned to Japan as The Gladiator and toured with NOAH. Later on he'd find an opportunity to meet Kenta Kobashi again but this time they're going to fight it out for the coveted GHC Heavyweight Championship. The Match: I've watched my fair share of Mike Awesome matches in the past both in ECW and FMW, I know he was capable of the hard hitting stiff matches and I expected that going in to this one. Unfortunately though, and I have to be honest I was a little underwhelmed by Awesome's performance in this one. The lack of heat on this match and the uninspiring build may have been a factor as well and it did have this aura of a "filler defense" like the one with Bison Smith and they're giving more focused towards Minoru Suzuki who was present in the arena as Kobashi's next challenger so the spotlight wasn't even on Awesome to begin with. That wasn't only it though as most of Awesome's offense which is usually powerful, lack just that in this match. His chops, elbows, and lariats weren't delivered with enough energy, it may be fatigue due to the tour but that's not totally an excuse especially if you're a wrestler in his caliber at a title match against Kobashi. It may seem like I'm ragging too much on this match but don't get me wrong, it was still a solid outing. Far from Kobashi's best match out of everything else in this list of course but he was still able to get a presentable match out of Awesome. Things didn't really hit the "second gear" if you will until when the table spot as Awesome slammed Kobashi through it in front of the commentary desk. Before that, the opening sequence wasn't anything noteworthy. His German Suplex looked good to his credit, tossing Kobashi like a rag doll, then immediately flying to the outside. This was near the finishing sequence and the crowd was getting more into it by this point, knowing it was the climax of the match. As they got back in the ring, Awesome went to the top rope and hits a diving body press resulting in a near fall, he proceeded to do an Awesome Bomb twice, first in the ring, then the other one on the top rope which did look devastating. All of these moves only served as a catalyst for Kobashi's eventual superhero comeback and that he did. Some more back-and-forth action, pretty much hitting their power moves and reversals. The champion hits the challenger with a Burning Lariat which almost got the win but that's still not enough, so he opted for his next signature move, the moonsault press. Kobashi landed straight to Awesome and obtained victory for another time! Even though the match started out in a dull manner, I thought they managed to pick things up at the conclusion and got more exciting from then on. Where Are They Now? Mike Awesome wrestled his final match on August 12, 2005 for the first ECW One Night Stand and appropriately enough his opponent was Masato Tanaka and they tore the house down for the last time. He retired from pro wrestling since then but unfortunately on February 17, 2007 he was found dead in his home. 14.) Minoru Suzuki Date: January 8, 2005 Event: Great Voyage Time: 25:22 The Story: Minoru Suzuki is one of the most important figures in the history of combat sport in Japan. He is a product of the New Japan dojo idolizing Antonio Inoki then personally mentored by Yoshiaki Fujiwara. He made his pro wrestling debut in 1988 but it wasn't until in 1993 where he truly made a name for himself by creating Pancrase along with Masakatsu Funaki. Pancrase is a hybrid fighting promotion, mixing in elements of professional wrestling and what we commonly know now as mixed martial arts (MMA.) Suzuki became one of the staples of the roster and became a successful fighter with his best rival coming in the form of future UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock. After pioneering MMA, Suzuki went back to pro wrestling full time in 2003 when he left Pancrase and became a freelancer, being able to compete in any promotion he desired, one of those being NOAH. Around this time, Suzuki developed this evil character for himself, showing more of his sadistic side by not only dishing out punishment but asking for it too from his opponents which has been evident of his works ever since. First competed on July 10, 2004 at the Departure event in the Tokyo Dome where him and Yoshihiro Takayama defeated Takeshi Morishima and Takeshi Rikio, successfully defending the IWGP Tag-Team Championships. Two months later he defeated Naomichi Marufuji in a singles match, whom in the future became his frequent tag-team partner. The following year, Suzuki became more active in NOAH and after Kobashi's successful defense on The Gladiator, he went ringside and challenged him for the GHC Heavyweight Championship and become a World Champion in wrestling for the first time in his career. The challenge was accepted and so we got this historic faceoff between one of the most beloved wrestlers in the country against the most hated. A classic clash of hero vs. villain. The Match: Kobashi is a wrestler that whoever you put him in the ring with, it will always be a good match up someway but he's always at his best whenever he's the de facto hero of the story facing against villainous heels and who's a better villain in Puroresu than Minoru Suzuki? He can a trickster playing mind games like Ogawa, be a brutal fighter like Takayama, and be a menacing individual only the way he can, Suzuki's character is the perfect contrast for Kobashi who is a fan favorite, superhero-esque personality. That was pretty much the theme of this match as one would expect but I also liked them playing off with each other's strenths. Suzuki with his MMA background being the more superior grappler and submission artist of the two while Kobashi will always have raw power in his corner. This was evident in the early going for the match where Kobashi had a tight headlock on Suzuki for a good portion of time and usually having spots like these may be boring but Kobashi is always good in conveying emotions so even so-called "rest holds" like these felt compelling. When Suzuki was finally freed, it was his turn to take revenge and worked on Kobashi's right arm by kicking it several times and doing a lot of painful looking submission holds. You can totally see where Zack Sabre Jr. got some of his influences from, it's amazing to me how Suzuki and ZSJ mirror each other the way they work on their opponent's limbs. At one point Suzuki nailed the Gotch Piledriver directly on Kobashi but instead of going for the pin, he mockingly stomped his foot on Kobashi's head and the crowd hated him for it, showering him with boo's. The rest of the match played out with the ace title defense formula, the heel wearing down on the babyface, as expected of Suzuki there were a lot of variations of the armbar and always taking opportunity in attempting to submit the champion. But Kobashi isn't the champion for nothing and once he gets his momentum rolling, nothing can really stop him. He hits Suzuki with three backdrop suplexes in a row which all looked nasty and with some last ounce of energy, Suzuki slaps him mildly but there was no longer gas in the tank as they say. It took a Burning Lariat to take down another tough challenger and another victory for Kobashi, little did we know this was his last successful title defense. This was a good match, if you're not a fan of submission-heavy stuff then you may not enjoy it as much but the character work from both men is enough to keep you watching till the end I feel. Can be a bit slow paced at times but it's just a standard Suzuki match and as always, the finishing sequences is where all the heat goes to a high level but I have to say the ending did feel a bit abrupt and they could have possibly gone on for a little longer. Correct me if I'm wrong but this was the first and last time these two legends faced each other in a singles match ever. Where Are They Now? Minoru Suzuki actually did become GHC Heavyweight Champion down the line in 2015 during the Suzuki-Gun invades NOAH storyline, which is probably the most polarizing state of NOAH in the past decade but that's a story for another time. Nowadays Suzuki is still wrestling and is one of the reliable veterans in New Japan (unless he's killing the trainees.) 15.) Takeshi Rikio II Date: April 5, 2005 Event: Navigation For Evolution (Tag 10) Time: 27:11 The Story: The first (and only) repeat challenger for Kenta Kobashi's GHC Heavyweight Championship run. By this point, he's already been reigning for two years and with the list of opponents he successfully defended, it has come to the scenario where it feels like no one will be able to take it away from him. However, since their previous encounter, Takeshi Rikio has gained more steam and with the way he was being booked around this time, the trajectory of his career is going in the upper direction and building up to this match, he has scored two clean pin falls over Kobashi in tag matches during the tour. Him and Morishima have broken up as a tag-team to focus on their individual careers, while his former partner is beginning to taste success in other parts of the world, Rikio is on his way to become the Ace of NOAH someday, all he has to do is defeat the most dominant World Champion in all of wrestling that time. But of course Kobashi is still the man and he isn't just going to back down without a fight. A battle between two warriors of different generations with hunger for success, one has taken down every worthy challenger that was pitted against him, while the other has risen among the ranks and take the blazing torch for himself. The Match: Evidently in comparison to their last singles meeting, Takeshi Rikio has improved a lot in many factors. First his attitude and overall personality was able to shine more, back then he still felt somewhat awkward, but you can tell he was able to developed a more relatable character this time around and really be comfortable in his role as somewhat of an arrogant young wrestler attempting to disrespect and defeat the living legend. His moves, while still can be sloppy at times, did looked more crisp and well executed. There's more emphasis to his strikes and the hard hitting stuff doesn't looked as weak as it used to. Misawa wasn't the only one who seemed to be high on Rikio as it felt like throughout the match, Kobashi respects him as well, selling his moves the way he can and taking in a lot more punishment this time around. They really performed this match in a way where it felt like an equal fight, a lot of constant back-and-forth action, probably in an attempt to make us believe Rikio is on the same level as Kobashi, really leaning in to him as the eventual top face of the company. Obviously with the power of hindsight, we can tell that didn't work but solely viewing this match for its time period and not have any other context, I actually thought they presented it rather well. In the middle parts of the match, it is usually Kobashi who is on the receiving end of beating from his opponents but the tables have turned this time and he's the one chopping Rikio and challenging him to put up a fight, gaining more sympathy from the audience building to have that eventual comeback. The finishing sequence to this match, they began hitting their power moves to one another, first Rikio with his power bomb then Kobashi with the half nelson. After some more signature spots from Kobashi, he hits him straight on with the Moonsault Press which more often than not guarantees a victory but not this time around, Rikio barely manages to kick out much to the surprise of the crowd. It was effective as "Rikio!" chants started from then on. Then a Burning Lariat, surely this one will do it right? Wrong again. Rikio has now kicked out of two of Kobashi's finishers which have been well protected all throughout this whole reign. As Kobashi was preparing to carry him for the Burning Hammer, Rikio fought back and hits the champion with a half nelson of his own, they bumped into one another, evades a lariat then pummels Kobashi with his lariat, a weak looking power bomb which I thought was the finish but he kicked out, thankfully because boy that power bomb was far from the best. Rikio finally executed his finisher, the Muso but even that only got a two count. After another a few more moves, he does the Muso again and for real this time, finally gets the elusive three count. I have to be honest, the concluding parts of this match did get me pumped for a moment, I was really feeling Rikio's big comeback and it worked, the audience felt the same too as they massively cheered for the guy as soon as he got the win. After 13 decisive victories, the legendary reign is over and Takeshi Rikio was the new GHC Heavyweight Champion. Kobashi personally awarded the belt to him, a nice symbol of passing on to the next generation. Where Are They Now? Takeshi Rikio's career was ended prematurely and he retired after his last match on May 29, 2010 due to several issues with neck injury. He's been out of the wrestling business ever since but still makes appearances in NOAH from time to time. Aftermath Let us talk about what happened after Kenta Kobashi's historic 735 days as GHC Heavyweight Champion. First off, Takeshi Rikio the man who defeated him and was the one chosen in accomplishing such a feat. If you're familiar with the story then you probably already know, Rikio didn't pan out the way management thought he would. While his moment of winning the belt as emotional and a nice sentiment of "passing the torch" he flopped as a main draw during his time as the World Champion and the fans didn't buy him as the new top guy with Misawa and Kobashi still around, again just like Akiyama, he was unable to overcome the shadows of the legends which isn't entirely his fault as NOAH has failed on booking future stars, but let's be honest, he also didn't have the same charisma on the level for fans to gravitate towards him, especially if they aimed for him to be the face in the long run. There were four top prospects in NOAH around this time; KENTA, Marufuji, Morishima, and Rikio. Two of them were really over but they were still the aces of the junior heavyweights and it took a while for them to get out of that stigma despite their amazing talents in the ring. Morishima was still not prepared to become the top guy and they also failed in completely cashing in on him as the next ace, he found better success in his time with ROH. In terms of wrestling talents, Rikio is the weakest of the four but was the chosen one in Misawa's eyes. The end result, Rikio's run as champion only lasted for 245 days and it really was a lackluster reign. Three successful title defenses, one of them is in the Tokyo Dome against Hiroshi Tanahashi, on paper it seemed like an exciting match up, the battle of the "young aces" of two different promotions, but its position on the show felt like a midcard match, with matches involving the veterans headlining over it. Even going over Mitsuharu Misawa in his third defense wasn't enough to salvage him and eventually Rikio dropped the belt to another old timer in Akira Taue who only served as a transitional champion to Jun Akiyama. This was ultimately NOAH's downfall, unable to properly book and create new stars and always relying on their aging stars. As over and beloved the legends were, they're still human and it comes a point in time where they will slow down and it is up for the prospects to take the mantle their seniors left and build the company around them, but as we know that wasn't the case. Perhaps it was a case of "too soon" for Takeshi Rikio, even with all the build they had on him, he still wasn't seen on that level by the majority of the fans, or perhaps another argument is that he just wasn't really the one who should've ended such a big deal of a title run. As for Kenta Kobashi, he still continued to compete. In 2005 as I've mentioned NOAH had their second and last event in the Tokyo Dome where he fought Kensuke Sasaki in a dream match scenario, it was the match that not only got me as a fan of NOAH and Kobashi, but Puroresu as a whole, their chop fight which felt like eternity is still my favorite spot ever. This was NOAH at its peak though as since then, the company wouldn't look the same and wasn't able to reach the same heights of success again due to multiple factors. In 2006 Kobashi had a hiatus due to being diagnosed with cancer. Luckily he was able to beat it and his eventual comeback match the following year is one of the most emotional moments in pro wrestling. NOAH really fell hard as a company when Mitsuharu Misawa died while wrestling in 2009, the state of the company was so bad and their involvement in other shady issues led to the removal of their TV spot and unable to create new stars and with no traction to showcase their product, what was once the biggest wrestling promotion in the country became a glorified indie. Kobashi continued to wrestle up until in 2013 when he finally retired and his farewell ceremony was a bittersweet moment, the biggest star the company has ever seen shared his glory one last time but it was good for him as everything he has put his body through, he was able to go out in his own terms, something his friend and rival, the man he beat to become champion, was not able to do. Kenta Kobashi remains as one of my all time favorite wrestlers. While the Four Pillars are all great, it was Kobashi whom I connected to the most, I'll always enjoy a good never-say-die underdog character and there was no one who portrayed it best than Kobashi, the only one I could think of in modern times that could equal him to that level is Daniel Bryan. His career was already revered but his reign as GHC Heavyweight Champion is what cemented his legacy forever to the very top. Thank you for the memories Kobashi-san and may you live the rest of your life happy and healthy! Check out my article "The History of Puroresu By The Stars" to learn more about the world of Japanese Professional Wrestling and some of its most notable icons and legends.
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AuthorSuper Mastodon. Spent countless of hours throughout my life watching professional wrestling. Now I write about it, because I like that too. Archives
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