5-Star Match Reviews: Kenta Kobashi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama – NOAH, April 25, 2004

Twenty years ago Pro-Wrestling NOAH reached the top of the wrestling world on the shoulders of its unquestioned ace Kenta Kobashi. He was once called “the perfect wrestler” by the wrestling press and his body of work during the 1990s included plenty of evidence to back up that claim.

A big part of Kobashi’s appeal came from his dedication and work ethic: what he lacked in stats, amateur accomplishments, or rankings on any national lists he made up for in his utter refusal to give up. That mentality bled into his matches: he put so much effort and work into each match that he became the ultimate example of an overachiever.

Most people thought his career was over come 2001 after years of overexerting himself and destroying his knees, hence the perfect wrestler comments which were intended as a career retrospective. But then, against all odds, Kobashi not only came back in 2002 but went on to have one of the best world championship runs in history. That reign made him the dictionary definition of what it means to be the best wrestler in the world: competing at such an elite level while on top that fans couldn’t help but shell out top dollar to see him live.

And today we celebrate the 20th anniversary of one of the best matches of his glorious reign, one that almost redefined what it a David versus Goliath encounter is supposed to look like.

The Story

Kobashi had just passed the one-year anniversary as GHC Heavyweight Champion. In that time he had beaten variety of different opponents, most of whom outclassed him in some way. Of his prior seven title defenses only two came anywhere close to winning: Tamon Honda and New Japan’s Yuji Nagata. It seemed like nothing could stop Kobashi’s momentum especially with a much-hyped title defense against his longtime rival/former friend Jun Akiyama already confirmed for the Tokyo Dome in July.

But standing in between him and Akiyama was a problem. A very big problem. Yoshihiro Takayama was in some ways a Frankenstein’s monster composed of parts of his previous opponents. He had a mat game like Honda. He kicked like Nagata. He had the size and strength advantage of Bison Smith. He wasn’t above casting aside any gentleman’s agreement and going for a weakened limb like Ogawa. He had shootfighting experience like Naoki/Takuma Sano. And, as I’ve mentioned before, Takayama was riding a ludicrous wave of popularity and respect for surviving Done Frye at Pride 21.

Given this match-up, any pretense of this being a placeholder/stepping stone ahead of NOAH’s first Tokyo Dome disappeared pretty fast. Kobashi was adored by NOAH’s fans but even his biggest supporters saw this as a perilous situation. Up to that point Kobashi was usually bigger and stronger than his opponents. Few people hit as hard as he did and the only person who could actually take more damage than him was Misawa and even that was debatable.

Takayama presented a serious physical and a very credible threat. He was a former world champion in NOAH, held tag team gold in multiple promotions, had main-evented the Tokyo Dome (apparently a pretty big deal over there, who knew), and was seen as the toughest man in the business. Meanwhile, Kobashi had a singular strategy against most opponents: hit hard with chops, lariats, and head spikes. But what was he to do against someone who stood taller and outweighed him? His knees were made of cooked hamburger meat and he wasn’t much of a mat specialist. So even though the big match promised for the Tokyo Dome was Kobashi versus Akiyama, there was a very real possibility that Kobashi might not make it to that venue or he would but as far from 100% as possible.

The Match

This took place on April 25, 2004. It was rated ****1/2 out of five by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer.

This is for Kobashi’s GHC Heavyweight Championship. They do introductions and the Budokan Hall crowd is firmly in Kobashi’s corner. Takayama does some fake outs to get the crowd excited. As they try to lock up, Takayama lands one hard kick to Kobashi’s leg which Kobashi no-sells by slapping his own legs. They lock-up again but Takayama pushes Kobashi away and dusts himself off. A third lock-up ends in a stalemate. Takayama ducks one rolling back chop in the corner but eats two more to the side of the head. Kobashi attempts the Half-Nelson suplex but Takayama powers out and tries a Half-Nelson of his own, only for Kobashi to escape that as well. Then, Kobashi attempts the running shoulder tackle but Takayama takes advantage of his long legs to boot Kobashi right in the face, sending him down to the mat.

Takayama snapmares Kobashi and lands a soccer kick to his torso, pissing him off and firing him up in the process. They have this angry stare-down and Kobashi tosses Takayama aside. He gets back up instantly and Kobashi chops him in the chest. They begin a nice back-and-forth where Kobashi chops and Takayama hits hard forearms to Kobashi’s chest as the crowd cheers along. Kobashi wins that exchange and chops Takayama some more. He hits a snapmare of his own and locks in an inverted double-armlock. Takayama gets to his feet but Kobashi keeps the armlock hooked in.

Takayama reverses the armlock and adds more pressure to it by putting his boot in the small of Kobashi’s back. Takayama goes for a back suplex, but Kobashi reverses it into a headlock takeover into a grounded headlock to bring them both to the mat. Takayama tries to roll Kobashi up but he only gets a one-count. The headlock continues for a while and they both get to their feet. Takayama tries to escape the headlock but Kobashi keeps is cinched in as we reach the five-minute mark.

Takayama gets a ropebreak so Kobashi hits a snapmare followed by a figure-4 neck lock to further soften Takayama’s neck. Kobashi tenderizes Takayama’s chest with chops and tosses him out of the ring. The chops continue ringside, but Takayama answers with a hard punch to the face. Kobashi answers by tossing Takayama into the guardrail and removing the protective mats around the ring. Kobashi DDTs Takayama directly onto the hard ringside floor and tosses him back into the ring for a near-fall. Kobashi lands more chops and tries a vertical suplex. Amazingly and despite having the worst knees in wrestling, Kobashi does get Takayama vertical, which the crowd appreciates. But he can’t land the move fully, because Takayama reverses the move into a guillotine choke in the centre of the ring. The hold goes on for a long time until Kobashi reaches the rope with his foot.

The referee gives Kobashi some time to get up, and as soon as he gets up, Takayama drills him with a MASSIVE kick to the chest. He hits a huge leg drop on Kobashi to follow-up but that only gets two. Takayama whips Kobashi into the opposite corner and hits a running knee lift followed by a double-arm suplex that gets another two-count. He applies a chinlock on Kobashi and drills him with hard elbows each time he tries to escape. After another chinlock, Takayama kicks Kobashi in the back hard and then hits multiple hard kicks and knees to Kobashi once he gets up at the ten-minute mark.

Takayama maintains the pressure with a barrage of hard kicks to keep Kobashi from getting any respite. Takayama attempts another corner charge but Kobashi puts his foot out. But Takayama sees the obvious block and takes Kobashi down leg first and kicks him on the back of his surgically-repaired knee four times. Takayama puts Kobashi in the tree of woe and hits a big running knee smash to Kobashi’s chest. Kobashi rolls out of the ring as the referee begins the ring count. He gets back in, and they start another chop-forearm exchange. But as soon as Kobashi starts getting the slightest bit of momentum, Takayama strikes the arm with his arm and his massive knee, which sends Kobashi back out of the ring once again.

Kobashi does an excellent sell job, checking his grip to see if he has feeling in his arm at all. The referee even checks on him to see if he can continue, and Takayama, like a shark smelling blood, attacks Kobashi as the crowd starts to boo. Takayama hits another hard kick to Kobashi’s arm, followed by a running dropkick that launches Kobashi out of the ring. At ringside, Takayama whips Kobashi into the steel ring barricade, but somehow Kobashi musters enough strength out of desperation to hit a lariat that sends Takayama down. Except Kobashi uses the bad arm out of habit and does massive recoil damage to himself in the process.

Kobashi tries to roll into the ring, but Takayama catches him as he’s on the apron and hits a German Suplex from the apron to the ring floor. Both guys are down as the referee counts, and Takayama makes it back into the ring at 18 and Kobashi at 19. Kobashi tries to get his comeback started but even hitting one chop hurts him a lot so he tries left-handed chops. Those don’t work because Takayama absorbs them like they’re nothing. Takayama does the snapmare and tries the running kick like before but this time Kobashi catches his leg, gets up, and hits two rolling back chops. Unfortunately, he can’t capitalize beyond that because his arms are too hurt.The crowd gets louder as Kobashi resorts to head-butts and a desperation Giant Baba running neckbreaker gets a near-fall.

Kobashi attempts the Half-Nelson again but like before Takayama powers out and hits his double-arm suplex. He tries to lock in a cross armbreaker, but Kobashi holds on for dear life. Kobashi tries to roll through into some kind of pinning position, but Takayama shows off his mat skills and maintains the armbreaker pressure as much as he can. Kobashi cannot hold on any longer and Takayama fully locks in the cross armbreaker as Kobashi writhes around desperately to find any ropes to reach with his feet. In a last-ditch effort, he rolls onto his stomach and reaches a far rope, forcing Takayama to break the hold. They both get up and Takayama hits three standing armbreakers, but Kobashi musters his inner Burning Spirit to turn that into a standing sleeper hold. That hold goes on for quite a bit until they both reach one corner. Kobashi goes to the top turnbuckle and tries a diving shoulder tackle, but Takayama answers with a huge knee to Kobashi’s face.

Takayama decides to add insult to injury by hitting Kobashi with a Half-Nelson suplex of his own followed by a running knee to the back of Kobashi’s head. Kobashi can barely stand when Takayama lifts him up and hits the Everest German Suplex. The referee counts one…two…thr—no, Kobashi kicks out at 2.9. The crowd explodes as their hero survives just a little bit longer and starts chanting Kobashi’s name in unison.

Takayama tries another Everest German again, this time by locking the arms. Kobashi resists so Takayama dropkicks him and hits a hard running knee to Kobashi in the corner. As Kobashi gets up slowly, Takayama tries for the corner knees again, but Kobashi throws him off. Kobashi dodges a corner big boot and hits his rolling back chop to the side of Takayama’s neck and then hits his Half-Nelson suplex.

The referee checks on Takayama to see if he hadn’t been knocked out. Kobashi tries to suplex Takayama but can’t because of his back, so he hits a few knees to Takayama’s gut followed by a Michinoku Driver for a two-count. He goes for the Burning Lariat but Takayama blocks it and hits a Dragon suplex out of nowhere for a 2.8-count. Kobashi gets to his hands and knees, but Takayama hits a running knee to the face to send him back down. Takayama takes off his knee pads and prepares another strike. Kobashi gets up at the count of nine and answers Takayama’s running knee with a HUGE lariat out of nowhere.

We’re at the twenty-five-minute mark as they both get up at the count of nine. Kobashi hits another lariat that sends Takayama down and then slaps Takayama in the face as he’s getting up. As soon as he’s standing, Takayama unleashes a flurry of kicks, punches, forearms and other strikes all over Kobashi’s body, including a few punches to the face in reference to his MMA fights. Takayama continues his onslaught with kicks and stomps and even shoves the referee aside (this doesn’t cause a DQ).

Takayama hits a running Yakuza kick to Kobashi in the corner and Kobashi responds with another Half-Nelson suplex. Then, astonishingly, Kobashi musters what little strength he has left and somehow manages to hoist Takayama up and hits a Sheerdrop Brainbuster out of nowhere. That was insane. The guy has awful knees and had his back destroyed yet he still has the power to do something like that. Kobashi goes for the cover, but Takayama kicks out at 2.9.

Kobashi tries the Burning Hammer but Takayama elbows his way out of that. He hits Kobashi with a few more hard strikes, but Kobashi answers with another huge lariat in a last ditch effort but it only gets two. At this point, Takayama’s strategy has paid off. He spent so much time attacking that arm, and now Kobashi can’t use it to beat him. So now Kobashi finds himself in serious trouble. He can’t lift Takayama and his go-to lariat has proven ineffective. But despite those problems Kobashi still gets up. With a murderous look on his face and blood on his lips Kobashi signals to the crowd. Something big is coming. A few people knew what Kobashi means to do, but no one – absolutely NO ONE – thought he’d actually go through with it. Especially after over a dozen knee surgeries that sidelined him for almost two years. But then Kobashi scoop slams Takayama and shouts いくぞー』 (IKU ZO, ‘LET’S GO!). And then the crowd goes absolutely INSANE. It’s as if this were Steve Austin returning at Backlash 2000. Because they know what Kobashi’s about to do. Kobashi climbs the turnbuckle, bad knees and all, and hits the DIVING MOONSAULT PRESS, a move he hadn’t used in four years, right onto Takayama’s face.

The referee counts one…two…THREE! There’s the match! The crowd explodes yet again and one guy in a red shirt literally jumps out of his seat with joy.

Winner and STILL GHC Heavyweight Champion after 28:47: Kenta Kobashi

You can watch the match here.

Review

I’ve watched this match countless times and it never fails to put a smile on my face. Even after twenty years this match still comes across as an exciting titanic struggle that few others could pull off. It was the age old trope of the irresistible force meets the immovable object, except in this case the immovable object almost won. Over the course of the match the audience went from doubting that Takayama stood any chance of winning, to Kobashi having one option after another taken away from him, to Takayama almost winning by simply outlasting the champion, to Kobashi pulling off the biggest, most herculean effort he had up to that point. To me this is probably the best expression of David versus Goliath in modern times and an undeniable classic of a match.

Although Takayama wasn’t that much bigger than Kobashi he still made the most out of his size advantage in logical and meaningful ways. He had a longer reach so he could hit Kobashi before Kobashi could hit him. He was heavier so Kobashi had to put in more effort just to lift him. By getting in close Kobashi exposed himself to getting taken to the mat where Takayama had the advantage from his training in shoot-style. And while Kobashi mostly stayed true to the honorable hero archetype Takayama wasn’t above cutting corners or exploiting weaknesses to gain any advantage. It was exactly as I described in the story section above: Takayama took the best and most dangerous aspects of Kobashi’s previous challengers and rolled them into one. This made him a monstrous threat, especially once he took out Kobashi’s weapons one by one.

Without his arms Kobashi couldn’t chop or lariat. With his back and legs taken out he could barely lift Takayama up for his suplexes or other power moves. If he couldn’t do those things then what chance did he have of winning? Even as he kept trying and trying and teased a ludicrous Burning Hammer on someone who outweighed him by around 40 pounds of pure muscle, he made it crystal clear that he was struggling to mount any sort of offense. Backed into a corner Kobashi did the one thing many people had told him not to, the thing that caused him to miss well over a year due to surgeries and recovery. He, a 260-pound heavyweight, dove off the top rope with a nearly perfect moonsault right onto Takayama’s face.

And the best part was that this wasn’t just spectacle or a treat for the live audience: it was the perfect conclusion to the match’s story. Takayama had out-wrestled, out-smarted, and out-lasted Kobashi for almost thirty minutes. Kobashi’s lariat and Brainbuster couldn’t get the job done. He couldn’t chop Takayama down to size because his ax had been dulled. He tried everything in his power to put Takayama down but the challenger just absorbed hit after hit and kept going. This forced Kobashi to go the extra mile, push his already battered body even further, and dive off the top rope. Doing all of that further sold Takayama as a legit threat: he had to bust out something special just to keep his challenger down for the three-count. So even though Kobashi won emphatically Takayama got over with the crowd despite losing.

Final Rating: *****

This is the kind of match you can watch and follow along without ever being confused. These two put on a simplistic match but executed it in a deep and psychological way that told a clear story. The drama and the selling helped overcome the language barrier. We often hear talk of matches these days being self-referential or esoteric in some way; well this match was the opposite. It had a clear hero versus monster dynamic yet by the end the audience cheered for and admired both guys for their valiant efforts. With one match Takayama went from an unproven big guy who talked a big game from his MMA losses to looking like the toughest bastard on the planet. At the same time, Kobashi went from dominant champion to underdog in peril back to dominant champion in one of the tensest and most genuine struggles he’s ever had.

You don’t see matches like this very often. It’s rare for a heavyweight ace to find himself being out-grappled by someone who outweighed him. It’s rare to see someone who is the Japanese version of Big Show wrestling strategically and using his weight advantage to trap his opponent in place. And it’s rare to see the David versus Goliath concept, which was been made into a cartoon for the most part since Hogan versus André at WrestleMania III, applied in such a serious and realistic way.

This match has aged like fine wine over the past twenty years and I’m sure it’ll be just as good for many years yet.

Thanks for reading.