MID-Tier Match Reviews: Vader vs. Kenta Kobashi – AJPW, February 27, 2000

I never thought I’d ever type these words, but even wrestling legends like Kenta Kobashi and Vader can have underwhelming matches.

Though both men are widely hailed as two of the best to ever do it, their chemistry together doesn’t compare to how they fared with others. Kobashi in particular is kind of like a 1990s/2000s version of Kenny Omega or Will Ospreay: a guy who has/had a reputation of being able to have an exciting match that exceeds expectations with a broom and while asleep. That reputation followed him into the main-event scene in Japan, where the pressure to live up to the hype was at its highest. And it seems like on this occasion that pressure got to him and while he put on a good match, it was far from the great match everyone had come to expect of him.

The Story

After a disappointing run in the WWF, Vader returned to Japan in 1998. But instead of going back to his old stomping grounds of New Japan or trying something new on the shootfighting scene, Vader signed with All Japan instead. This was a huge gain for All Japan which had been struggling with a shrinking roster of credible foreigner midcarders and main-eventers with the departures of Del “Patriot” Wilkes and “Dr. Death” Steve Williams.

Vader’s first appearance for AJPW was at the company’s 1998 Tokyo Dome Show which was, at the time, considered a one-off. In that match, Vader teamed with fellow legend Stan Hansen to take on the team of Kobashi and Johnny Ace in what was seen as a momentum building match ahead of Kobashi’s Triple Crown title shot a few months later. Upon returning to AJPW fulltime later in November, Vader teamed with Hansen and together the duo made it to the finals of AJPW’s annual tag tournament before losing to Kobashi and Jun Akiyama in the finals.

Naturally, Vader wasn’t happy losing and proceeded to attack Kobashi. In one of their first encounters post-WSTDL, Vader busted Kobashi open the hard way with a head-butt which required stitches. Then the two met in singles competition a few days later and Vader brutalized Kobashi despite Kobashi fighting on with all his might. Vader continued his warpath all through 1999, which culminated in two Triple Crown title wins, one of which saw him beat Misawa in just over twelve minutes. This was as impactful a statement as any: Kawada couldn’t pin Misawa in twenty minutes and Kobashi couldn’t do the same in over forty but Vader did it in just over ten.

As Vader crushed everything around him that drew breath, Kobashi took a unique approach to his typical “I’ll keep fighting on even if it kills me” persona: he refused to shave his beard until he pinned Vader. And so Kobashi grew out his facial hair to give him a slightly different look from normal (which was also somewhat important since, AFAIK, facial hair still carried certain negative perceptions in Japan).

So Kobashi went over a year without being able to beat Vader, either in singles or tag matches. Vader continued to rack up wins, with his varying partners taking any falls for him in tag matches. Kobashi pushed upward all the same, remaining in Vader’s orbit as the two battled over the tag titles. Then came the big February tour and Kobashi found himself next in line to challenge Vader for the Triple Crown.

“I have always enjoyed fighting larger opponents, but Vader is not just big; he possesses surprising agility, showcasing speed in crucial moments and executing moves like the moonsault press. His overwhelming power makes it understandable that he displayed an unstoppable advance in All Japan Pro Wrestling.” – Kobashi, 2016

Not only did Kobashi knew he was outmatched but he also had injured ribs which ensured he wouldn’t be entering this match 100%. Yet despite that could he still come out on top and pin this incredible behemoth?

The Match

This match took place on February 27, 2000. It was rated ***3/4 out of five by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer.

Vader powers Kobashi to the ropes but Kobashi quickly dodges some early strikes and bitchslaps Vader. What, does this guy have a death wish? Kobashi moves cautiously, trying to find an angle of attack. He tries a judo throw but Vader’s too big and out-powers him and tries targeting his head and lariat arm on the mat. Kobashi gets a ropebreak so Vader pummels him with punches. Vader sends Kobashi into the ropes but Kobashi hits back with a shoulderblock to knock Vader off his feet.

A spin kick sends Vader to the floor and Kobashi sends him into the barricade. Kobashi follows with a DDT on the exposed floor and some chops to the neck. Back in the ring Kobashi lands some corner jumping knees followed by a scoop slam and a leg drop to the back of the neck. Kobashi follows with a facelock and a Russian leg sweep for a one-count. Kobashi bounces off the ropes but then Vader drops him with a clothesline.

Vader follows with an elbow drop to Kobashi’s taped up ribs and then lands more punches to that weak spot as well. He follows with a belly-to-belly and a slingshot suplex that drops Kobashi ribs-first on the metal guardrail. Back in the ring Vader locks in a grounded cobra twist to further target the ribs and rips off Kobashi’s bandages. But despite this and some more shots to the gut Kobashi keeps kicking out.

Kobashi tries fighting back but Vader drops him with a body block. Vader lands some head-butts and charges into a corner but Kobashi kicks him back. a second attempt at a shoulderblock does nothing as Vader remains standing. Vader lanes a front slam followed by not one but three Vaderbomb presses…for a two-count.

Vader lands a short-arm clothesline and does the ~maintain wrist control~ gimmick sixteen years before Okada made it a trope. He goes for a third clothesline but Kobashi blocks, kicks his gut, and lands a back suplex. Another kick sends Vader to the floor and Kobashi follows with a plancha. Kobashi follows with corner machine gun chops but Vader hammers back. Vader attempts a fourth Vaberbomb but Kobashi counters with the corner powerbomb spot for two.

Kobashi lands more chops to the neck followed by a German suplex for two. Kobashi charges for a lariat but Vader ducks and lands a German of his own. Vader follows with more rib shots and two more Germans but Kobashi survives. Vader lands more head-shots but Kobashi charges out and both men lariat each other. Vader gets up first and hits a chokeslam for two. Vader hits body shots followed by a second chokeslam. Vader smacks Kobashi and bounces off the ropes…and runs into a desperation lariat for two. Diving moonsault press. Vader kicks out. Kobashi teases and charges for the lariat. Vader hits first with a body block. Kobashi bounces off the ropes and hits the LARIATO! One, two, three! Kobashi wins the Triple Crown Heavyweight title for the third time!

Winner and NEW AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion after 19:49: Kenta Kobashi

Post-match, Vader shakes Kobashi’s hand and shows him deep respect.

Review

This was disappointing for a Vader match, a Kobashi match, and for an AJPW world title match. There was something off from the start with neither man showing all that much urgency. There was a marked lack of crispness or aggression in the match. Vader looked sluggish and off his game compared to his much more exciting singles match with Misawa from the prior October. Vader went after Kobashi’s ribs as he should’ve but for some reason his targeting didn’t have the oomph on impact nor did it have the emotional reaction expected. Even though the match was structured exactly as it should’ve been – Kobashi struggled to get Vader off his feet, spent a long time getting pummeled, survived pretty much everything Vader threw at him, and then dropped him with his Stan Hansen-inspired one-hit kill lariat – the match just never kicked into that higher gear. It had all the right parts but for some reason the final product left a lot to be desired.

As for Kobashi, he looked to be at 90% here instead of giving his usual 110%. Maybe he was creatively and athletically limited in what he could do given Vader’s overwhelming size, or maybe his taped-up ribs were from a real injury and thus he couldn’t exert himself as normal else he risk worsening a known injury. Either way Kobashi wasn’t able to hit those same high notes as he had in previous big matches. His comeback was a tad too sudden and unearned. By beating Vader in such short order without that much of a struggle made Vader look a bit weak and undercut his upward momentum from the prior four months.

Final Rating: ***1/4

For a company known to showcase deep, layered, intense matches filled with false finishes that really excite an otherwise quiet crowd that’s watching studiously and respectfully, All Japan didn’t deliver on lofty expectations here. It only got exciting at the end after Kobashi survived Vader’s finishers one after another and held on until the very end. The result is a match that barely hits the mark and is more disappointing than anything else. It’s far from bad, but it’s painfully obvious both guys are having an off night. Then again, maybe they were intentionally holding back here since the real main-event was an outstanding singles match that saw Jun Akiyama finally pin Mitsuharu Misawa clean for the first time.

If you want to see these two have a worthwhile match then I would suggest watching their non-title match from January 1999. If that’s not up your alley and you want to see these guys really shine then for Vader I’d recommend his UWFi fight against Nobuhiko Takada, which is simply amazing. As for Kobashi, well, I could fill a ten-disc DBD box set with his best matches and still have material left over, but for comparison’s sake if you want to see a superior version of this match and this style then Kobashi’s May 2000 match with Yoshihiro Takayama more than does the job.

Thanks for reading.