(Almost) 5-Star Match Reviews: Kenta Kobashi vs. Terry Gordy – AJPW, 05.21.93

I’m taking a short break from translating the many books I have covering Mitsuharu Misawa but I figured I’d stay more or less on topic and revisit an important support player in his and fellow Kings’ careers in Terry Gordy. Compared to the other Americans who hung around All Japan during the 1990s Gordy is an unsung and at times unappreciated figure. Most people remember him for being Steve Williams’ partner, and because his greatest successes were earlier in the decade many have forgotten that Gordy was actually a former world champion. Not only that but there was this internal belief within All Japan that, had Gordy kept his personal demons under control then he, not Stan Hansen, would’ve become the greatest gaijin wrestler in All Japan and possibly beyond. And since it’s kind of depressing to reminisce about how Gordy’s career ended, let’s try and focus on his positive contributions. To that end, let’s look at what is arguably the last great match he ever had and one of the most important ones as well.

The Story

This match took place on the Night of the Four Kings, perhaps the most important date in AJPW canon. On that night each of the Four Heavenly Kings of All Japan – Kobashi, Misawa, Kawada, and Taue – each faced off against one of the Four “Foreign” Kings: Terry Gordy, Stan Hansen, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, and Danny Spivey. All four of these Americans had held either the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, or All Japan’s World Tag Titles, or in Gordy’s case, both. They were considered the top stars in the company and with Jumbo Tsuruta gone the only way for the younger generation to rise up was to beat these four fabled gaijins.

Though he wasn’t as tall as Spivey, as powerful as Dr. Death, or as hard-hitting as Hansen, Gordy was perhaps the most complete gaijin wrestler on AJPW’s roster at the time. Having read all four of the Four King’s respective books and plenty of other supplemental sources, the overwhelming consensus is that Gordy was a deeplyrespected and admired wrestler who could’ve achieved even greater heights had his habits not gotten in the way of things. So many of his peers both American and Japanese have sung his praises, but did he back all of this up once the bell rung?

The Match

This took place on May 21, 1993. It was rated ****1/4 out of five by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer.

Basic chain grappling sequence to start things off. Kobashi charges with shoulderblocks but runs into a brick wall. He ducks a clothesline and a flying shoulderblock knocks Gordy down. Kobashi follows with a rolling cradle for two. They lock-up again and start a Greco-Roman knuckle lock as some fangirls can be heard screaming “GANBATTE!” (Good Luck) at Kobashi. They trade armlock counters until Kobashi switches to a double-arm hold and manages to overpower Gordy until Gordy touches the ropes with his foot. And for some reason Gordy is pissed, jaw-jacking and cursing under his breath. This leads to a STIFF strike exchange that ends with both wrestlers going nose-to-nose.

Gordy takes over with stiff kicks to the calf, ducks an enzuigiri, and goes for an STF, only for Kobashi to get a ropebreak. Kobashi lands a vertical suplex and then Gordy…stalls. His body language makes it seem like he’s either hurt or extremely out of breath. I think it might be the latter because he looked like he was already sucking wind during the opening exchange. after about a minute or so Kobashi fires off some chops and then literally kicks Gordy out of the ring. Kobashi follows with a baseball slide dropkick, an Irish whip into the barricade, and a DDT on the ringside mats. Back in the ring Kobashi fires off more chops but Gordy regains control with a counter back elbow dropping Kobashi to the canvas. Gordy sends him into the ropes but Kobashi fires back with kicks followed by a ~250-pound plancha from the ring to the floor.

Kobashi sends Gordy into the barricade again and goes for a guardrail-assisted elevated DDT but Gordy blocks and lands a makeshift chokeslam onto the ringside mats. Back in the ring Gordy covers for two and follows with a sick corner lariat/throat drop combo for another near-fall. And suddenly with the ten-minute call the crowd wakes up. Gordy lands a lariat but Kobashi kicks out. Gordy drops a knee across his face but he only gets two. Gordy follows with boots for another two-count and applies a chinlock. Kobashi escapes via jawbreaker and goes for a second-rope shoulderblock. Gordy sidesteps and covers for two and then hits a 90s-style Rainmaker lariat for another two-count. Sleeper with bodyscissors. Kobashi fights to the ropes for a break.

Gordy follows with a leg drop that looks like it misses completely but covers up with a sort of ax kick. Then Gordy lands a dropkick for two and goes for the same corner lariat as before. This time, though, Kobashi gets his foot up. Kobashi fires up again and hits a dropkick. Then a lariat. Gordy goes down. It’s time for Kobashi to hulk up AJPW-style. Machine gun chops in the corner. Kobashi goes for a corner kneelift but Gordy blocks and throws him down. Gordy follows with a bulldog and not one but two Backdrop suplexes. One, two, Kobashi kicks out.

Gordy attempts a powerbomb but Kobashi fights out. Gordy charges for a lariat but Kobashi counters into a sleeper hold. Crowd’s going nuts for their orange-clad hero. Gordy escapes via corner charge but Kobashi hits back with a jumping knee. Gordy goes for a close-fisted punch but Kobashi blocks and lands the enzuigiri he failed to hit earlier. Bridging German suplex by Kobashi. Two-count. Scoop slam/legdrop combo. He’s going to the top rope. Diving moonsault connects…but Gordy kicks out. Kobashi tries again but Gordy grabs his foot. Kobashi puts him in his place with a trio of legdrops. Kobashi climbs the turnbuckle again. Gordy cuts him off and tries a super high-angle Backdrop. Kobashi kicks off the ropes to adjust his trajectory and save himself in the process. Both men go down in a heap.

Once both guys make it to their feet Kobashi hits first with chops but Gordy retaliates with an enzui lariat for a very close two-count. Gordy struggles but manages to hoist Kobashi up for the powerbomb…but Kobashi pushes the momentum forward to crash down on Gordy and cover him for a two-count. Kobashi kicks Gordy into the topes and uses his rebounding momentum to hit a stungun on the top rope. Baba-style running neckbreaker. Two-count again. One more bodyslam. And one more time to the top rope. The moonsault connects again. One, two, three! Kobashi beats Terry Gordy!

Winner after 19:39: Kenta Kobashi

I wasn’t able to find video footage of this match on YouTube, Dailymotion, or elsewhere since a few reliable accounts uploading old All Japan stuff got nuked back in 2020. That said, BIG thanks to Manjiimortal for sharing an archive link that includes some of those lost AJPW matches. You can find that link here.

Review

This was fun. Kobashi and Gordy had solid chemistry and told a nice little story here. The wrestling was basic at first, limited to simple holds and brawling. It wasn’t until Kobashi won a test of strength did things really pick up, at which point the match really took on a seesaw nature. Though Kobashi was in control for the most part and shined as a babyface in peril, there were a few moments where Gordy shut him down with ease. And yet even though Gordy was so much higher on the totem pole on paper and in terms of credibility, he didn’t dominate Kobashi as much as expected. There wasn’t this real sense of oppression coming from Gordy; it was more like he was delaying the inevitable or just hitting Kobashi’s restart button over and over rather than putting him down completely. Compared to guys like Steve Williams – who exudes a sense of monstrous power backed by a legitimate ability to brush off hits and throw his weight around – and Hansen – who gave off an overwhelming aura of fear and tension at all times – Gordy didn’t really feel like a top-level threat, at least not at first.

It wasn’t until the match hit the ten-minute mark that everything seemed to just click and fall into place: the pacing quickened, the near-falls started mattering a lot more, and the crowd grew louder with each passing exchange. Seriously, you can watch this match with the cheapest of headphones and you can still hear the sound of ~6,400 fans stomping their feet in unified excitement. Once that switch happened it became more of a classic underdog story with Kobashi inching closer to pinning a former world champion. Gordy tried throwing everything in his arsenal at Kobashi, including his trademark powerbomb that was passed down to him by Lou Thesz himself. But none of it worked since Kobashi either had a counter at the ready or enough fight in him to force his opponent to overexert himself. It wasn’t the most outwardly dramatic approach to wrestling but it was effective all the same. The match was all about Kobashi displaying his Burning Spirit against someone much stronger and more accomplished than himself and winning in the end.

Final Rating: ****

This match is more remembered for its outcome rather than any in-ring content and for pretty good reason. By Kobashi standards this was a pedestrian affair and Gordy played his role of major challenge for the FIP to overcome more than well enough. It was as straightforward as it gets as far as storytelling goes with the audience firmly behind Kobashi every step of the way and then cheering him on nonstop as the match went on. If there was ever a shining example of how to book a quick and easy “get the younger guy over” match without going too far, it’s this one.

That said, this is very much a once-and-done match that doesn’t have the same level of oomph as other matches of its day. Kobashi’s singles matches with Stan Hansen in July of the same year and Steve Williams in August are both MUCH better than this one both in terms of drama and execution. Then again, if a match like this can be considered an “average” night for Kobashi then it’s no wonder so many people adored him as a wrestler and still do to this day.

Thanks for reading.