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Kenta Kobashi
Height: 6'1" / 186cm
Weight: 282lbs / 120kg
Date of Birth: 3/27/67
Place of Birth: Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto
Debut: February 26, 1988 (vs. Motoshi Okuma)
Trained by: Dory Funk Jr, Giant Baba, Masanobu Fuchi, Kazuharu Sonoda
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Title History:
PRO WRESTLING NOAH
GHC Heavyweight Title (1):
- Mitsuharu Misawa (3/1/03) / Takeshi Rikio (3/5/05)
GHC Tag Team Title (2):
- (w/ Tamon Honda) Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito (6/6/03) / Yuji Nagata & Hiroshi Tanahashi (12/6/03)
- (w/ Tamon Honda) Takeshi Morishima & Mohammed Yone (6/4/06) /
ALL JAPAN PRO WRESTLING
AJPW World Tag Team Title (6):
- (w/ Mitsuharu Misawa) Won Real World Tag League (12/3/93) / Vacated (11/94)
- (w/ Mitsuharu Misawa) Won Real World Tag League (12/10/93) / Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (6/9/95)
- (w/ Johnny Ace) Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (5/27/97) / Steve Williams & Gary Albright (7/25/97)
- (w/ Johnny Ace) Steve Williams & Gary Albright (10/4/97) / Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (1/25/98)
- (w/ Jun Akiyama) Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (1/7/99) / Johnny Ace & Bart Gunn (6/9/99)
- (w/ Jun Akiyama) Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa (10/23/99) / Vader & Steve Williams (2/20/00)
All Asia Tag Team Title (4):
- (w/ Tiger Mask) Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (4/9/90) / Vacated (5/17/90)
- (w/ Johnny Ace) Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton (9/7/90) / (w/ Tsuyoshi Kikuchi) Dynamite Kid & Johnny Smith (4/6/91)
- (w/ Johnny Ace) Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas / Joel Deaton & Billy Black
- (w/ Tsuyoshi Kikuchi) Don Kroffat & Doug Furnas (5/25/92) / The Patriot & The Eagle (6/2/93)
Triple Crown (3):
- Akira Taue (7/24/96) / Mitsuharu Misawa (1/20/97)
- Toshiaki Kawada (6/12/98) / Mitsuharu Misawa (10/31/98)
- Vader (2/27/00) / Vacated (6/00)
Tournament History:
- Real World Tag League 1993: Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi won a round-robin tournament.
- Real World Tag League 1994: Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi won a round-robin tournament.
- Real World Tag League 1995: Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi beat Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (27:04) when Kobashi used a moonsault press on Taue.
- Real World Tag League 1998: Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama beat Vader & Stan Hansen (19:03) when Kobashi used a lariat on Hansen.
- One Night 6 Man Tag Team Tournament (1999): Kenta Kobashi, Jun Akiyama & Kentaro Shiga beat Mitsuharu Misawa, Yoshinari Ogawa & Masahito Kakihara (23:04) when Shiga used a cross kneelock cutback cradle on Kakihara.
- Real World Tag League 1999: Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama beat Stan Hansen & Akira Taue (20:15) when Akiyama used a wrist-clutch Exploder on Taue.
- Champion Carnival 2000: Kenta Kobashi beat Takao Omori (25:12) with a lariat.
- One Day 6 Man Tag Team Tournament (2002): Kenta Kobashi, Kentaro Shiga & KENTA beat Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito & Makoto Hashi (26:48) when KENTA used a jumping knee kick on Hashi.
Signature Moves:
Finishing Moves:
- "Burning Lariat"
- "Burning Hammer" (Rarely used) - Inverted death valley driver
- "Orange Crush" (Rarely used) - Vertical suplex released into a powerbomb
- "Black Crush" (Rarely used) - Vertical suplex cutter
- "Diamond Head" (Rarely used) - Spinning one-shoulder powerbomb
- Moonsault
Other Signature Moves:
- "Burning Sword" - Overhand chop to the chest of an opponent bent over backwards
- Rapid Knife-Edge Chops
- Half-Nelson Suplex
Profile:
Throughout his school days, Kenta Kobashi dreamed of becoming a professional wrestler. The dream came true when he joined All Japan, debuting in February, 1988. He trained very hard to become a good wrestler, and by 1993, he was already one of the world's best. He evolved from being Mitsuharu Misawa's young disciple to one of Misawa's greatest rivals, winning the Triple Crown for the first time in 1996. His third reign was also All Japan's last before the much documented NOAH split, of which Kobashi was a major part. Years of hitting moonsaults from the top rope damaged Kobashi's knees seriously, and at the start of 2001, he took an extended leave of absence from wrestling, having countless surgeries on both knees. After an unsuccessful return to action in February, 2002, which re-injured him, he took more time off to fully recover. At last, in July, 2002, he made his full-time return after all the pain and hard work, and it took him only months to capture the GHC Heavyweight Title and become NOAH's leading man. Kenta Kobashi's fighting spirit and great energy have won him much fanfare over the years. He has fought in many epic matches, courageously wrestling through terrible injuries. His "burning spirit" billing is no character or gimmick, it's reality. Shortly after his return to puroresu from further knee surgery, Kobashi captured the GHC Heavyweight Title from Mitsuharu Misawa at the 3/13/03 Budokan show. With the title by his side, Kobashi was been a dominant champion. After holding the belt for over two years, Kobashi was finally defeated by Takeshi Rikio on the 3/5/05 Budokan show. After winning the GHC Tag Titles with Tamon Honda, Kenta Kobashi was diagnosed with cancer in 2006. On December 10th 2006 he told the fans he would return "without fail". Kobashi lived up to his promise and returned to the ring on December 2nd 2007 in one of the most emotionally charged matches in the history of professional wrestling.
Related Information: Complete Kenta Kobashi 1994 to 2000 Results Chronology
