159. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue (AJPW Champion Carnival 1995)

In my eyes, it was pretty clear which wrestler was the weakest out of AJPW’s famed ‘Four Pillars.’ Akira Taue looked like an amateur compared to Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada. I only had two matches to observe Taue, however: two of the famed tag team matches involving all of the ‘Four Pillars.’ Perhaps I needed to see Taue in a singles match. So, after Googling, his 1995 Champion Carnival Match against Misawa stood out as Taue’s best singles match. So, to give poor Taue a chance, I went ahead and watched it. And, to give the man his due, he almost impressed me…

157. Kento Miyahara and Takuya Nomura vs Naoya Nomura and Yuma Aoyagi (AJPW New Year Giant Series 2023)

I (kind of) caught up with modern Pro Wrestling NOAH thanks to the interpromotional event that was Keiji Mutoh “Last Love.” It featured NOAH;s GHC Heavyweight Champion Kaito Kiyomiya vs NJPW’s IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada in one of my favourite bouts of the year thus far (click here for my review). Of course, I need to watch a straight NOAH match, and I’ve got my eye on Kiyomiya vs Kenoh from NOAH The New Year 2023, a highly rated bout. Searching for recently acclaimed AJPW bouts, I saw that Kento Miyahara/Takuya Nomura vs Naoya Nomura/Yuma Aoyagi from AJPW Giant Series 2023. Back in the day, AJPW were renowned for their classic tag team matches, usually featuring the Four Pillars. Is AJPW returning to its former glory?

150. Kenta Kobashi (c) vs Yoshihiro Takayama (GHC Championship Match, Pro Wrestling NOAH Encountering Navigation 2004)

Next on the ‘BURNING: The Greatness of Kenta Kobashi’ (click here for the list) list for Kenta Kobashi’s ‘Pro Wrestling NOAH’ years is a contest against Yoshihiro Takayama. Now, I’d never heard of Takayama before this list…but he is a highly decorated wrestling champion, winning belts in NJPW, AJPW, WAR, and NOAH itself, winning the GHC Championship before being defeated by Mitsuharu Misawa. And Misawa would hold that belt until being beaten by…Kobashi! That 2003 bout between Kobashi and Misawa is one of the greatest of all time (click here for my review), and that was just the start of Kobashi’s epic World Title reign. But how would he fare against the ferocious, tough SOB Takayama?

149. Toshiaki Kawada (c) vs Kenta Kobashi (Triple Crown Championship Match, AJPW Super Power Series 12/6/1998)

It appears I missed an AJPW match on ‘BURNING: The Greatness of Kenta Kobashi’ (click here for the list). So, before I continue with Kenta Kobashi’s NOAH career, let’s have a look at the match I missed out. From 1998, it’s between Triple Crown Champion Toshiaki Kawada and Kobashi for the championship. Like all of the Four Pillars of AJPW, Kobashi and Kawada had fought each other countless times, from the late ‘80s to the end of Kobashi’s tenure in AJPW (Kawada was the only Pillar to refuse to defect to NOAH in 2000). Dave Meltzer hailed their 1995 bout the best 60 minute match he’d ever seen. I may return to that one, but for now I’m following the list!

147. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW World Tag Team Championship, AJPW Super Power Series 9.6.1995)

“The greatest tag team match ever” is just one of the many accolades given to this match, listed in ‘Burning: The Greatness Of Kenta Kobashi’ (click here for the list). An earlier tag team match between Akira Taue/Toshiaki Kawada vs Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi, from 1993 (click here for my review), is also on the list…and while I really enjoyed it, the presence of Taue really distracted me. And, unfortunately, the same occurred with this match. His presence was minimised in that 1993 match; here, thanks to the extended duration of the bout, he’s heavily involved in the action. And he really shook my suspension of disbelief (yet again).

146. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Masanobu Fuchi & Yoshinari Ogawa (AJPW Summer Action Series 5.7.1992)

After watching the December 1993 bout between Akira Taue and Toshiaki Kawada vs Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi, the next bout on the ‘Burning: A Guide To Kenta Kobashi’s Greatness’ (click here for the list) was their tag team match from 1995, often called the greatest tag team match ever. But, upon re-reading the list again, I seemed to have missed a match: Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs Masanobu Fuchi and Yoshinari Ogawa! Kobashi and Kikuchi were one half of the thrilling tag team match against Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas (click here for my review) in front of an incredibly hot crowd. Now, I could only find a terrible version of the bout on Dailymotion, split into two parts, no less…and that had a detrimental effect on my enjoyment of said bout!

145. Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW Real World Tag League 3.12.1993)

When you work through a ‘Best Of’ list, it encourages high expectations, doesn’t it? I’ve been working my way through ‘BURNING: A GUIDE TO KENTA KOBASHI’S GREATNESS’ (click here to see the list), and so far, there have been more hits than misses. With Kobashi, it seems, you can rarely go wrong. A few haven’t reached my expectations of what a great match should be, but even those have been worthwhile watches. I’ve reached the point in the list where the complete ‘Four Pillars’ of AJPW have come together to compete in much-loved, critically acclaimed tag team matches. The first of two on the list, from December 1993, pits Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi against Akira Taue and Toshiaki Kawada. While I’ve seen three of the ‘Four Pillars in action against each other (and invariably put on classic matches), Akira Taue was an unknown unknown for me. Upon seeing him in action, I questioned his value as an AJPW Pillar…

144. Danny Kroffat & Doug Furnas (c) vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (All-Asia Tag Team Championship, AJPW Super Power Series 1992 25.05.1992)

I’ve always thought the Japanese wrestling crowds were subdued. Polite clapping maybe some light cheering…but nowhere near as racuous as the Western crowds. Of course, my main point of reference is NJPW, and there have been some exceptions: the reactions to some Tanahashi/Okada and Okada/Omega matches were immense. However, although I’ve only seen a few AJPW matches, the small crowds have been rabid for each one. But the crowd witnessing Kenta Kobashi and Tsiyoshi Kikuchi vs Danny Kroffat and Doug Furnas is one of the hottest crowds I’ve ever heard, in any promotion. Kikuchi being a hometown boy may have hyped the crowd up, but whatever motivated them, this crowd could have blown the roof off.

143. ‘Dr Death’ Steve Williams vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW Summer Action Series II 31/8/1993)

I’ve found myself going down the Kenta Kobashi rabbit hole… undoubtedly, he is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. After watching his bout against Stan Hansen, I looked forward to his much acclaimed match against ‘Dr Death’ Steve Williams from 1994. However, thanks to blindly clicking on the first Youtube video that came up, I found myself watching their lesser-acclaimed match from 1994 (click here for my review). I loved their 1994 bout, so felt compelled to find the 1993 one. It left me a little disappointed…

141. Kenta Kobashi vs Stan Hansen (AJPW Summer Action Series 29/7/1993)

Sorry, my attempt to work through Inside The Ropes ‘100 Greatest Matches of the Decade 2011 to 2021‘ has ground to a halt, thanks to pneumonia…and finding myself going down the Kenta Kobashi rabbit hole! After watching the masterpiece that was 2003‘s Misawa vs Kobashi (click here for my review), I Googled Kobashi’s best matches (and did the same for Misawa, so no doubt I’ll fall down that rabbit hole as well!). One opponent in particular stood out for me…one Stan Hansen, one of the stiffest workers in the late 80s/early 90s (and in AJPW, that’s saying something!). About halfway through this 1993 bout, I realised I’d already watched it a few years back…but it’s always good to go back and re-experience something, isn’t it? And while I remember loving it the first time around, I only thought it merely a very good bout the second time around.