It’s Time. It’s Time. It’s DRS2EBRaSAGG Time. After Vader’s ignominious exit from the World Wrestling Federation in 1998 he returned to the place of his biggest success in wrestling having worked major stadium shows and winning World Titles for both New Japan Pro Wresting and UWFi. His return to Japan in 1998 took him to a third promotion, All Japan Pro Wrestling where he had fresh matchups with the likes of Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Jun Akiyama, Akira Taue, and the series looked at here with Kenta Kobashi.
Champion’s Carnival 1999 (Tokyo Nippon Budokan)
AJPW 2/27/00 (Tokyo Nippon Budokan)
NOAH 1/13/01 (Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium)
The predominant style of New Japan is Strong Style. UWFi was a Shoot Style promotion. All Japan’s style was King’s Road during the Baba Era when Kobashi came up. So there is some clashing of styles here. They work these matches very simply. Vader beats Kobashi up, and Kobashi makes comebacks to the delight of the crowd. Most of you know Vader’s offense. The stiff head and body shots. The Vader Attack. The Powerbomb. The Vaderbomb. The Moonsault. A move he used in Japan, can’t remember him ever using it in America, was the most gigantic German Suplex you will ever see. The famous usage of the move would be Vader’s match with Antonio Inoki in the Tokyo Dome. Vader sent Inoki high into the air and Inoki came down right on his head. He does that to Kobashi several times in these matches. He does all those moves to Kobashi several times in these matches.
Kobashi is great on comebacks. After eating a powerbomb on the floor or getting brained with a steel chair Kobashi, who has the greatest facial expressions in the history of wrestling, would stay up on something like a short arm lariat, make a face that would pop the crowd, and start beating on Vader. Dive off the top to the floor onto Vader then rip up the mats and DDT him. Or comeback with his trademark chops. Or bust out his punches. Kobashi has a great worked punch, but the style of wrestling in Japan there are rarely, very rarely ever punches in matches. However, in the end, the onslaught brought on by Vader proved too much in their first two matches.
A major point the first and third matches had in common were injuries to Kenta Kobashi. In the first match Kobashi had a bandage above the eye covering stitches and in the third match his ribs were taped up. The first injury was a shoot not sure about the second. but they played into the matches in different ways. The first match is far more subtle and not coincidently the better match. Early on Kobashi makes his comeback so Vader gets a shot in on the wound. Then later when Kobashi is going for the victory he pops the crowd by ripping off the bandage which leaves it open to Vader and thus begins Vader’s finishing stretch and victory.
The NOAH tag match is being reviewed here because Vader almost murders Kenta Kobashi with a moonsault at the finish.It is a very good match, but the focus is on Kobashi and Akiyama. It is good enough to look out for. But seriously the ending is hilarious because it is Kobashi’s skull and not mine.
Results and Ratings
AJPW 1/15/99
Champion’s Carnival 1999
AJPW 2/27/00
NOAH 1/13/01
Average Rating; ****1/4
That does it on this look at a wrestler reinvigorated by leaving the WWF. In the next edition we take a look at another wrestler who jump started his career by leaving the WWF as he takes on someone with which he had a famous match in that company. Next Time: Macho Man Randy Savage vs Nature Boy Ric Flair