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Post by joeg on Mar 15, 2019 23:05:11 GMT -5
My 2003 MOTY. Just trying to get the nomination in before midnight.
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Post by kas on Mar 22, 2019 12:52:39 GMT -5
Second. While I was a bit disappointed by Kobashi's performance, Honda put in a phenomenal performance with some great early mat-work and some good work on Kobashi's arm, as well as showing a lot of intensity throughout. I feel Kobashi stuck to his formula a bit too much and had he strayed from that formula this would be an all-time classic in my eyes, but I can see why others would disagree with me on that aspect.
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Post by bossrock on Mar 24, 2019 19:37:45 GMT -5
I'll third. Takes a little while to get going but I really like the back-and-forth competitiveness to it. The first half feels a bit too much like big moves for the sake of big moves, but it's still enjoyable. The second half with Honda working over the arm and Kobashi throwing anything in his arsenal to create space is when things really get cooking, though.
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Post by superstarsleeze on Nov 17, 2019 0:38:19 GMT -5
Im not quite as high on this as some others. The people who tend to not like Kobashi as much seem to really like this match. Whereas I am a huge Kobashi mark so I tend to enjoy his other matches more because they are traditional Kobashi matches. This is a great match no doubt just not one of the greatest of all time.
GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda - NOAH 4/13/03
This is my first Tamon Honda match and I don't think I got him until the tag title match after this so I will need to rewatch this match down the line. I thought it was a great match, but not an elite match. It is a perfect first title defense for Kobashi against a solid midcarder, who had some solid victories in 2002 and a very good Olympic record in freestyle wrestling. Plus established Honda as Kobashi's #2 and a reputable tag partner. This has to be Honda's career performance with a great array of throws and submissions to try put down Kobashi. Kobashi just has too much game for Honda, who is outgunned by the new champion.
The beginning match establishes just that: Kobashi is the champion and he is going to control the beginning because he is the better wrestler. Now, Honda is the game from the beginning going for cradles and being able to throw Kobashi on a headlock, but cant turn the tide early against the offensive juggernaut that is Kobashi. Kobashi DDTs him on the ramp and it looks like nothing can stop him. Until in a badass spot, Honda German suplexes Kobashi over the ropes onto the ramp. Now thats creatively badass. As is a staple of Kobashi matches, his opponent goes to work on the arm to take away the Lariat and the chop. Kobashi is such a master seller of this every time out and sells the cross-armbreaker very well. Honda goes back to the top wristlock to quash any Kobashi resistance. Honda freaking headbutts Kobashi's arm. Kobashi nails the back drop driver and sells the arm well, but you know it is coming, the Orange Tsunami is going to overwhelm Honda, a DDT and 2 half-nelson suplexes confirm it. Honda gamely tries to hold on by grabbing his Olympic Hell (did not realize this was a finish just thought it was a chinlock until after I did some reading.). Honda starts throwing Kobashi around climaxing with a top rope German suplex and again goes back to Olympic Hell. He can't put him away and goes for the powerbomb. Kobashi-rana and LARIAT!!! The end is nigh as they show the GHC title. Out of nowhere, spear by Honda. Honda force Kobashi over on the German, but eats a LARIAT. Everybody is out. Honda one last pin attempt before sleepr suplex and BURNING LARIAT continue Kobashi's title reign.
Kobashi worked the match much more underneath relying on his selling to get match over and in turn helping to make Honda look like a credible threat. Honda impressed me with throws and his work on the arm. Once I realized Olympic Hell was more than a intensely held chinlock I think I would like this match even more. I could see why some detractors of Kobashi who go after his offensive-laden matches may choose this as a shining example of a great Kobashi match. I thought it was perfect way to start a title reign, but at the same time allows to be even greater matches down the road rather than blowing your wad all at once. ****1/4
Re-reviewed: The match is better than I initially gave it credit for, which I think was hurt by the fact I was not totally bought into Honda. I still found some things about Honda awkward: his strikes and some of his submissions especially that top wristlock in the middle, it really never looked properly applied to cause damage. It is nice to see Kobashi work in this most minimalist setting. Personally, I am going to be partial the spectacle matches against Misawa, Ogawa and Takayama. He is such a great larger than life character, but damn if he does not have one helluva headlock. I love how he dominates with holds but is looking to use these holds to setup his offense. Very smartly, Honda is not one to lay down and take it he tries to use these opening, but damn how about those quick quashes by Kobashi like the ab stretch and Russian Legsweep. I know Honda gets a lot of due in this match, which he deserves for the great armwork and suplexes. Maybe I am just swinging the counterweight back in my boy, Kobashi's direction, but after watching this twice there is no way Honda outworked Kobashi. The cross armbreaker sell, the arm selling, fighting through the pain to retain his title injured, Kobashi was on fire making people believe that Honda had a shot. Honda had some neat characteristics that forced Kobashi out of his comfort zone, but so did Minoru Suzuki. I think match is better than the Suzuki match, but this not just solely great because of Honda or Kobashi's presence. It is Kobashi putting Honda's ability early with quick transitions, working holds, and then selling his ass off, before hitting the finish. It is a cool title defense, but does not do it for me in the way of the upper tier of Kobashi title defenses. Still rewatching this did raise it 30 spots and put it in my 30s. Very good Kobashi title defense.
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Post by makaiclub on Jan 18, 2022 23:04:38 GMT -5
This was electric. The first title defence for Kobashi was a good one, and is arguably the best one. Honda is a well respective olympian with all the cred in the world in the amateur sense but he wasn’t a main eventer and he had a small chance of winning. He gives a hell of an effort in a career making performance that had the crowd rallying behind him and biting on every submission. Kobashi is a mountain to climb for any wrestler and Honda does a fantastic job at breaking Kobashi down to his bare essentials of lariats and last gasp suplexes.
Loved the opening exchange of Kobashi hitting a chop only for Honda to say “screw that” and take him down on the floor and try and twist him in knots. Kobashi replies with a headlock and squeezes on tight. If there is one person that can make a headlock feel crucial, it’s Kobashi. The technical work was splendid with the two trying to grind on each other with some great defensive throws mixed in by Honda. The section of the ramp felt a bit. Kobashi spiking Honda with a DDT and Honda struggling to get up was some great piece of selling. The set up for Dead End was fantastic and was the big turning point for Honda with Kobashi going for a spinning chop, Honda ducking and dragging Kobashi over the top rope and planting him on the rampway. Then Honda begins to attack Kobashi’s injured arm that’s wrapped up and is then sold brilliantly by Kobashi. Even in the closing stretch when Kobashi was hitting lariats, the selling was great. The nearfalls were extremely effective and hooked me every time but I think the magic was the Olympic Hell attempts. Honda had some awesome transitions and that dramatic stretch where he had the OH locked on with Kobashi slowly losing the will to struggle was pretty epic. Outstanding performance by both men. Kobashi was very minimalistic compared to traditional Kobashi matches but he still came off like Kobashi. Honda was excellent at what he brought to the match. ****1/2
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Post by elliott on Sept 21, 2023 12:17:01 GMT -5
Mostly really really great but too over the top by the end of it.
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Post by mrjmml on Mar 1, 2024 9:56:16 GMT -5
Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda (NOAH - 4/13/2003)
It’s Kobashi first defense of his legendary GHC Championship reign. This match was doomed from the start for me, it was destined to be way worse than the match that preceeded it (Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa 3/1/2003) but even having that in consideration this match could have been better than it ultimately was. I believe that it went on for longer than it was necessary and that really affected the quality of the match. First of all, Tamon Honda never looked like a threat to Kobashi’s reign so most of the challenger’s offense feels irrelevant there’s no point in this match where I thought that the champion was at risk of losing his gold and that lack of tension made this match a drag for me. I see how some people think it is one of the greatest matches of the year but it just wasn’t something I’d enjoy because the crazy bumps they take aren’t enough for me to keep me on the edge of my seat. Even tough I criticized this match somewhat harshly by my standards I have to say that it wasn’t a bad match either. Both men gave all they had to offer but the end result just wasn’t as good as they hoped. Kenta Kobashi’s reign as GHC Heavyweight Championship champion got a good start but it’s evident that there will be greater matches in the future making this match nothing more than a footnote in Kobashi’s career and the greatest moment of Tamon Honda’s. I have a great deal of respect for both wrestlers but I think they knew that Honda wasn’t a credible underdog so they tried really hard to make him look like one but it didn’t work. If you like the King’s Road style especially during the late 1990’s you may find this match really interesting.
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Post by puroraisedme on Mar 1, 2024 10:07:05 GMT -5
I actually prefer this to the Misawa match the month before, really great match. It just barely falls out of my top 100.
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Post by fxnj on Mar 2, 2024 13:12:44 GMT -5
Great but definitely not on the level of the Misawa match. Similar to jmml, last I watched this I came away feeling like the match was as much about getting over Kobashi as the invincible champ as it was about getting over Honda. It's kind of hard to ignore how Kobashi not only soundly beats Honda in the mat wrestling (with a fucking headlock), but the only times Honda gains the offensive come from taking advantage of Kobashi getting careless (the ramp suplex) or working over Kobashi's injured arm. I feel like that's the exact opposite of how they should have worked it with building Honda as some Karelin tier beast ragdolling Kobashi on the mat and only losing because of his knees as his Achille's heel. The match's strengths are similar to a lot of Kobashi's other title defenses where you've got a kind of meh layout that still works because of Kobashi being charismatic as hell and willing to take some insane bumps against a challenger who's motivated to keep the offense interesting. The Saito, Takayama and possibly Taue matches just land better for me for building up the challenger as credible and fleshing out their characters more.
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Post by midwesternlariart on Mar 12, 2024 1:11:35 GMT -5
in which perennial underachieving mid carder Tamon Honda asks the brilliant question "hey, what if I just killed this motherfucker early?"
Tamon Honda approaches this with one of the most NOAH-ified ass game plans of all time and goes hell for leather and tries to take Kobashi out early with the biggest shit he possibly can and holy shit, does it kind of work.
What gets lost in the superhumanness of kobashi is that he's actually incredibly hittable and with a hurt arm that Honda is smart enough to go to, he actually has Kobashi dead to rights more than once in 25 minutes, but with that same ferocity and impatientness that he brings to each shot, insisting on only throwing haymakers and doing the work the land the killing blow, Honda's ticket on is also his ticket off. With each set up to land Just One More Bomb he actually opens himself to a Kobashi counter, with arguably the tide changing lariat coming off of a rare rana counter to an especially elaborate powerbomb attempt.
It's a hole everyone but Honda saw coming. Sometimes the real devastating ones are the ones where underdog is so confident coming in, actually pull it off almost, before falling on their face. Tamon Honda plays it his way and his way maybe isn't the most full proof, but it is the most self assured and most importantly, every inch of it fucking rocks. Tamon Honda never has the tools to win the big one. He started wrestling at 30. He's not jacked or blessed with an inhuman ability to take and give punishment. I won't even say he won a moral victory, but god damnit, he didn't lose anyone else's way either. A tremendous effort and a gigantic win for NOAH conceptually.
****1/2
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