Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 4/10/94)
Apr 26, 2020 17:22:54 GMT -5
Post by superstarsleeze on Apr 26, 2020 17:22:54 GMT -5
From the moment, Stan Hansen blasts Kobashi with a steel chair this becomes absolute gold. Objectively, I do think the first ten minutes which is a lot of pummeling and general attrition do hurt this a smidge, but the bulk of this match is incredible. Hansen is an ornery sadistic, prick. This Japanese crowd wanted to kill him after that powerbomb on the floor. Then for Hansen to injure his ribs on the diving tackle from the apron to the railing which a great tide-turning moment. Kobashi shows NO MERCY! This is one of the best crowds ever! They were all aboard the Kobashi train and they were nuclear! I am a huge Kobashi mark and that moment at the end with the bodyslam & the fist pump before the moonsault got me so emotional and just writing this again gets me emotional. That crowd wanted it so bad for Kobashi and Kobashi wanted it so bad. That's pro wrestling! That's why I am a fucking fan. It was so moving. Nobody in my opinion is better at transcending language, culture and time to elicit emotion than Kenta Kobashi! Yet another sublime performance from in my eyes the undisputed GOAT of pro wrestling history.
Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW 4/10/94
The beginning of this match has a Hansen vs Kawada 2/28/93 vibe to it although not quite as stiff. What do I mean by that? There were a lot of momentum shifts and there were not a lot of highspots. It was just a lot of general pummeling and attrition selling. There were also not a lot of pinfall attempts. Kobashi was going to the thrust kick a lot. There were some whips into the railing. Hansen was using a lot of head shots, elbows and what not. It was just a lot of strong brawling, but not much in the way of story. There were excellent moments like Kobashi fighting through Stan's kicks as Stan was on his back near the apron and Kobashi was trying to enter the ring. Kobashi fights through it and slaps him a ton. Hansen FIGHTS through that and starts headbutting. I am a mark for sequences like that. Anytime people are fighting through offense, I love it. Kobashi has sort of control with some leg drops and the sleeper. Hansen ends up bowling him over with a lunging tackle. Hansen really starts to rock Kobashi with those headbutts, we get a glassy eyed sell that pops the announcer and Baba. He slams Kobashi's head into the steel post. Then he slams a chair off his back. I love a Hansen chair shot. Slams him into the table and THROWS THE TABLE DOWN ONTO HIM! POWERBOMBS KOBASHI ON THE EXPOSED CONCRETE! He has whipped the crowd into a frenzy and the crowd wants to kill Hansen. Hansen ends up diving off the apron on a shouldertackle only to eat the railing. This has turned into an excellent match. Looking forward to the second half and seeing if Kobashi can make the comeback and get his first win over Stan Hansen?
Absolutely TERRIFIC ENDING! Call me a mark for the series all you want, but fuck that was awesome and this shit right here is why I am pro wrestling fan and why pro wrestling is the greatest thing ever. Hansen has been a total prick to Kobashi and honestly should have been DQ'd because of the chair and table throws. The crowd was pissed. When Hansen clutching his ribs tries to enter the ring, Kobash shows NO MERCY, illegal closed fists to the ribs and a lot of hair pulling. Fuck that prick and Kobashi lights him up. Kobashi turned Hansen's drum into a punching bag at one point. There was a great suplex struggle where Kobashi kneelifts the injured abdomen and is able to hoist Hansen over. Kobashi DECKS Hansen with a lariat for a hot nearfall. I mean Double Hot! The whole building was ringing out with "KO-BASH-I" chants! Hansen's selling here has been sublime. This is on the order of Kawada doing his best knee selling. Just great work from Stan. Boston Crab from Kobashi and punts Hansen in the ribs. You can feel it and you know Hansen had one more run left in him. You knew to ratchet up the drama you needed that and they did a great job picking when it was. It came right after this once Kobashi had gotten his nuclear nearfall.
Hansen reverses an Irish Whip hard into the buckles such that Kobashi takes the Bret Bump. Big back suplex. Crowd oooh and aaahs and gets a little worried. Hansen gets a good nearfall here. He tugs on the elbow pad. You can tell the crowd is anxious. They have seen this story before. It felt different because Hansen had seriously injured himself but it looked like it was going to end the same with Hansen crushing Kobashi. Kobashi evades the first Lariat but Hansen gets the back suplex. Hansen decides for the powerbomb, but Kobashi back drops out to a big pop. Hansen lunging elbow to the head gets a nearfall. Curiously Hansen wants the big splash from the top even though his ribs hurt. Great selling from Hansen who manages to fight through the pain and Powerbomb Kobashi again only two. Crowd breathes a sigh of relief. Hansen goes for the big splash from the top. Eats Knees! Me and the crowd go fucking apeshit! This is best part here. Because I totally thought Kobashi was going to fire up win, but NO out of nowhere Hansen swings that BIG BEARPAW LARIAT! It was such a great catch you out of nowhere spot. Took my breathe way, but this time was different. He did NOT have as much Oomph behind he was the one hurting. It was defense mechanism and Kobashi absorbed the blow and just kept marching forward.
That bodyslam and that little fist pump. God, I was emotional then and I am man enough to admit I am emotional now. What a powerful moment! You could tell how badly the crowd wanted it. You could tell how badly he wanted it. It took two Moonsaults but Kenta Kobashi finally got his victory over Stan Hansen. Kobashi is my favorite Japanese wrestler of all time and definitely in my top 5 overall, I was so happy for him fucking 26 years later it is crazy. I am so glad he got that moment. Hansen knocked it out of the park. He was an ornery, sadistic prick then sold his ass off like a champ and still had that compelling finish run to make you doubt the feel-good ending. Nobody in my opinion is better at transcending language, culture and time to elicit emotion than Kenta Kobashi! Yet another sublime performance from in my eyes the undisputed GOAT of pro wrestling history. ****3/4
Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW 4/10/94
The beginning of this match has a Hansen vs Kawada 2/28/93 vibe to it although not quite as stiff. What do I mean by that? There were a lot of momentum shifts and there were not a lot of highspots. It was just a lot of general pummeling and attrition selling. There were also not a lot of pinfall attempts. Kobashi was going to the thrust kick a lot. There were some whips into the railing. Hansen was using a lot of head shots, elbows and what not. It was just a lot of strong brawling, but not much in the way of story. There were excellent moments like Kobashi fighting through Stan's kicks as Stan was on his back near the apron and Kobashi was trying to enter the ring. Kobashi fights through it and slaps him a ton. Hansen FIGHTS through that and starts headbutting. I am a mark for sequences like that. Anytime people are fighting through offense, I love it. Kobashi has sort of control with some leg drops and the sleeper. Hansen ends up bowling him over with a lunging tackle. Hansen really starts to rock Kobashi with those headbutts, we get a glassy eyed sell that pops the announcer and Baba. He slams Kobashi's head into the steel post. Then he slams a chair off his back. I love a Hansen chair shot. Slams him into the table and THROWS THE TABLE DOWN ONTO HIM! POWERBOMBS KOBASHI ON THE EXPOSED CONCRETE! He has whipped the crowd into a frenzy and the crowd wants to kill Hansen. Hansen ends up diving off the apron on a shouldertackle only to eat the railing. This has turned into an excellent match. Looking forward to the second half and seeing if Kobashi can make the comeback and get his first win over Stan Hansen?
Absolutely TERRIFIC ENDING! Call me a mark for the series all you want, but fuck that was awesome and this shit right here is why I am pro wrestling fan and why pro wrestling is the greatest thing ever. Hansen has been a total prick to Kobashi and honestly should have been DQ'd because of the chair and table throws. The crowd was pissed. When Hansen clutching his ribs tries to enter the ring, Kobash shows NO MERCY, illegal closed fists to the ribs and a lot of hair pulling. Fuck that prick and Kobashi lights him up. Kobashi turned Hansen's drum into a punching bag at one point. There was a great suplex struggle where Kobashi kneelifts the injured abdomen and is able to hoist Hansen over. Kobashi DECKS Hansen with a lariat for a hot nearfall. I mean Double Hot! The whole building was ringing out with "KO-BASH-I" chants! Hansen's selling here has been sublime. This is on the order of Kawada doing his best knee selling. Just great work from Stan. Boston Crab from Kobashi and punts Hansen in the ribs. You can feel it and you know Hansen had one more run left in him. You knew to ratchet up the drama you needed that and they did a great job picking when it was. It came right after this once Kobashi had gotten his nuclear nearfall.
Hansen reverses an Irish Whip hard into the buckles such that Kobashi takes the Bret Bump. Big back suplex. Crowd oooh and aaahs and gets a little worried. Hansen gets a good nearfall here. He tugs on the elbow pad. You can tell the crowd is anxious. They have seen this story before. It felt different because Hansen had seriously injured himself but it looked like it was going to end the same with Hansen crushing Kobashi. Kobashi evades the first Lariat but Hansen gets the back suplex. Hansen decides for the powerbomb, but Kobashi back drops out to a big pop. Hansen lunging elbow to the head gets a nearfall. Curiously Hansen wants the big splash from the top even though his ribs hurt. Great selling from Hansen who manages to fight through the pain and Powerbomb Kobashi again only two. Crowd breathes a sigh of relief. Hansen goes for the big splash from the top. Eats Knees! Me and the crowd go fucking apeshit! This is best part here. Because I totally thought Kobashi was going to fire up win, but NO out of nowhere Hansen swings that BIG BEARPAW LARIAT! It was such a great catch you out of nowhere spot. Took my breathe way, but this time was different. He did NOT have as much Oomph behind he was the one hurting. It was defense mechanism and Kobashi absorbed the blow and just kept marching forward.
That bodyslam and that little fist pump. God, I was emotional then and I am man enough to admit I am emotional now. What a powerful moment! You could tell how badly the crowd wanted it. You could tell how badly he wanted it. It took two Moonsaults but Kenta Kobashi finally got his victory over Stan Hansen. Kobashi is my favorite Japanese wrestler of all time and definitely in my top 5 overall, I was so happy for him fucking 26 years later it is crazy. I am so glad he got that moment. Hansen knocked it out of the park. He was an ornery, sadistic prick then sold his ass off like a champ and still had that compelling finish run to make you doubt the feel-good ending. Nobody in my opinion is better at transcending language, culture and time to elicit emotion than Kenta Kobashi! Yet another sublime performance from in my eyes the undisputed GOAT of pro wrestling history. ****3/4
