#58: Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi, ROH Joe vs. Kobashi (10/1/2005).
For this match, there’s not much of a backstory behind why Samoa Joe and Kenta Kobashi are wrestling each other. Often in the early days of Ring of Honor, the company would bring in international stars for dream matches against the best wrestlers ROH had to offer. The story was that the matches featured wrestlers who don’t normally interact with each other. Considering that ROH’s primary audience was the hardcore tape trading crowd – those who 100% knew who this international talent was – this strategy worked to their advantage. One thing ROH had going for it in its first few years is that it established a working relationship with Pro Wrestling NOAH. That was a good thing, because NOAH was widely considered to be the best wrestling promotion on the planet for several years. You could single out 2004 specifically as the year that NOAH was the undisputed king of professional wrestling. And when you look back on that time, you can thank one man for that: Kenta Kobashi. When Kobashi won the GHC Heavyweight Championship from long time rival Mitsuharu Misawa in March of 2003, he embarked on the longest world championship reign in Japanese wrestling history, clocking in at a staggering 735 days. During his reign, he had some of the most exciting and memorable matches ever seen on Japanese soil. It was not uncommon to hear people call Kobashi the best wrestler in the world. He somehow was able to adapt to his growing list of injuries and setbacks and have a career renaissance that equaled – or even surpassed – his legendary run in All Japan Pro Wrestling. All things must end though, and Kobashi dropped the championship in March of 2005. From there, Kobashi looked to continue NOAH’s momentum by having dream matches with outsiders, and use those matches as a chance to help bring more eyes to his home promotion. This strategy led to Kobashi making his very first trips to the United States. He made his first appearance in America wrestling at World League Wrestling, a promotion owned by former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion and wrestling legend Harley Race. It was his second appearance in an American promotion that would forever endear him to US wrestling fans forever. He was signed on for a weekend appearance at ROH. The second night saw him compete in a tag team match, but on the first night, he would compete in a legendary singles encounter with one of ROH’s greatest champions, Samoa Joe. Joe held the ROH World Championship for 645 days, a juggernaut reign that helped establish the company as one of the best in the United States. He and Kobashi shared that common element: long title reigns that helped to build their respective companies. So now, these two former unbeatable champions would clash in an international showdown. When speaking on “The Steve Austin Show” podcast, Joe explained to Steve how the match came together with Kobashi. Apparently, Kobashi was under the impression that the fans would have no clue who he was or what he’d done. So his plan was to wrestle like an old school 1960s Japanese heel. His choice of offense surprised Joe, who then promised him that everyone would know who he was and that they had bought his matches illegally in the 1990s (one of the most popular items during the Tape Trading Era were Kobashi’s All Japan classics). The lights dim, and Samoa Joe enters first to a nice reaction from the New York faithful. It’s evident even during the entrance of the longest reigning ROH Champion of all time that this crowd is hyped for this one. The crowd immediately breaks into a chant for Kobashi, and he comes through the curtain to a fiercely passionate response. It surprises him so much, he just stands in shock before throwing his arms into the air. It’s honestly so adorable. This man – this fucking legend in Japan – didn’t think he would be known. He was wrong. He enters the ring, as the chants get even louder. He stands in the corner, and he looks to be on the verge of tears. How wholesome. The introductions are done, as Joe gets a decent reaction, but Kobashi gets a nuclear pop from the crowd, as they shower him in streamers. It’s crazy to see this man, who is revered as a God in Japanese wrestling, reduced to total shock in the ring. Both men adhere to the Code of Honor – the handshake before the match – and the match begins! The crowd are stomping away, as Joe kicks at Kobashi’s leg first. He shakes it off easily. Joe hits another one, and Kobashi takes it in stride. They lock up, and Joe gets Kobashi against the ropes, and slaps him right across the face. The Iron Man does not appreciate that one. They tie up, and Kobashi sends Joe into the corner, and unloads with a vicious chop to the chest. Both men are back in the middle, as they do a test of strength on one another. Joe flips Kobashi overhead and shoulder tackles him down to the mat. Outside of the ring, Kobashi is hit with a baseball slide and a diving forearm by Joe. He sends Kobashi back into the ring for a two count. Joe hits a powerslam and a diving elbow to Kobashi, who kicks out again. Joe locks in a headlock to the former GHC Heavyweight Champion, as the crowd wills him on. Joe switches to a chinlock, and Kobashi gets to the bottom rope. Joe gets Kobashi into the corner and unloads with chops to the chest, but Kobashi comes forward with some of his own. They fucking hurt. Joe hits kicks to the chest, and finishes with one to the head. Joe brings him up and hits a series of Kawada kicks to the head – I’m sure Kobashi misses those from Toshiaki Kawada! He stands up though and unloads with more chops to the chest. You can see the sweat fly off of Joe’s chest with each shot. Joe hits several knees to the head of Kobashi, which drops him to the mat. Joe chops Kobashi’s neck, kicks his chest, and drops a hard knee to his head. On the outside now, Joe places Kobashi on a chair against the barricade. Joe runs and sends his boot right into Kobashi’s head, smacking it off the barricade. He takes him to the opposing barricade, and goes for it again, but Kobashi responds with a spinning back chop, and a chop so hard it sends Joe over the barricade! He brings him back over and drops him with a DDT to the ringside mat. He tosses Joe back into the ring, and applies a front headlock to the Samoan Submission Machine. Kobashi hits Joe with more hard chops to the chest that drop him to his knees. He drives his knees into Joe’s midsection and drops him with a hard chop to the chest. Kobashi gets another front headlock in on Joe, as the crowd chants “This is awesome.” That’s telling because nothing super fancy has even happened. Kobashi attempts a suplex, but Joe is able to counter it with one of his own. Kobashi is back up though with more chops to the chest. Joe tries to fire back with kicks and chops of his own, and now these two are just slapping the shit out of each other! They’re hitting each other so hard, sweat is flying right off of them! Kobashi finally drops Joe with a chop. Kobashi locks in an Abdominal Stretch, but Joe is able to get to the ropes to break it up. Kobashi hits another falling chop to the chest, before locking in a neck crank. Kobashi chops Joe right on the head, as the crowd cheers him on. More chops to the side of the neck, before Joe hits an STO and a running senton. Joe unloads with punches and chops in the corner. He attempts a powerbomb, and nails it, sending Kobashi right into the turnbuckle! With Kobashi down, Joe runs his boot across his face several times. He lifts Kobashi up for the Muscle Buster, and Kobashi kicks out! Joe stays on the offensive, driving his knees into the side of the Iron Man. Joe hits another Powerbomb for a 2 count, and quickly transitions into an STF submission. The crowd chants “Please don’t tap.” Nice. As Kobashi gets closer to the ropes, Joe transitions into an armbar, but Kobashi is able to get his leg on the bottom rope. Joe runs at Kobashi, who responds with a chop to the side of the neck. He hits a Half Nelson suplex that draws a huge roar of approval from the crowd. Kobashi with another chop to the side of the head, and now he unloads with Shotgun chops to the chest, as the crowd cheers him on and he rallies them himself! Joe’s chest is bloody red as Kobashi just keeps going! Kobashi hits another Half Nelson suplex, and Joe grabs the rope to prevent the pinfall. Joe is back up and hits hard forearms to Kobashi, who responds with a Sleeper Hold. He uses that to hit a Sleeper Suplex for a close 2 count! Joe is back up again and just starts slapping the shit out of Kobashi. He’s able to come back with more chops to the head and he hits a hard Lariat! That’s enough for the 3 count, as the crowd goes wild! The fans shower the Japanese legend with chants of his name that seem never ending. Even this far into the night, Kobashi seems so surprised by all of this. He checks on Joe, who the crowd is now cheering for. He helps him to his feet, and the two shake hands, and hug it out. That’s nice. Kobashi bows to the crowd, and makes his exit, as Joe stands in the corner. What an absolutely delightful match to watch. Let’s get this out of the way first: nothing presented here is going to change the world. This is a basic bare bones matchup between two hosses from different worlds. Is that a bad thing? Not at all. What sends this match through the stratosphere is the efforts of both men, as well as one of the most appreciative wrestling crowds ever in the United States. Despite nothing being at stake, both Kenta Kobashi and Samoa Joe brought their A game, and that brought out the best in both men. Despite standing across from a literal God, Joe wasn’t afraid to get dirty, and he stayed right in Kobashi’s face from the moment the bell rang. Joe wanted to prove that he was the better wrestler than the Japanese legend that stood across from him, and he gave 100% in all those crazy strikes. But Kobashi, in true Kobashi form, stood firm and gave it right back to Joe. Even though there was no prize, the Iron Man had no problems putting in the same kind of effort that he would in a Pro Wrestling NOAH ring. I imagine after Kobashi heard that first reaction to his appearance, that it moved him to his core. The fans were excited to see him, and they didn’t care if he phoned it in or not. That clearly meant a lot to the legend, so he gave them their money’s worth and delivered a classic match. This was just another awesome moment for Joe, coming weeks after his legendary 3 Way Match with AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels in TNA Wrestling, so the chance to have a match of this magnitude with one of the Four Pillars made his 2005 resume look even better. As for the Iron Man, this was icing on top of the cake that had been baked for the last two years. Kobashi was on the run of a lifetime, starting with the mammoth GHC Heavyweight Title run, and ending with this international showdown in America. His status as an all time great was already cemented, but with this match, he got to add one more thing to his resume: the most popular wrestler ever presented in front of an American Independent Wrestling crowd.