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[2003-03-01-NOAH-Navigate For Evolution] Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi


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GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 3/01/03

 

This is how you seize the torch. Finally, Kobashi takes the mantle from Misawa as the full-fledged ace and embarks on a magnificent heavyweight title reign. Very rarely in wrestling and sports is a there a "torch passing" moment so when it does happen it truly feels like a special match. So when you take an extraordinary match add this touch of gravitas you have the makings of a Match of the Decade candidate. I would argue that this is the most famous match of the era and thus will come under extra scrutiny. After watching the match for either the fourth or fifth time, I believe it warrants inclusion among the best matches produced in Japan in the 00s.

 

The story of this match was Kobashi would not be denied on this night. After years and years of proving his mettle, he was ready to defeat Misawa definitively. For Misawa, it was his last stand as The Man of Japan. It was a fitting climax to the story of two great, competitive rivals. The beginning of the match is Misawa establishing control and setting the pace with his elbow. After scoring the first bomb (a backdrop driver), Misawa stymies Kobashi at every turn with the elbow while focusing on Kobashi's arm removing the lariat and chop from the arsenal. Kobashi sells the arm like a champ as he cant apply the sleeper due to the arm work. When Misawa has the opportunity to hit his customary diving elbow, he was not expecting to crash and burn into the railing chin-first coming up with a nasty gash. Much like the chin-first drop toehold in the amazing '00 Akiyama match, Kobashi sees his opening and pounces. Everything is focused on debilitating the neck of Misawa. If you have control of the head & neck, you have control of the body. Kobashi paces his work a little better than Akiyama reserving his bombs for later content for using cravats and DDTs. The best spot of the segment is when Misawa goes for the monkey flip and Kobashi just falls back and eats turnbuckle. Kobashi starts to chop the fuck out of Misawa's neck, but Misawa ain't having any of it. We were one muscle flex away from Misawa doing his best Luger impression. It does not matter if it is Greensboro Coliseum or Budokan Hall, that spot is over like rover. The playing field is levelled after a trading a spinning back chop and a Roaring Elbow,

 

Misawa is first up, but Kobashi still has fight left in him and Misawa elbows him back in the head. He rattles off his finishing sequence that has culminated in so many victories. He goes for Emerald Flowsion, but Kobashi desperately shoves him into the turnbuckles to save himself and hits a half nelson suplex. Kobashi will not be denied as he fights through elbows to hit a LARIATOOOOOO! The struggle over a suplex and MIsawa suplexes him on the ramp then dives through the ropes to elbow Kobashi on the ramp. After 25 minutes, they are both out on the ramp and I just wondering what is going through their minds knowing what the next spot will be. In the spot of the match, Misawa Tiger Suplexes Kobashi off the ramp onto floor. I still lose my shit when it happens. "KO-BASH-I" chants ring out in the Budokan and they tease the double countout finish to really put over that spot. Misawa only gets a two. To steal a phrase from DDP, this crowd is JAAAAAAAAACCCKED!!! Both men selling the fatigue and battle wear like champs. Kobashi throws wild chops, but Misawa catches him with nasty back elbows. Kobashi is falling over himself on jelly legs and finally Misawa hits it. The end all be all: Emerald Flowsion. 1-2-KICK OUT CROWD LOSES THEIR SHIT~! Delayed brainbuster triggers the MI-SA-WA chant. This crowd does not want it to end. Burning Hammer brings the match and the rivalry to a fitting conclusion. Kobashi grabs the reins from the Misawa in a classic barnburner. *****

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  • 4 weeks later...

This will almost certainly make my ballot, and has a good chance at top 75... but not so much at top 50. Much like their 10/31/98 match, they do a hell of a lot right in the first two-thirds: exchanges, payoff/learning spots, teasing, gradual escalation. And then there's one big move and everything gets way way sluggish. I have no problem with selling a bomb, but when there's like 10 minutes of time containing about 1 minute of action, that's a bit much. A good comparison is 10/21/97, which had considerably less downtime, plenty of bombs, and is rarely mentioned as a MOTDC or a super-classic. To say nothing of 1/20/97, which had much more substance in the middle and was every bit as epic (if not more so).

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  • 1 month later...

This was a really, really great opening build. Misawa's early control, the big crash and burn leading to Kobashi's comeback, those are amazing. About the 4th half nelson I start to scale back my opinion of the match. Too many head drops overall, but it actually did work on a storytelling level. Also, Kobashi getting his definitive win over Misawa is huge and awesome moment. I get down on Kobashi a lot, but he worked hard and when he didn't go overboard was an incredible wrestler. This comes in below a lot of stuff for me because of the excessive head drops. I get the downtime late after being dropped on your head that often. This was their best match since 1997 though.

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  • 2 months later...

This match is really good but it's just so BIG that it's not the kind of match I can watch over and over again and that hurts it. I think they pulled off the escalating action very well and I don't really have a problem with any of the selling but it's scale just makes it feel like work to watch it. This is a lock for a top 100 but I'm more likely to put a fun match that I know I'll watch again and again in front of this.

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  • 1 month later...

Upon my latest viewing, I'd be very comfortable with this as my number 1. I reckon it will be no worse than top 3 if it's not number 1.

 

I viewed the last ten minutes completely differently to Ditch. The "sluggishness" as he called it was great in my opinion - everything after the Tiger Suplex felt like I was watching an incredibly dramatic movie. Kobashi's face told the most wonderful story as he first had to regain his senses, then figure out where he was, then find a way to stop this guy delivering more punishment to him, then start to dish out some meaningful offense of his own and finally get in a position to deliver his kill shot and end the madness.

 

It was amazing.

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  • 4 weeks later...

This may be the best passing of the torch/final showdown match I've seen. By this point, Misawa was on his last legs and puts in a heck of a performance, doing all of his usual flying. There is a lot of head dropping but at this point, especially in retrospect but even in 2003 context, it is done much better than Misawa/Kawada 6/6/97 or Misawa/Kobashi 6/99. The Tiger Suplex off the ramp is the memorable spot of the match and it is sold well enough, getting a decent near fall once both guys make it back into the ring. Misawa's eyes when he just can't put Kobashi away is an awesome visual. It may have been a result of his body being totally wrecked but nonetheless it was impressive. MOTYC for 2003.

 

This is why we need the Yearbooks for 2000-2004. 2003-2004 was the beginning of the transition from tape to DVD and though the big matches (like this) were well circulated, I'm still not sure that all the big matches have been seen, not to mention the hidden gems.

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  • 3 years later...

The Apex of the old AJ style. The best passing of the torch match ever. Misawa's eye for little details is just amazing. Forget the headropping (which is overstated to a point, some of those huge suplexes look actually quite safe in that the body is doing a full twist without the head being compressed at all, or the bump clearly being took on the shoulders before folding the neck), what made the style was the selling of those huge spots (which of course, is a thing that has been completely lost by the indies just cosplaying the big spots), the sense of escalation, the incredible dynamic those guys established over the years (the argument of "they always worked against the same opponents" is really poorly thought out to me, it's like criticizing Sonic Youth for never switching band members and playing funk or something). Kobashi is awesome, but I thought this match really was about Misawa looking like the greatest pro-wrestler ever one last time. All time classic. MOTD. *****

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This is an amazing piece of work that would make my all time Top 50. Very different from their other matches too with a urgent, almost desperate Misawa vs. a more cerebral Kobashi. Two points stand out: Kobashi managing to make a comeback after the ramp tiger suplex and him finally hitting the Burning Hammer. Combined with Misawa's look after the Emerald Flowsion kickout, they make for the ultimate passing of the torch moment. ****5/8

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  • GSR changed the title to [2003-03-01-NOAH-Navigate For Evolution] Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi
  • 1 year later...

Given that this is the last match of this historic rivalry, one filled with classic bouts that are among some of the greatest matches of all time, this just might be the best out of the lot. It has a high barrier to overcome with Misawa who was declining and almost everything they could’ve done with this pairing has been done more than once. Well, except one thing. And that’s to pass the torch. Onto Kobashi to take the mantle as the main. But I thought Misawa was the driving force of the greatness behind this match. He was not going down easily. Despite getting dominated early on and splitting the inside of his mouth open, he fought with everything he could. Misawa would eat Kobashi’s neck chops only to fire back with wicked hard elbows. He matched Kobashi’s suplexes and escalated the danger of them using the ramp. The whole set up of the ramp was fantastic. First a suplex on the ramp, then a tope elbow through the ropes knocking Kobashi for a loop and finishing it off with a tiger driver off the ramp with Kobashi landing right on the neck. Each spot was sold really well by Kobashi and each spot had time to breathe and be soaked in because each one was a killer spot and we got three in a combo. Kobashi channelled the the crowd’s energy to match his great performance, fighting from beneath. The finishing stretch was brilliant. Both men are selling their fatigue, Misawa’s face when Kobashi kicks out of the Emerald Flowsion, realising that it’s not his day, Kobashi making a quick comeback with a brutal brainbuster and then following up with the Burning Hammer. The match really works on every level. The apex of the old classic All Japan style and perhaps the best of their style NOAH would try and emulate for the next decade and a half. *****
 

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  • 1 year later...

Just watched this again. For many years this has been my absolute favourite, greatest match of all time. It's been a long time since I watched it last time, and my criteria has changed a lot since, so when I felt I was ready to revisit this one I felt a lot of pressure on me. I didn't want to lose the happiness and overall "out of the body" experience I've always had with this match.

 

Thankfully, that didn't happen. This is still the best match I've ever seen. By far.

 

When it comes to pure ringwork, trying to be as objective as possible, I would say the first couple sequences are a bit generic and serve just as a warm up, nothing special to kickoff the match. That means it COULD BE a bit worse than other GOAT contenders I have like Okada/Shibata, Bock/Hennig, or the 20/01/97 Kobashi/Misawa match. BUT. The meaning this match has is (almost) out of range for any other. This is all about the climax of a legendary saga. It's all about Kobashi finally being better than Misawa, and Misawa not wanting to lose his seat at the top of the mountain by any means. Since the very beginning and presentation of the match, with the atmosphere, the epic entrances, the staredowns, you immediately get that you're watching two of the best ever at their ultimate battle. It's 100% a must win scenario for both of them: Kobashi can't aford another lose to Misawa now that his knees aren't at their full and will never be again, and Misawa is starting to get old and fat. Whoever wins now, wins the whole rivalry. The stakes are as high as ever. I don't like to be hyperbolic when talking about wrestling, but stories and matches like these are on such another level that it's simply almost impossible to not sound hyperbolic. This is dramatic as fuck, epic as fuck, brutal as fuck.

 

They kill each other in the first five minutes, and then manage to build another 25 minutes by going even further beyond! And it totally works, because they make you CARE about them with perfect body language and insane charisma. There's a criminally underrated sequence in this match, at the first half of it, when Misawa is suffering some nasty neck-work courtesy of gool old Chopbashi, and he stops selling his torture and starts to stare FEROCIOUSLY at him, no selling the following chops, starting to come back with elbows. It's like when Kawada pisses him off: the almighty Misawa coming back easily. And Misawa manages to turn the match around for a couple of minutes because, even when he's starting to lose the Ace position, he's still fucking Mitsuharu Misawa and he can destroy you with just a couple of well-timed strikes and a few signature moves... Only this time Kobashi regains control by countering him. People tend to enphasize Kobashi's resilliance by surviving the Tiger Suplex off the ramp and the Emerald Flowsion (and yeah, he's fucking Kenta Kobashi, the most resiliant motherfucker ever in his most important match ever), but to me the key is about Kobashi actually being a better wrestler; not only by being able to survive more stuff, but because he controls most of the match and is able to counter most of Misawa's attempts. He doesn't win at the end because he survives the Suplex and the Flowsion: he does it because he avoids the TD91 attempt and counters the running elbow attempt with his Burning Lariat. He's clearly the better wrestler, kayfabe wise, throughout the whole match, and you can TELL Misawa is pyschologically struggling with that. He has some of the best facial expressions I've ever seen in him, he's desperate as hell, and people have already talked enough about how part of the special feel of this match is the inversion of their dynamic: now Kobashi is the wrestler to beat (even if he hasn't won the title yet), and Misawa is the desperate guy trying whatever he can to win. That fucking Tiger Suplex off the ramp is not only a powerful moment because... well, is crazy as fuck, but because it shows how far he has to go, against his will, to the point that he makes all the other "crazy bomb off the apron" spots at their other matches feel like nothing compared to this one. Only that, again, this time Kobashi comes. Fucking. Back. Those last minutes are PERFECTION, easily the most epic comeback ever.

 

Even though this match obviously have some of the same appeals their other classics have (you get the elbow vs chop battle, the crazy bombs, the tests of strength, the bomb off the apron spot, finisher kickouts at 2'9999...), the dynamic is different not only character-wise, but structure-wise. This match is shorter and they go all out since almost the very beginning, because there's no point in trying to work a more elaborate match right now. They know each other so much and their rivalry has reached a level of epicness so high, that everyone and their mothers know that both guys have to start throwing bombs as soon as possible. Misawa landing most of his signature spots in the first couple of minutes is fantastic, it's like his great exhibition of dominance at the start of their 20/01/97 match but with a totally different meaning: now he's desperate. I said it before, but seriously, Misawa's character work in this match is unreal. It would be talked about loudly if he didn't have the greatest wrestler ever making a hell of a performance in front of him.

 

Kenta Kobashi reaches wrestling's heaven in this match. Pro wrestling has a lot of amazing stories to tell, but I can't think of any better story than the underdog chasing and finally winning the main title from a long-time rival. And Kobashi protagonizes the best of those stories, with this fantastic climax that is this match. He's the soul of the match and his final victory is one of the most satisfying moments ever. They worked their asses off for this moment, not only in this match, but throughout, idk, eight or so years of build up. There's no way this scenario can be duplicated, because this is the end of the greatest saga ever in pro wrestling, with two of the best ever, after so many years of build up, giving everything they have. Modern pro wrestling usually fails at epicness because they try to recreate the feeling of this match without caring about working a long-time rivalry with larger-than-life characters and sold out crowds; they want to have a dream, +5* match from out of nowhere, and sorry but it can't be done that way. This match is the Avengers Endgame of pro wrestling. And Kobashi being the protagonist of it is a huge part of why he's my favourite wrestler ever.

 

I have some other amazing, spectacular, emotional, technically perfect matches that will be near the top spot on my list. But now that I watched this again, I don't think there's a single chance any other match could beat it as number 1. I get not everyone has to feel the exact same thing as I do, not everyone is gonna be invested in Kobashi's journey as much as I am, not everyone is gonna love the Misawa/Kobashi series as much as I do and not everyone is gonna see this match with the same eyes as I do, althought I would say everyone should at least appreciate what they're attaining with this rivalry and this specific match (the same way EVERYONE recognizes what 9/6/95 stands for). This is as perfect as Misawa and Kobashi pretended it to be: the ultimate battle between two living legends of the industry, and the decisive victory of the greatest underdog babyface ever built. It has to be my number 1.

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  • 1 month later...

Misawa plants Kobashi on his head with a sickening backdrop within minutes into the match and it looks like Kobashi is already out. Kobashi tries to mount a comeback by resorting to his trusty chops, but Misawa has him figured out and cuts him off with his elbow strikes. In an incredible transitional spot, Kobashi sidesteps a Misawa dive and sends him jaw first into the guardrail. Misawa powering up showed off his often-overlooked subtle charisma. Kobashi's performance here was vicious, but the fans got right behind him after that insane Tiger Suplex spot. As brutal as it was emotional, the only criticism I can throw at this match is that you can see how it influenced the next generation of indy wrestlers to try and replicate this match with mostly mixed results. Misawa and Kobashi see out their rivalry with their best singles match together. ★★★★★

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  • 1 year later...

Time for the biggie. This is the consensus MOTY for 2003. Either this or Benoit vs. Angle from the Rumble. I've seen it once before, and from memory, they defied my skepticism towards NOAH and these guys having anywhere near as good a match as they did in the 90s. Watching it again, it's not a match I have a strong attachment to. It's an important moment, a passing of the torch, the culmination of all of Kobashi's struggles, and a fitting end to their rivalry, but it's not a match that gives me goosebumps or makes me emotional. I was happy for the fans who seemed hugely invested, and felt sorry for that girl sitting on her mother's lap who had to cover her ears because it was too noisy. I liked the work in Kobashi/Honda more. However, if you're a Kobashi fan, or a Misawa fan, and you care about the story being told here then I totally understand why this match is a big deal. I have my own All Japan memories that I rate higher than this, but kudos to NOAH to finishing the story and giving us an ending. 

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