Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama (AJPW, 7-24-1998)

AJPW Summer Action Series, Tokyo, Japan

A famous match! A request! It’s 1998 in All Japan Professional Wrestling and Kenta Kobashi is defending the Triple Crown against Jun Akiyama. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever watched this match. I have lots of holes still, which is good because it constantly gives me new great things to watch for the first time if I so choose.

They start going at each other hard right away, with Akiyama avoiding a backdrop driver and Kobashi avoiding Akiyama going for his knee. This is one way to start a match with intensity. Another way is to stare at each other a while and maybe shake your lip.

I just watched the “King of the Hill” where Hank gets ass pads because he does not have an ass. This is a funny first match to watch after that.

Akiyama hits a killer Harley Race high knee and Kobashi is shaken up bad, but Jun knows it’s too early to really go at him. That’s a good first major strike, but they have to slow it down, too, because it’s gonna take a while to wear out either man.

Kobashi with a delayed vertical suplay and a series of hard chops to take over on offense, then grabs an octopus hold and forces Akiyama to the mat. Up from that and it’s back to the trading strikes, which Akiyama wins with forearms and then some front kicks to the face and two palm strikes, putting Kobashi down.

The crowd response for something as bare simple as Akiyama going after Kobashi’s shitty knee. The desperation with which Kobashi tries to prevent this, hacking away at Akiyama’s neck and trying to get him to drop the leg before the dragon screw, which doesn’t work.

Kobashi tries to fight off the pain. Akiyama hits an exploder, Kobashi comes right back with a half-nelson suplay, and then Akiyama dropkicks the shitty knee again. All the big suplays in the world don’t beat a well-placed dropkick to the shitty knee.

Akiyama takes the fight to the floor, which turns out to be a mistake when Kobashi throws him on his head out there with another half-nelson suplay. Back in the ring, Kobashi spikes Akiyama with a DDT and then a dragon suplay for a pair of two counts.

Out on the apron, Akiyama blocks a half-nelson and dragon screws Kobashi to the floor, where he lands with a hard thud and crashes into the railing, too. Akiyama uses that rail to assist in his further torture of Kobashi’s shitty knee.

It’s all leg work now, as Akiyama grabs a figure four, Kobashi in terrible pain in the center of the ring. Jun keeps up the tributes to all his favorite WCW stars with the scorpion deathlock. Kobashi gets a bit of breathing room, blocking a lift from Akiyama and coming back with a short, stiff lariat.

Kobashi wearing Akiyama down slowly but surely with hard backhand chops to the forehead, real concussive blows, but Kobashi is also still gingerly walking on that bad knee. He goes again for the half-nelson, but Akiyama mule kicks the knee and they’re both down again. Kobashi’s selling here is great; it’s obvious, but it’s not melodramatic.

Akiyama clips the knee as Kobashi tries to get up, then lifts Kobashi up and runs the knee into the turnbuckles. Double-arm DDT follows and Akiyama goes up top, flying off with a forearm to the back of Kobashi’s skull for two. When Kobashi kicks out, Akiyama fires up and hits two exploders back-to-back, with a short baseball slide dropkick to the knee between them, shutting down any Kobashi machismo getting up fast again. That, too, only gets a two count. Jun cannot put him away.

Akiyama goes back to the figure four, then a figure four, and it’s surely over — except it isn’t. Budokan is rumbling now. Kobashi fights off another exploder, fights it off again, and lariats Akiyama to the back of the head to knock him right about out. But when Kobashi struggles up, Akiyama beats him to the punch, running in with a forearm and an exploder, only for Kobashi to lariat him down again. My God.

Crowd going nuts for Kobashi now. He’s up first this time, but barely mobile. He wobbles over and grabs a sleephold, using that position to toss Jun on his skull, and then follow up with another lariat. Remarkably, THAT only gets two. Akiyama won’t die, either.

Finally, though, Kobashi gets the kill shot, another strong lariat that finally keeps Akiyama down for the three count.

An incredible match that lives up to any hype and any historical standing, another 90s All-Japan banger. Kobashi’s never, ever gonna be my favorite wrestler, but like Shawn Michaels he is someone whose ability I appreciate. Unlike Shawn Michaels I never flat-out hate his matches or him personally as a human being. What I’m saying is I definitely like him more than I like Shawn Michaels. Kobashi’s just not “my dude,” really, so he’s less Shawn Michaels than, uh, Chris Jericho for a long time. Jericho wasn’t “my dude,” either, but he was great for a long time and still is. Kobashi is like that except significantly better. And Akiyama rules and has remained under-appreciated for decades now. Anyway, the match stomps ass, it’s on YouTube, you can find it easily.

Rating: 5/5