10 Great Wrestling World Title Reigns Marred By Bad Endings

There are few talents who can hold the big one for years and not get stale. Kenta Kobashi was among those precious few in the mid-2000s.

Overcoming countless knee surgeries, Kobashi finally lifted Pro Wrestling NOAH'S GHC Heavyweight Championship in 2003. His title victory came over longtime foe Mitsuharu Misawa, finally putting to rest the epic rivalry that had started in AJPW more than a decade prior.

For over two years, Kobashi chopped his way to victory, retaining against a wide array of puroresu kings like Masahiro Chono, Takeshi Morishima and Kensuke Sasaki. The fiery babyface carried Pro Wrestling NOAH to new heights at a time when professional wrestling was on the wane in Japan.

Many had hoped to see the red hot Jun Akiyama defeat the fan favourite champion. In NOAH's first Tokyo Dome extravaganza, Kobashi toppled Akiyama in a blistering barnburner, putting to rest the hopes of another Akiyama title run for two years. The champ soldiered on with many wondering who would get the mountainous credibility boost that would come with ending such a grand scale title run.

In March 2005, fans got their answer: Takeshi Rikio.

The hulking, former sumo wrestler shockingly terminated Kobashi's reign in emphatic fashion. The hope had been that Rikio would become a star overnight with this stature-enhancing win. Unfortunately neither he nor the fans seemed hugely into the idea of him as champion. After several lacklustre defences and declining ticket sales, NOAH gave up on the Rikio experiment.

As phenomenal as Kobashi was, the conclusion to his final World Title run was deflating to say the least.