10 Reasons Kenta Kobashi Is The Greatest Wrestler Of The Modern Era

Kobashi was one of the most versatile and adaptable wrestlers on the planet. He changed his wrestling style and psychology for each opponent, and later on his career, he managed to keep modifying his wrestling style to fit his own changing health. Even as he passed the 15-year mark in his career, he still put on outstanding matches, despite the damage to his own body.

During the 1990s, Kobashi used various kinds of ‘light heavyweight’ moves despite being a heavyweight, including dropkicks, springboard moves, and diving maneuvers. In later years, he adopted a more strength and ground-based style which, though not as exciting as his earlier style, still allowed him to wrestle a wide variety of opponents

This versatility also manifested himself in his use of different finishers. This is a man who could wield a Lariat with the viciousness of Stan Hansen, hold people in the air with the strength of John Cena, and perform a Moonsault with the grace of a cruiserweight. Truly, he was Jack of all trades, and ace of them, too.

He had a signature/finishing maneuver for every situation. Most of them fell to his devastating Burning Lariat; in other cases, for those whom he could lift, he would drop them with a Sheerdrop Brainbuster; when they were too heavy for him, he would perform a beautiful Moonsault (on horribly-damaged knees, no less). And then, if all else failed, he would bring out his ultimate finisher, the Burning Hammer, which is probably the only move in all of wrestling that has a 100% success rating.

This versatility was crucial to improving the quality of his matches, as he would take part in multiple near-falls that made a match far more exciting. Most fans don’t need to be reminded of that exciting feeling when you’re watching a referee make the count, and unexpectedly someone kicks out at 2 and ¾. Kobashi was one of the absolute best at doing this, and the reviews of his matches are testament to that.