10 Wrestlers With The Most Five Star Matches
2. Kenta Kobashi - 23
No matter how much history you trawl through, you won't find many more talented professional wrestlers than Kenta Kobashi. Carried by an unmatchable strength of will, his selling, facial expressions, and natural in-ring charisma made him an utterly compelling babyface capable of drawing the audience into his struggle like no one else in the business. Wrap all this together with an exciting moveset, elite workrate, and crisp offensive execution, and you have a near perfect professional wrestler.
Kobashi's first five-star match came through a six-man tag in 1990. He'd continue adding to his legacy from there, teaming with Tsuyoshi Kikuchi to produce an iconic tag match with Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas in 1992, then notching his first ***** singles bout the following year.
Predictably, Mitsuharu Misawa was Kobashi's greatest opponent. Their first ***** bout took place in '98, and they followed it with another in '99. The five-star trilogy was completed in 2003, when, even though both were years removed from their physical prime, they produced a staggering work of in-ring storytelling. Kobashi's last ***** contest came against Samoa Joe for Ring Of Honor in 2005, and he retired with a total of 23 to his name in 2013.