Ranking The Biggest Rivalries In Wrestling Every Year 1990-2020

18. 2003 - Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Kenta Kobashi

Misawa Kobashi
Pro Wrestling NOAH

Legendary partners and rivals in AJPW, Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi's incredible story there and in their latterly-formed Pro Wrestling NOAH in March 2003 paid off nearly a decade of Kobashi trying to beat his rival.

Kicking off a spectacular two year reign with the company's GHC Heavyweight Championship after defeating Misawa in March, the match served as a centre-point of NOAH's best years. Seemingly knowing of the programme's specific sell-by date, Misawa and Kobashi only wrestled one more singles match in the six years before the former's untimely death.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett