(NOAH) "When I had the Triple Crown too..." Kenta Kobashi gives iron-man encouragement to relegated GHC Champion Kenoh.

31st December 2023

Tokyo Sports

"Iron Man" Kenta Kobashi (56) sent encouragement to Kenoh (38), the GHC Heavyweight Champion of his former promotion, Noah, shaking in the main event controversy. Kenoh will make his first defense against Manabu Soya at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo on January 2nd next year, but Noah announced that the first singles match between Naomichi Marufuji and "Golden Star" Kota Ibushi, will be the main event of the show, which has been controversial among fans. Kenoh was also furious, saying angrily, "Is the GHC Heavyweight belt really that unimportant?". Former GHC Heavyweight Champion, Kobashi, recalled that, "When I had the GHC, I was always in the main event, but when I held the Triple Crown in All Japan, I was put into the semi-finals once, which was really frustrating."

At the Nippon Budokan on September 5th 1996, Kobashi, who was the Triple Crown champion at the time, clashed with his natural enemy, Stan Hansen. However, the main event was stolen by World Tag Team Champions Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace. Kobashi said, "Since I started competing with the Triple Crown, title matches had never been held in the semi-finals. So, rather than the authority of the title, I was really frustrated that the company, or rather Baba-san thought, "I can't leave the main role to him anymore." That's why I went into the match thinking that I would definitely take centre stage". 

Regarding the controversy that has arisen from so many fans, Kobashi said calmly, "I think pro wrestling has become more exciting because of the controversy". Analyzing this, he expressed his hopes, saying, "So rather than holding each other back, I think it would be a great event to have matches that have a synergistic effect on each other."

Finally, he offered words of encouragement to Kenoh saying, "Whether it's in the semis or in the main, you have to believe in your wrestling. Show us your GHC. That's the responsibility of a champion"

Translated from Tokyo Sports

Picture credits: Tokyo Sports