Kenta Kobashi

[El-P]

The bad buzz it would get today (rightfully so, it was so damn stupid) would be something else. Well, it's not like anyone thought it was a good idea then either.

Meanwhile, I wonder why I remember all of this and what the hell did I do with my life so that I do remember this ?

[The Thread Killer]

18 minutes ago, El-P said:

Meanwhile, I wonder why I remember all of this and what the hell did I do with my life so that I do remember this ?

I was just joking about that exact kind of thing with @SirEdger in another thread.  I can vividly remember when Dr. D. David Schultz made his debut in the Montreal territory, like it was yesterday...but half the time I can't remember what did actually happen yesterday.

[Robert S]

59 minutes ago, El-P said:

Yes, that was later on during the Fuyuki era. Micheals little promotion was working alongside FMW and I think that's the first time I saw Daniel Bryan as American Dragon working the undercard of some FMW shows. I believe Micheals was the special ref for H vs "Hayabusa" (who was Gannosuke) or something. Damn, FMW booked by Fuyuki, some fun memories and some not so fun ones... (Exploding Anus Death Match anyone ? Some FMW guys making appearance on some porn because Chokoball Mukai was trying his hands at pro-wrestling ?)

American Dragon and Lance Cade worked a tour and I guess also got to train in the FMW dojo (Danielson credits Masato Tanaka as being one of his trainers). I would not even be surprised if HBK only did the FMW gig to get Danielson & Cade those FMW bookings. You can say what you want about Michaels (especially 99 + 00 Shawn Michaels), but he was sure fighting hard for his trainees. There is also the story that when WWF (I guess JR) was reluctant to give Danielson, Kendrick, Cade and Shooter Schultz development contracts, HBK threatened to take his guys to WCW. Considering that was 2000 WCW, that was a weak threat, but it worked. If it was the best thing for those guys to get those contracts at this point, who knows, at least Danielson got the train with Regal.

[Robert S]

1 hour ago, El-P said:

WWF totally squandered TAKA Michinoku and Kaientai DX, which were some of the hottest workers anywhere in the world (at least TAKA & Togo were). Talk about completely ruining a bunch of great workers who had already everything going for them, as showed by their ECW matches. The dream matches back then was "what if these guys ended up in WCW instead", working with Rey & Juvy & Eddie...

Which is why I wrote 93-96. When TAKA was coming in, Attitude was starting. They actually pushed him as a serious junior heavyweight for a couple of months, before he became Bradshaws little buddy and "choppy choppy your pee pee". But yeah, trying to get over as a serious wrestler until let's say the Radicals came in and WWF toning down in 2000, next to impossible.

[El-P]

29 minutes ago, Robert S said:

Which is why I wrote 93-96. When TAKA was coming in, Attitude was starting. They actually pushed him as a serious junior heavyweight for a couple of months

Yes, 93-96 sounds right.

Even at the beginning, they paired him with Brian Christopher (who had his own qualities, working lucharesu to get over something comparable to the WCW cruiserweight division not being one of them) and had Lawler make a bunch of racist jokes and denied he was the father of Brian so all the focus was on his son and not TAKA. Then he was working with random luchadors with no heat of built with Sunny doing the ring announcing because you know this light heavyweight shit was not gonna get over so might as well display some T&A, and then when Kaientai showed up, like you said, just godawful shit. What a waste.

[Robert S]

I didn't say that they had any idea how to book a lightweight division (which never really changed). ;-)

[KinchStalker]

17 hours ago, Matt D said:

I think he could have worked as a Marcus Alexander Bagwell partner (Scorpio/Patriot/Riggs). That's about his level.

Initially misread this as a Scorpio partner, and instantly thought of Kobashi in Bagwell's place alongside 2 Cold, dancing to his theme, while donning the suit that he wore on that 1997 TV appearance where he, Misawa, and Kawada covered Japanese boy band SMAP.

Didn't Heyman claim once that he almost got Kobashi vs Misawa for Heatwave '98? Assuming it wasn't hot air, that's the only context I could possibly see Kobashi in 90s America. (Then again, that would've had Misawa's first match post-break be a singles match in another country. Fat chance.)