The Thread Killer Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 From Zach Arnold @ Puroresu Power: (NOAH) A shocking announcement was made today by NOAH President Mitsuharu Misawa, as Misawa announced that Kenta Kobashi would undergo medical treatment to remove a renal tumor (kidney cancer). The tumor was discovered during a medical check-up. Medical consultation is currently taking place. There is some concern that the tumor could be malignant. His participation in the "dream" tag match (he was going to partner with Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Jun Akiyama & Misawa on 7/16 at Nippon Budokan) is now canceled. Misawa noted that Kobashi was maintaining his strength both physically and mentally. Tamon Honda also commented on the situation, given that he and Kobashi are the GHC tag champions. The hope is that due to the early detection of the tumor, Kobashi will be able to get it removed and continue his wrestling career. Let's hope for a speedy recovery. From Green Destiny: Kobashi Undergoes Operation to Remove Tumor NOAH President Mitsuharu Misawa announced today that during a routine medical checkup on the 19th, a CAT Scan found that Kenta Kobashi had a 4-5cm tumor in his right kidney. It is unclear at this stage, pre-extraction, whether the tumor is malignant. The course of treatment is still to be decided, with Kobashi recuperating at home. Due to this condition, Kobashi has been forced to cancel all upcoming bookings he is scheduled for, including his part in Takayama's dream return tag match. Kobashi made a statement, apologizing to both the man he was going to stand beside after a 2 year hiatus from the ring, Yoshihiro Takayama, and all the fans that were looking forward to the match. Kobashi said that it was the encouragement of the fans that he has continually received that will help him rally through his current condition, and that he was grateful for the continued support of the fans and hoped the fans would continue to support Pro Wrestling NOAH in his absence. Misawa made one final footnote to Kobashi's statement, stating that Kobashi's first concern upon learning of his condition was for the effect it would have on his wrestling matches, rather than his own body. Typical words for a man who has given so much for the sport of Professional Wrestling. It's terrible whenever anybody gets cancer, no matter who it is...but this is stunning news. I'm hoping for good news about this situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cam Chaos Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 Holy shit. Let's hope his operation is successful and he can recover from this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 I was about to post on this myself. Yes, let's hope Kobashi makes a full recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjh Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 Yeah, the Japanese wrestling industry and NOAH in particular really need him to make a full recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thread Killer Posted June 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 Dave Ditch from Puroresu Power and Inside Pulse summed it up really well... There wasn't going to be a column this week. Then I saw the news: Kenta Kobashi has a renal (kidney) tumor, possibly malignant (cancerous). He's getting treatment and is out indefinitely. Misawa in making the announcement looks shaken. I wonder how it is that so much tragedy gets drawn to professional wrestling. Yes, there is drug use and steroid abuse. Yes, so many men are one slip on the ropes away from a broken neck or a bad concrete landing from a crushed skull. Yes, larger men in general have shorter life expectancies. That doesn't cover nearly everything. It doesn't cover the flukes, or the tragedies. Jumbo Tsuruta died because medicine in the Philippines wasn't up to snuff. Chris Candido should have been on crutches instead of lying in the morgue. Brody and Rikidozan were murdered (the latter somewhat indirectly). When you sit back and really think about it, it's staggering. We don't know if Kobashi will recover in months from a mere lumpectomy, or if he'll need some 'light' cancer therapy, or whether he will need extreme chemo, or whether a cancer will spread like wildfire. Each of those scenarios happens thousands of times a day. Was there some root cause like steroid use, which is pretty much assumed in his case? Is this the end of his career or, like brain cancer survivor Liger, just a small bump in the road? What I do know is how vital Kenta Kobashi is to Japanese professional wrestling. He is the ace of puroresu and has been since he won the GHC title before an overfull Budokan Hall crowd, a crowd that came for the most blatant one-match show in recent memory. He's untainted by scandal or MMA, he's respected by wrestlers around the world, he helps run things behind the scenes at every NOAH show, he regularly churns out several of the most-hyped matches a year, he exudes confidence instead of arrogance or forced bravado, and his addition to a match can make it a 'dream' match with ease. If Kobashi is done, it doesn't just take the rug out from under NOAH. It hurts Japanese wrestling as a whole. Losing the biggest star to a sudden tragedy like this would leave a hole that nobody is ready to step up and fill, either from the old guard or the young lions. The puro scene has had to absorb body blows for years now, and this would certainly be one of the worst ones imaginable. Kobashi made it crystal clear that his top priority is getting back to work. Let's hope he can without putting his life in jeopardy. Next to cancer, kicking out of the tiger driver '91 is cake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 Certainly sad news, but hopefully he'll be able to make not only a recovery but a return to the ring. Jim Duggan showed that it's not impossible to do, and I believe his tumor was said to be the size of a football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest savagerulz Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 The shocking thing is that the announcement was made. I remember it being a big deal when Baba died that for whatever reason the Japanese rarely admit to having cancer before dying from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Luds Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 Oh brother! Hope he recovers, he's about the greatest wrestler alive, it would be very sad to lose him so early. NOAH needs him. Let's hope that he can return and wrestle again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thread Killer Posted June 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 From Puroresu Power: (NOAH) Kensuke Sasaki will replace Kenta Kobashi in the "dream" tag match main event of the 7/16 Nippon Budokan show. It's now Yoshihiro Takayama & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Jun Akiyama & Mitsuharu Misawa. The Takayama/Sasaki vs. Misawa/Akiyama match has many storylines to play off of. First, Sasaki was the guy Takayama fought on 8/8/04 in Osaka in the G-1 and ended up causing Takayama's stroke (with this match taking place a week after Sano and Takayama had a slugfest in the NOAH ring in Nagoya). Second, Sasaki can now be set up (with a win) for a GHC title match against Akiyama to buy time if Kobashi cannot return. As a fill-in, Sasaki was the man who had the epic chop battle last year with Kobashi at the Tokyo Dome. Third, Misawa was the man who sent Takayama to the hospital after a GHC title match (September 23, 2002 at Nippon Budokan). Also added to the 7/16 Budokan card is Takeshi Rikio & Takeshi Morishima vs. Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts