2020 Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame

[ohtani's jacket]

I didn't realize that Taue had cancer. Total stomach removal. 

[joeg]

I know what you meant by it, like the way an old football coach describes a d-end as stiff he means not a lot of bend in the ankles, knees, hips, not a lot of explosiveness and a lack of overall body control. Thats how I took it. I gotta ask you have you not seen Kobashi's work from his early years? For a kid that age, size, and experience level he's as fluid, nimble  and as explosive as I've ever seen.  

[joeg]

I know what you meant by it, like the way an old football coach describes a d-end as stiff he means not a lot of bend in the ankles, knees, hips, not a lot of explosiveness and a lack of overall body control. Thats how I took it. I gotta ask you have you not seen Kobashi's work from his early years? For a kid that age, size, and experience level he's as fluid, nimble  and as explosive as I've ever seen.  

[El-P]

4 hours ago, joeg said:

I gotta ask you have you not seen Kobashi's work from his early years? For a kid that age, size, and experience level he's as fluid, nimble  and as explosive as I've ever seen.  

I have, in lenght. A long time ago though, so it's absolutely possible I'm clouded by my latest vision of Kobashi's work, which is the NOAH Kobashi, which I've rewatched a few years ago.

[Matt D]

4 hours ago, El-P said:

I have, in lenght. A long time ago though, so it's absolutely possible I'm clouded by my latest vision of Kobashi's work, which is the NOAH Kobashi, which I've rewatched a few years ago.

I watched this yesterday and it took me by surprise:

Primarily, because I've been watching everything we have available from 89 AJPW chronologically and Kobashi's only shown up once or twice (a handheld where Nakano takes most of the match comes to mind and I can't think of anything else) while Kawada's been in high profile stuff against Yatsu/Jumbo (as well as Footloose tags up and down) all year.

[El-P]

I know this match. I bought all those tapes from Lynch back in the days. Yeah, Kobashi was not a factor then. Kicking out of fucking german suplexes in 89 in undercard matches with tag team guys and rookies ? Killing the business with all those movez, I tell you.

[NintendoLogic]

Kobashi did not start out at 235.

Rookie Kobashi looks like a technically sound young boy, but there are scores of technically sound young boys who never amounted to anything. From what I've seen of rookie Taue, he may have been more advanced right out of the gate.

[El-P]

He absolutely wasn't Owen Hart, Kurt Angle or AKINO (prodige rookie of ARSION who became a terrific worker in no time and whom probably everyone has forgotten apart from those who remember the all-time classic HamaKINO vs LCO bloodbath).

[Boss Rock]

With how well Dynamite has been doing and how much buzz and viewership Impact got, perhaps Kenny's induction wasn't premature at all.

[WrestlingPower]

Are you saying that now that he's in the HOF he's really starting to show that he belongs because he's now making a difference in 2 places?  While that may be true, that essentially means the induction itself is premature when people could have waited another year to decide.  From all I've seen and read, it appears the major bone of contention is that Omega was in the Japanese section, requiring less votes to get in, when most seem to say his AEW (non-Japan) work was a deciding factor.

Let's compare him to AJ Styles, who if memory serves (feel free to refute this), he was on the American section coming off TNA, got dropped off due to shockingly low support, came back on under the Japan section, didn't get voted in, then moved to the American section upon entering WWE and then got in.  If that's the case then Omega should have moved to the American section this year.

[sek69]

I don't see why him being in the Japan section was such an issue for some, he was a proven draw and was just announcing him on the card was enough for the ROH shows he was on to sell out.  I think you can more than make a HOF case on his New Japan run alone and anything he did in AEW would just be icing on the cake.