tdigle's Take Five: Puro Edition

Publish date: 2024-05-02
Wrestler 2: Kenta Kobashi
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Well, folks, I am sorry for not getting back to you sooner, but, I've honestly been thinking long and hard about how my words would be able to do justice to the man I will now discuss, Kenta Kobashi. Although he is undoubtedly one of the most athletically gifted and impressive wrestlers to ever step inside the squared circle, Kobashi's career is so much more than the sum of his matches. In order to elaborate on the claim I have just made, it will be necessary for me to cover Kobashi's ten best bouts in a chronological, rather than a rated, fashion. And, I will do just that, but, beforehand, I would first like to outline the rather bold claim that I intend to support in my coverage of Kobashi.

As a young man in my mid-20s, I consider Kobashi to be the greatest professional wrestler of all time. Now, I mention my age here because this definitely would not have been the case during my childhood, or even my adolescence. As English-speaking fans, we are accustomed to wrestling as sports entertainment, where, for the most part, there are wrestlers that are either clearly good or clearly evil. And, while the villains of professional wrestling may sometimes thwart the efforts of their heroic counterparts to bring everlasting happiness, order, and peace to kayfabe land, it is almost always the case that, in the end, the good guys prevail.

As kids, sports entertainment is more than likely great for us. We're both impressionable and unsure about the world. So, what would be better for us than the likes of a Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, or John Cena, all wrestlers that can save the world, serve as moral compasses, and whom we can idolize and hope to be one day? Unfortunately for us, the world is so much more complicated than what we believe it to be when we're younger. Unlike our wrestling heroes, not only do we not have unwavering integrity, but we also are not invincible (unfortunately, sometimes, no amount of hulking up or overcoming the odds will save us from a loss or a straight-up ass whoopin').

For most of us English-speaking fans then, we become disillusioned with and resentful of professional wrestling because our wrestling idols turn out to be so much better than us. But, as fans who can't quit the product, where does this leave us? It leaves us with Kenta Kobashi, a man who gives hope to us fans who have had a rough slide down the razor blade of life.

As you may or may not have noticed, I have titled this particular post, "Santiago Balboa, The Japanese Boxer Fisherman." Ultimately, I can think of no better way to describe Kenta Kobashi than as a combination of Santiago, the old, Cuban fisherman from Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man And The Sea, and Sylvester Stallone's iconic boxing character, Rocky Balboa. Like Balboa, an inextinguishable flame of fighting spirit roars within Kobashi. To Kobashi, it's not so much about being the best as doing the best that you can and giving all the effort that is humanly possible. Furthermore, Kobashi has never been about decimating and embarrassing his opponents. Unlike most other professional wrestlers, Kobashi has genuine respect for those he faces, because, just like him, they have an equally strong desire to excel. Thus, just as Santiago commends the efforts of and sympathizes with the marlin that he finally catches after a seemingly interminable battle, so Kobashi realizes that his opponents deserve to be treated with dignity.

Ultimately, fellow forums members, here's the point I hope to get across to you: we, unfortunately, can't all be Hulk Hogans, Bret Harts, or John Cenas, but, fortunately, we can all be Kenta Kobashis.

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