13 Years Ago Today: Kenta Kobashi Competed in His Final Match
At Pro Wrestling NOAH’s NOAH Final Burning In Budokan event on May 11, 2013, in front of nearly 17,000 fans at the legendary Nippon Budokan, Kenta Kobashi stepped into the ring for the final time in his career.
On that historic night, Kobashi teamed with Jun Akiyama, Keiji Muto, and Kensuke Sasaki to defeat the team of Go Shiozaki, KENTA, Maybach Taniguchi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru in 39 minutes and 59 seconds.
The atmosphere inside Budokan was deeply emotional throughout the night. Fans were seen in tears, chanting Kobashi’s name endlessly, fully aware they were witnessing the end of one of the greatest careers in puroresu history. Many legendary figures from across Japanese wrestling attended or sent messages honoring Kobashi’s impact on the industry.