July 10, 2006 Observer Newsletter: Kenta Kobashi, Pride Critical Countdown Absolute
Kenta Kobashi, arguably the greatest pro wrestler of this generation, was diagnosed this past week with kidney cancer.
The 39-year-old’s condition was made public on 6/29 with a posting on the door at Differ Ariake before the Pro Wrestling NOAH SEM show that day to shocked fans. Mitsuharu Misawa appeared on the NTV sports news at midnight that evening and announced it to the country.
The company changed existing plans and redid its television show that aired on 7/2, to be a show talking about Kobashi’s condition and airing highlights of his career. Since the original announcement, Pro Wrestling NOAH has not released any new information. We’re told all the TVs, newspapers and magazines will be given all updates at the exact same time, as they don’t want this to be a story where all the media gets preferential treatment or tries to scoop each other.
After the show, Jun Akiyama, Makoto Hashi, Kentaro Shiga, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Tamon Honda all visited Kobashi and Akiyama said he was happy to see them and they all joked around. Akiyama said he would keep the GHC heavyweight title until Kobashi can return to challenge for it.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.