JOE vs. KOBASHI
FUCKIN' RIGHT this still holds up. In terms of sheer marking out and enjoyment, I don’t think I’ve ever more fun just watching each chop, punch and kick more stiffer then the last and you could feel the intensity get taken to another level with each passing minute. Plus without commentary it just made it that much more fun and gave it that feeling like i was in the corwd. I hate when people that will tell you this is a 20 minute chop fest, that’s bullsh*t. This was a phenomenal story of the young hometown guy defending HIS turf against the legitimate superstar and all time great. From the opening slap, the theft of Kobashi’s greatest rivals’ moves to the way he simply refused to lose at the end, it was laid out in a sublime way. In the end Kobashi’s smarts and unrelenting POWER and VIOLENCE was too much for Joe who by the way put in an absolute career-defining performance which is on the level of his proformace in Joe/Punk II. You could tell by the end of the match that he and Kobashi were just absolutely shattered. Not only is he a big man to be wrestling 20+ minutes at that frantic pace, but Kobashi’s chops were killing him. He would have collapsed had he had to take too many more, they were that brutal. ***** Easily my 2005 MOTY