| Kaho Kobayashi | |
|---|---|
 Kobayashi in September 2020 | |
| Birth name | Kaho Kobayashi (小林 香萌,Kobayashi Kaho) |
| Born | (1992-05-12)May 12, 1992 (age 32)[1] Kasukabe, Saitama, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Kaho Kobayashi |
| Billed height | 152 cm (5 ft 0 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 53 kg (117 lb)[1] |
| Trained by | Yoshihiro Tajiri Makoto[2] |
| Debut | June 28, 2013 |
Kaho Kobayashi (小林 香萌,Kobayashi Kaho, born May 12, 1992) is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler currently working as a freelancer.
Kobayashi was trained byYoshihiro Tajiri andMakoto, making her debut in June 2013 forWrestling New Classic. Since debuting, she has worked extensively forPro Wrestling Wave,OZ Academy,JWP Joshi Puroresu,Ice Ribbon andSeadlinnng. She is also known for her work in Mexico, where she has competed regularly forConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) since 2018, before returning to Japan in 2019.
Kobayashi entered theWrestling New Classic dojo in May 2012 with a background in gymnastics and breakdancing. Trained byYoshihiro Tajiri andMakoto, she competed in exhibitions against fellow Tajiri traineeYusuke Kodama before making her proper debut in June 2013, losing toLin Byron.[3][4] During the early days of her career, she split her time between WNC and numerous all female promotions such asIce Ribbon, Reina and Diana, unsuccessfully challengingSareee for theJWP Junior andPrincess of Pro-Wrestling Championships at a Diana show in July 2014.[5]
After WNC closed its doors in 2014, she also began working forPro Wrestling Wave, where she entered the 2014Catch the Wave Young Block, eventually winning the tournament by defeatingSumire Natsu in the final.[6][7][8] Kobayashi also debuted forOZ Academy in late 2014 and immediately formed an alliance with Kagetsu as "Mission K4", withSonoko Kato andAkino joining their ranks shortly after. Mission K4 won theOZ Academy Tag Team Championship on March 1, 2015, beatingMayumi Ozaki and Sakura Hirota atForgiveness.[9] They held on to the belts until July, when they lost to Ozaki andMio Shirai at2Bad,[10] but regained them one month later in a rematch.[11] Primarily splitting her time between OZ and Wave, Kobayashi won the JWP Junior/Princess of Pro Wrestling Championship in August 2015, beating Rina Yamashita.[12] After successful defences against Yako Fujigasaki and Akane Fujita, she dropped the title to Rydeen Hagane in September.[13] In October, she wrestled a big match for the Asuka Project promotion, facing male wrestlerKenichiro Arai in an intergender match for the Asuka Project Championship where she was defeated.[14] In December, she partnered up with Rina Yamashita for Wave's Young Oh! Oh! Tag Team Tournament. Their team was successful and they reached the final on December 25, where they lost to Meiko Tanaka andSareee.[15]
In January 2017, she partnered up with Sareee to challenge for the World Woman Pro Wrestling Diana Tag Team Championship, where they lost to Crysis (Chikayo Nagashima and Megumi Yabashita).[16] In June 2017, she revived Mission K4, this time with Akino as her partner, and the two won the OZ Academy Tag Team Championship, beatingHikaru Shida andSyuri atVoyager.[17][18] Whilst already holding the OZ Academy tag belts, she also won Wave's Tag Team Championship with Hiroe Nagahama in August.[19] In September, she defeatedLa Jarochita to win the CMLL-Reina International Junior Heavyweight Championship, making her a triple champion.[20] Her days with three belts would be short, as she lost the Wave Tag Team Championship to Rin Kadokura andTakumi Iroha on September 17.[21] Additionally, she and Akino dropped the OZ Academy Tag Team Championship toMayumi Ozaki and Maya Yukihi in October.[22]
In January 2018, Kobayashi made her first expedition to Mexico, where she would be competing forConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). She spent the majority of her first run in tag team matches, primarily teaming withPrincesa Sugehit. In her farewell match before returning to Japan, she unsuccessfully challengedDalys la Caribeña for theCMLL World Women's Championship.[23]
Kobayashi returned to Japan in May, where she partnered up withMakoto for the Ultra777 U21 Tag Team Tournament. They eliminatedHamuko Hoshi and Ibuki Hoshi in the first round, but lost toYoshiko and Rina Yamashita in the semi-finals.[24][25][26][27] In July, by virtue of defeatingTsubasa Kuragaki, she was entered into a 6 way number one contenders match for theOZ Academy Openweight Championship in August.[28][29] After a gruelling 50 minute long match where she eliminatedSonoko Kato andMayumi Ozaki, Kobayashi was finally defeated by Aja Kong and narrowly missed the chance to become #1 contender.[30][31] She was scheduled to return to Mexico in September, but announced viaTwitter that she had suffered a dislocation and internal ligament peeling in her knee, which would require 3 months away from the ring.[32] After a 3-month hiatus, Kobayashi returned to the ring for Seadlinnng on January 20, 2019, in a triple threat loss toTsukushi.[33][34]
She returned to Mexico one week later, again for CMLL, where she began a feud withLa Amapola. After trading tag team wins and losses for almost 5 months, the two faced off in a 2/3 fallsLuchas de Apuestas match at CMLL'sJuicio Final pay-per-view on May 31, where Kobayashi was defeated and as a result had her head shaved bald and after which returned to Japan.[35]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Amapola (hair) | Kaho Kobayashi (hair) | Mexico City | Juicio Final | May 31, 2019 | [41] |