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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kuniaki Kobayashi (1956-01-11)January 11, 1956 Komoro, Nagano, Japan |
| Died | September 9, 2024(2024-09-09) (aged 68) Tokyo, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Chin Kobiashi Kid Koby Kobayashi Kuniaki Kobayashi Taro Kobayashi |
| Billed height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Billed weight | 105 kg (231 lb) |
| Trained by | Kotetsu Yamamoto[1] Masa Saito[1] |
| Debut | February 1, 1973 |
| Retired | April 21, 2000 |
Kuniaki Kobayashi (小林邦昭,Kobayashi Kuniaki; January 11, 1956 – September 9, 2024) was a Japaneseprofessional wrestler, most notable for being the generational rival of the famousTiger Mask character in Japanesepuroresu. He wrestled numerous acclaimed matches againstTiger Mask I andTiger Mask II.[2]
Kobayashi competed in theshot put.[1]
After dropping out of high school, Kobayashi joined theNew Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo in 1972 at the young age of 16. On December 3, 1972, he wrestledGran Hamada in his pre-debut match, while on January 20, 1973, he took part in another pre-debut match, teaming withTatsumi Fujinami in a handicap match againstKotetsu Yamamoto. He officially debuted forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling on February 1, 1973, against Masanobu Kurisu, at the early age of 17. Kobayashi stayed on the undercard, until he was sent abroad toNorth America in 1980.
Upon entering North America in 1980, Kobayashi's first stop was in Mexico forUniversal Wrestling Association, where he made his mark by trying to unmask the otherluchadores, especiallyLos Villanos. He also would wrestle againstLos Misioneros de la Muerte putting their hair on the line. On June 6, 1981, in their first hair vs. hair encounter, Kobayashi's team, consisted of him,Gran Hamada andEnrique Vera defeated the Misioneros. Two months later, Kobayashi teamed withSaito against Coloso Colossetti and César Valentino with their hairs on the line, with Kobayashi's team once again being victorious. One year later, on June 13, 1982, Kobayashi, Saito andTakano against the Misioneros, and this time, Kobayashi's team lost the match, and got their heads shaved.
After his feud with theMisioneros ended, Kobayashi moved to theUnited States, inLos Angeles forNWA Hollywood Wrestling, where he wrestled under the name Kid Koby, winning theNWA Americas Heavyweight Championship from Timothy Flowers on July 18, 1982. He held the championship for one month, before losing it toBlack Gordman.
Upon returning to New Japan in October 1982, Kobayashi was involved in a feud withTiger Mask. Because of his anti-heroic actions, he became regarded as the "Tiger Hunter". He also allied withRiki Choshu,Masa Saito, andKiller Khan to form thestable "Ishin Gundan" ("Restruction Force"). As an Ishin Gundan member, he mostly teamed with Isamu Teranishi in tag team action, facing New Japan's loyalists in numerous encounters, most notablyTatsumi Fujinami,Kengo Kimura,Kantaro Hoshino and a youngNobuhiko Takada. In September 1984, Ishin Gundan left NJPW to form Japan Pro Wrestling (JPW).
Japan Pro Wrestling had a working agreement withAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). While there, Kobayashi feuded withTiger Mask II, and he held theNWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship by defeatingDynamite Kid on June 13, 1985 and theWorld Junior Heavyweight Championship after defeatingHiro Saito on November 23, 1986, and also feuded with All Japan's loyalists, such asNorio Honaga,Jumbo Tsuruta,Takashi Ishikawa andMighty Inoue. After two years, Ishin Gundan left AJPW in March 1987 to return to New Japan.
Upon returning to New Japan in 1987, Kobayashi won the vacatedIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on August 20, by defeating Nobuhiko Takada in a tournament final, successfully defending it against the likes ofShiro Koshinaka,Owen Hart,Keiichi Yamada and Takada. He held the title until December 27, losing it to the debutingHiroshi Hase. In 1988, he had numerous encounters with Shiro Koshinaka over the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, but he came up short on retrieving what was once his. In spite of rivaling with the champion, he and Koshinaka started to team up in tag team and six-man matches. In April 1989, he served as the first opponent of Jyushin Liger (Keiichi Yamada's first match under the Liger persona), in a losing effort at theTokyo Dome. In 1990, he moved up to the heavyweight division, and joined the New Japan Sekigun against the Blond Outlaws. In 1992, he and Shiro Koshinaka formed the Heisei Ishingun, while feuding with two karatekas inMasashi Aoyagi andAkitoshi Saito. In the middle of the feud, Kobayashi went on a leave of absence.
Upon his return in February 1993, Kobayashi reunited with Koshinaka, who had now formed a stable with Aoyagi, Saito andKengo Kimura. The stable would feud with wrestlers fromWAR. In February 1996, Kobayashi lost a hair vs. hair match toAkira Nogami. Kobayashi underwent another lengthy hiatus in February 1999. In April 2000, Kobayashi wrestled his final match as an active wrestler, losing to Jyushin Thunder Liger. After the bout, he received flowers fromSatoru Sayama and a message fromMitsuharu Misawa, as both Tiger Masks sent their farewell sayings to their biggest rival.
After his retirement, Kobayashi served as color commentator and trainer at the NJPW Dojo. He made sporadic appearances, however, one being in May 2003, in a New Japan Alumnus battle royal, won by Kantaro Hoshino andKotetsu Yamamoto. Another appearance of his occurred on was on March 6, 2007, when he served as special guest referee for an eight-man tag team match betweenEl Texano Jr.,Minoru,Tiger Mask andWataru Inoue againstEl Samurai, Jushin Thunder Liger,Koji Kanemoto and Negro Casas, in which after the match, Kobayashi attacked Liger and delivered his signaturefisherman suplex.
Upon his retirement, Kobayashi remained involved inpuroresu, including as caretaker of theNJPW Dojo. He occasionally wrestled in legends matches, including a series of matches in 2011 against Sayama and a team with him in 2013 againstAtsushi Onita (who led the AJPW junior heavyweight division in 1983, before Kobayashi showed up). He would also do color commentary for NJPW shows.
On January 4, 2017, Kobayashi made a special appearance for NJPW, taking part in theNew Japan Rumble on the pre-show ofWrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome. He was eliminated from the match byTiger Mask.[3]
Kobayashi wrestled in a "technician" style.[1] His signature moves included thefisherman suplex, sliding kick,spin kick, and thrust kick.[1] He was nicknamed "Tiger Hunter".[1]
In July 1992, Kobayashi was diagnosed with colon cancer. He underwent surgery, in which 20 centimeters of large intestine was removed. He would spend six months recuperating, before returning to the ring in February 1993. After wrestling on NJPW's Fighting Spirit tour in February 1999, Kobayashi's cancer had metastasized to his liver. He underwent surgery to remove part of his liver, but the surgery left him with a 70 centimeter surgical scar on his abdomen. The liver cancer and recovery forced Kobayashi to retire from active competition in April 2000.
After retirement, the cancer had spread to his lungs twice and underwent successful endoscopic surgery each time. Kobayashi had been undergoing anti-cancer treatment, including undergoing aPET scan once a year, but had not taken any medication. In February 2024, Kobayashi was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The diagnosis was kept a secret except for a select few. Five days before his death,Osamu Nishimura, who is currently battling stage-four esophageal cancer, visited Kobayashi at his home to pay his respects to his old friend.[4]
After 32 years of fighting various cancers, Kobayashi died from pancreatic cancer on 9 September 2024, at the age of 68.[5]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gran Hamada, Enrique Vera and Kobayashi (hair) | Los Misioneros de la Muerte (hair) (El Signo,El Texano and Negro Navarro) | Mexico City | UWA show | June 7, 1981 | [9] |
| Kobayashi andSaito (hair) | Coloso Colosetti and César Valentino (hair) | Naucalpan, Mexico State | UWA show | September 25, 1981 | |
| Los Misioneros de la Muerte (hair) (El Signo,El Texano andNegro Navarro) | Takano,Saito and Kobayashi (hair) | Mexico City | UWA show | June 13, 1982 | [10] |
| Kuniaki Kobayashi (hair) | Magic Dragon (mask) | Nagoya, Aichi, Japan | AJPW 85 Gekishin! Thunder Wars - Day 18 | June 5, 1985 | |
| Akira Nogami (hair) | Kuniaki Kobayashi (hair) | Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan | NJPW Fighting Spirit 1996 - Day 2 | February 3, 1996 |
| Exhibition record breakdown | ||
| 1 match | 0 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 0 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Satoru Sayama | KO (high kick) | Shooto: Vale Tudo Perception | September 26, 1995 | 1 | 6:05 | Tokyo,Japan |
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