Post by jd on Apr 2, 2020 6:24:57 GMT
Slight change of plans, tonight we will have just the first half of the Final Four as... it was too big for one night? Yeah, people will buy that...
7. Kenta Kobashi (Michigan) vs. 7. Elias (USC)
These two men have had quite the run up until this point. Kobashi has proven to have the biggest hitting offense out of all the men in the tournament field, reaching the finals after managing to suddenly lay waste to the legendary Lou Thesz. Elias... Elias beat Owen Hart, Daniel Bryan, Ric Flair and Bret Hart to get here. He did so getting more and more impressive each round and beating his opponents worse and worse culminating in the disturbing destruction of Bret Hart. Both men have proved themselves to be worthy of their spots in the Final Four, and either would be more than worthy of a spot in the championship finals.
The match starts with each man looking to assert their dominance over the other. They exchange strikes, try to outmuscle the other, each man gets a brief headlock of their own.
And then Kobashi catches Elias with a lariat barely one minute into the match! He has yet to hit one in the tourney on an opponent this fresh so Elias is still conscious, but he is clearly shook.
Still Elias has not made it this far by wilting when things get rough so he immediately shifts into a plan B. He grabs a standing arm bar, and when Kobashi shakes him off he grabs it again. Kobashi hits a chop to buy him some space, but a few moments later he finds himself in an arm bar yet again. It is a desperate maneuver by a man still trying to clear the cobwebs, yet it is probably the best course of action he could take. He transitions into a headlock and this gives Kobashi the opportunity to dump him right on his head with a back suplex...
...which Kobashi follows up with a goddamn burning hammer a full two minutes into the match! He only gets so much of it as Elias manages to roll away towards the ropes before any pin can occur but he is clearly now in dangerous waters. I will give him credit in that he did not roll over and die, but he was clearly in a bad way and losing further ground. He would manage to hit a ddt, but eat a sheer drop brainbuster in return.
Kobashi actually offered him an easy way out when he countered a slam attempt with a small package. No one would have blamed Elias if he kept his shoulders on the mat, but he couldn't do it. He had too much pride. I wish I could say that pride paid off for him, that he managed to somehow pull himself back together and give Kobashi a fight.
He did not.
There will be time later to appreciate what Elias accomplished in this tournament, but for now we must bear witness to the incredible destruction Kenta Kobashi is delivering. He may have started slow (slow being relatively comfortable victories) but these last three matches have been scenes of profound devastation. Hector Garza was a fun cinderella story, Lou Thesz was the pre-tournament favorite and Elias may have had the most impressive run of the tournament and in three blinks of an eye they were all wiped out. When the end came, when Kobashi decided that enough was enough and that burning lariat hit none of them had an answer, it was the end even if they didn't immediately know it. There is one match left for him against a surely worthy opponent who will be determined next time out and I won't hazard a guess as to who will win, but there is nothing I am more certain of that if that lariat connects one more time then Kenta Kobashi will be your tournament champion.
7. Kenta Kobashi (Michigan) vs. 7. Elias (USC)
These two men have had quite the run up until this point. Kobashi has proven to have the biggest hitting offense out of all the men in the tournament field, reaching the finals after managing to suddenly lay waste to the legendary Lou Thesz. Elias... Elias beat Owen Hart, Daniel Bryan, Ric Flair and Bret Hart to get here. He did so getting more and more impressive each round and beating his opponents worse and worse culminating in the disturbing destruction of Bret Hart. Both men have proved themselves to be worthy of their spots in the Final Four, and either would be more than worthy of a spot in the championship finals.
The match starts with each man looking to assert their dominance over the other. They exchange strikes, try to outmuscle the other, each man gets a brief headlock of their own.
And then Kobashi catches Elias with a lariat barely one minute into the match! He has yet to hit one in the tourney on an opponent this fresh so Elias is still conscious, but he is clearly shook.
Still Elias has not made it this far by wilting when things get rough so he immediately shifts into a plan B. He grabs a standing arm bar, and when Kobashi shakes him off he grabs it again. Kobashi hits a chop to buy him some space, but a few moments later he finds himself in an arm bar yet again. It is a desperate maneuver by a man still trying to clear the cobwebs, yet it is probably the best course of action he could take. He transitions into a headlock and this gives Kobashi the opportunity to dump him right on his head with a back suplex...
...which Kobashi follows up with a goddamn burning hammer a full two minutes into the match! He only gets so much of it as Elias manages to roll away towards the ropes before any pin can occur but he is clearly now in dangerous waters. I will give him credit in that he did not roll over and die, but he was clearly in a bad way and losing further ground. He would manage to hit a ddt, but eat a sheer drop brainbuster in return.
Kobashi actually offered him an easy way out when he countered a slam attempt with a small package. No one would have blamed Elias if he kept his shoulders on the mat, but he couldn't do it. He had too much pride. I wish I could say that pride paid off for him, that he managed to somehow pull himself back together and give Kobashi a fight.
He did not.
There will be time later to appreciate what Elias accomplished in this tournament, but for now we must bear witness to the incredible destruction Kenta Kobashi is delivering. He may have started slow (slow being relatively comfortable victories) but these last three matches have been scenes of profound devastation. Hector Garza was a fun cinderella story, Lou Thesz was the pre-tournament favorite and Elias may have had the most impressive run of the tournament and in three blinks of an eye they were all wiped out. When the end came, when Kobashi decided that enough was enough and that burning lariat hit none of them had an answer, it was the end even if they didn't immediately know it. There is one match left for him against a surely worthy opponent who will be determined next time out and I won't hazard a guess as to who will win, but there is nothing I am more certain of that if that lariat connects one more time then Kenta Kobashi will be your tournament champion.
