Abdullah Kobayashi

###

Koshoku, Nagano, Japan

**Yōsuke Kobayashi** (小林 洋輔, *Kobayashi Yōsuke*) (born July 22, 1976), is a Japanese professional wrestler best known by his stage name **Abdullah Kobayashi** (アブドーラ小林, *Abudōra Kobayashi*) after Abdullah the Butcher, who was his trainer. He began his career in 1995 as one of the main wrestlers in Big Japan Pro Wrestling and has wrestled for Big Japan Pro Wrestling throughout most of his career. He is well known for his very brutal deathmatches with the likes of Ryuji Ito and several other BJPW wrestlers. On June 26, 2010, Kobayashi made his American debut in Combat Zone Wrestling's Tournament of Death IX defeating Nick Gage in the first round but lost in the second to JC Bailey. In mid-2013, Kobayashi was diagnosed with hepatitis C, forcing him to take a long-term break from in-ring action to undergo treatment. He returned to the ring on August 10, 2014.

## Professional Wrestling Career

As a fan of pro-wrestling in his youth, he would tryout for Big Japan Pro Wrestling soon after graduating high school. He would go on to make his debut on May 29, 1995 against Yuichi Taniguchi. His first ever title win would come on September 15, 2000 as he KAMIKAZE would capture the BJW Tag Team Championship belts from Shadow WX and Ryuji Yamakawa. The two would lose the titles to Daisuke Sekimoto and Men's Teioh.

Kobayashi would regain the titles this time with a new tag team partner Daikokubo Benkei collectively known as the Skin Headers. The two would hold the titles for a year before losing the titles to Badboy Hido and Ryuji Ito in 2003. During their reign they would also hold the WEW Hardcore Tag Team Champions, but they would lose the title only seven days later. The Skin Headers would then be joined by Jaki Numazawa. Kobayashi and Numazawa would then defeat Mr. Big Japan and Men's Teioh to capture the BJW Tag Team Championship belts. Their reign would last 105 days losing the title to the Akarangers (Gentaro and Takashi Sasaki).

He would make a challenge for the BJW Heavyweight Championship until 2004. Though in 2005 he would form a team with Daisuke Sekimoto as they were known as “Muscle and Fat”. The two would become the BJW Tag Team Champions in the process. As for his singles run, he would claim his first run with the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship on December 21, 2005 after beating Ryuji Ito.

He would remain an opposition figure in the deathmatch scene for the years to come, even going to compete in CZW in the USA. In November 2011 Kobayashi won the DAINICHI-X with Yuji Okabayashi. This followed up with his second run with the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship coming on December 18, 2011 with a win yet another win over Ryuji Ito. He would go on to make seven successful title defenses before losing to Shuji Ishikawa on January 2, 2013. Eleven days later Kobayashi teamed up with Jaki Numazawa and Kazuki Hashimoto to win the Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Championship defeating Kankuro Hoshino, Ryuji Ito and Shinya Ishikawa.

Though in 2013 he would suffer a major setback as he would fall under suspicion of having Hepatitis C in his body, this led the three vacating the Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Champions in the process. All of the BJW wrestlers would undergo tests and they would come back negative, but Kobayashi would not. He would immediately stop competing for the safety of those around him and seek treatment. After over a year away from competing he was finally cleared of the virus and made his return in August of 2014.

In 2015 he would win the “Ikkitosen ~ DeathMatch Survivor” league and then follow that up by once more capturing the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship on May 5, 2015 defeating Yuko Miyamoto. Though this would be a short reign he would lose the title to Ryuji Ito on July 20. Four days later Kobayashi with his 3rd Generation Chimidoro Brothers stablemates, Masaya Takahashi and Takayuki Ueki defeated Jaki Numazawa, Masashi Takeda and Takumi Tsukamoto to win the vacant Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Championship. On December 18 he would defeat Kankuro Hoshino to regain the Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion. He would lose the title to his 3rd Generation Chimidoro Brothers stablemate Masaya Takahashi on May 5. 2017. On May 15 Kobayashi, Takahashi and Ueki lost the Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Champions to Takuya Nomura, Hideki Suzuki and Yoshihisa Uto. On July 17 Kobayashi and Ryuji Ito defeated Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi to win the BJW Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles to Takumi Tsukamoto and Masashi Takeda on January 25, 2018. On August 4, Ito, Kobayashi and Jaki Numazawa defeated Masaya Takahashi, Takayuki Ueki and Toshiyuki Sakuda to win the Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Championship. The lost the titles back to them on October 3.

## Other media

Kobayashi appears as himself alongside Ryuji Ito, Daisuke Sekimoto, Takashi Sasaki and Jaki Numazawa in the 2006 movie Dirty Sanchez: The Movie. Kobayashi and the other wrestlers perform wrestling moves on the three main cast members, and also makes a cameo appearance in the 2004 movie Ôtosan No Backdrop.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *Bakachinga Elbow* (Diving or a running elbow drop, sometimes while holding fluorescent lightbulbs)
	+ *Koba Driver* (Sitout back-to-belly piledriver, sometimes on to glass)
* **Signature moves**
	+ Corner slingshot splash
	+ Brainbuster
	+ Diving double foot stomp
	+ Samoan drop, sometimes on to fluorescent light bulbs
	+ Snap German suplex
	+ Throat thrust

## Championships and accomplishments

* **Big Japan Pro Wrestling**
	+ BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship (5 times)
	+ BJW Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with KAMIKAZE (1), Daikokubo Benkei (1), Jaki Numazawa (1), Daisuke Sekimoto (1) and Ryuji Ito (1)
	+ WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Daikokubo Benkei
	+ Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Championship (8 times) – with Jaki Numazawa and Kazuki Hashimoto (1), Masaya Takahashi and Takayuki Ueki (1) and Jaki Numazawa and Ryuji Ito (2) and Yoshihisa Uto and Hideki Suzuki (2) and Yoshihisa Uto and Drew Parker (2)
	+ Sakatako Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Takayuki Ueki
	+ DAINICHI-X (2011) – with Yuji Okabayashi
	+ Ikkitousen Deathmatch Survivor (2015)
* **Japan Indie Awards**
	+ MVP Award (2012)
* **Tokyo Sports**
	+ Fighting Spirit Award (2012)

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Interview by AOL (Japanese)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 CAGEMATCH : Abdullah Kobayashi (German)
3. ↑ *ja:アブドーラ小林 疑惑の真人間化* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2013-09-16). Retrieved on 2013-09-16.
4. ↑ *ja:長野･佐久創造館大会* (in Japanese). *Big Japan Pro Wrestling* (2014-08-10). Retrieved on 2014-08-10.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Dainichi-X 2011 . *Cagematch*. Retrieved on 2015-07-25.
6. ↑ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=4573&page=21
7. ↑ 【インディー大賞】飯伏vsケニーがベストバウト受賞  (in Japanese). *Dramatic Dream Team* (2012-12-31). Retrieved on 2013-01-22.
8. ↑ *ja:「２０１２年度プロレス大賞」受賞者* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2012-12-11). Retrieved on 2012-12-10.