Cobra Kai's Season 6 Dojo Changes Makes A Major Villain Theory Seem Inevitable

Summary Johnny and Daniel will face new rivals at the Sekai Taikai with a rebuilt Cobra Kai, losing all previous candidates.

Kim has her own dojo with capable students, providing a potential alliance with Kreese for the tournament.

Recruiting new students wouldn't work for Cobra Kai's villains as Johnny and Daniel's team have a significant edge.

The changes to Johnny and Daniel's dojo makes a major theory about Cobra Kai season 6's villains seem inevitable at this point. One of the biggest unanswered questions going into Cobra Kai season 6 pertains to the identity of the show's final villain. Johnny and Daniel's last obstacle - the Sekai Taikai - was made apparent by Cobra Kai season 5's ending, but who they'll have to beat to attain that goal remains ambiguous.

Even after Terry Silver's crushing defeat, it's easy to assume Cobra Kai will somehow remain in the picture, especially when taking the title and premise of the series into consideration. As for what form they'll take, that's open to speculation. However, multiple theories, many of which being based on setup, offer potential scenarios on how Cobra Kai will be restored just in time for the Sekai Taikai. And after what was shown in the Cobra Kai season 6 trailer and the official photos, evidence for one particular theory has grown even stronger.

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All the major teenage characters will be on Johnny and Daniel's side

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The Cobra Kai season 5 finale left Terry Silver's dojo in shambles, but a chance to hold onto some of its students seemingly still existed, but judging by new details from season 6, that's no longer the case. Cobra Kai definitively lost both Tory and Devon, but what would become of Kyler and Kenny was uncertain since neither made amends with any of the main characters. Now, though, it's been confirmed that Kenny will join Johnny and Daniel's dojo. As for Kyler, he was shown on friendly terms with Miguel, Hawk, and Demetri, which indicates that he too will switch sides. With both off the board, Cobra Kai will be without all its weapons from previous seasons.

A rebuild of some sort already felt necessary, but now it appears that season 6's version of Cobra Kai will have to start completely from scratch. Even its oldest members - the ones Johnny recruited for Cobra Kai - have been spotted wearing white gis in Johnny and Daniel's dojo. Shawn, a competent fighter who may have been perceived as a character Cobra Kai could use to fill the holes in its roster, has been identified as one of the kids competing with Miguel and Kenny in the cage fight, which suggests that Cobra Kai won't be able to turn to him either.

That goes to show that whoever Miguel, Sam, Tory, and company will be fighting in the Sekai Taikai, it's highly unlikely to be anyone familiar to viewers. By all indications, every character associated with the current cast will be under one roof, forcing the next iteration of Cobra Kai to look elsewhere - possibly somewhere other than the Valley - for its next group of would-be champions.

Kim Could Use Her Own Students For The Sekai Taikai

It's already been established that Kim has her own dojo she could rely on

When considering what the alternatives to bringing back Kenny and the others are, it's important to keep in mind who will be behind those choices. Chances are, those characters will be Kreese and Kim, as the two were shown together (in new black and white gis) in an official photo. This makes sense, given that Terry Silver promised Kim half of Cobra Kai in season 5. While his defeat may be a sign she should just cut her losses and leave, it shouldn't be forgotten that with Kenny's win over Hawk, Cobra Kai secured itself a place in the Sekai Taikai. In other words, the dojo name is still her ticket into the tournament.

With Kim likely leading - or co-leading - Cobra Kai's push to win the Sekai Taikai, the dojo will at least one path toward a quick rebuild of the roster. It was confirmed in season 5 that Kim has a dojo of her own back in South Korea. She mentioned that the karate instructors that stepped off the plane with her were the best her "dojang had to offer," insinuating that her karate school is so large that she employs even more senseis than the five she had at her side. The competence of her students was further hinted at when Kim noted that Tory and Devon wouldn't last a day at her dojo "back home" in "Bad Eggs."

The logistics could be complicated, but theoretically, it should be possible for Kim and Kreese to rebrand her South Korean dojo as Cobra Kai. If that happens, she should be able to enter them into the Sekai Taikai. Even without the Cobra Kai connection, Kim could still earn a spot at the tournament regardless, simply by going through the same procedure that she and Silver took their students through in season 5. That should work, since the skill of her instructors, combined with her disappointment in the progress of Devon and Tory, say a lot about her students' capabilities.

Recruiting New Students Wouldn't Work For Cobra Kai's Villains

It's too late for a fresh start

Though none of the kids in Kim Dae-Eun's dojo have appeared onscreen yet, there's already good reason to suspect they'll be formidable opponents for Miguel, Sam, Tory, Robby, and Hawk. And given the circumstances of season 6, there may not be any better choices than them. The Sekai Taikai looming on the horizon could make them the key to whatever plan she and Kreese may have to win, since the two villains wouldn't be able to get very far with completely new students.

Most of the kids in Johnny and Daniel's dojo have been training since the first two seasons, which would give them a massive edge over a new Cobra Kai made up of new, untrained students. It would be an insult to the incredible strides Miguel, Sam, Tory, Robby, and Hawk have made over the course of the show's run if they were to face real challenges from kids who have only been practicing martial arts since the aftermath of season 5. Not only that, but a character's personal evolution into a Cobra is a process in and of itself. Hawk and Kenny, for example, had to be developed into ruthless pawns of their senseis.

In terms of both their training and character arcs, such a group wouldn't have enough time to truly earn the title of Cobra Kai's final villains. This issue would be far less pronounced with Kim's dojo. As students of Kim, the granddaughter of Kreese and Silver's karate mentor, they should already exemplify the ideals that Cobra Kai has always been about. As a ready-made answer to Johnny and Daniel's students at the Sekai Taikai, they're Kreese and Kim's best - and perhaps only - hope.