Hiroshi Tanahashi is one of this generation’s greatest wrestlers. Hell, he’s one of the greatest wrestlers ever. But what grabbed the eye of a young Tanahashi and made him a fan in the first place?
In his ongoing interview series with njpw1972.com, Tanahashi has revealed who his favourite wrestlers were from when he was young. Here is the quote:
“Kobashi in particular stuck with me; he was still starting out at the time, and wrestling a lot of his matches from underneath. Then in NJPW, the junior heavyweights caught my eye. Wild Pegasus and Eddie Guerrero, Black Tiger, tearing into each other.
I’ve said it a lot over the years, but Kobashi and Muto really resonated with me. They’re both very orthodox in style, which I liked, and both looked super cool. Real idols to me.”
Tanahashi also spoke about what his all-time favourite match was.
“It would have to be from all Japan, when Kobashi and Steve Williams went 40 minutes plus in Aichi (August 31, 1993). Kobashi lost in the end, but the image of him taking those murderous backdrops from Dr. Death, and pulling himself up on the ropes to stand time after time, that was awesome.”
Tanahashi is currently one half of the IWGP Tag Team Champions alongside Kota Ibushi. Undoubtedly, many young fans will one day point to him as their inspiration to get into the business as well.
Is Hiroshi Tanahashi your favourite wrestler? Let us know on Twitter!
