Episode 64: The Idol of Iron

April 24, 2026

I first fell in love with professional wrestling when I was in high school. I had started staying up late, and I’d watch the matches with my younger brother.

The one I remember most vividly was Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve Williams. Seeing Kobashi-san take those high-angle backdrops over and over, yet somehow still finding the strength to stand back up, truly shook my soul. To use a modern term, I was "totally hooked" (numatta).

For the record, the first pro-wrestling event I ever attended in person was an All Japan Pro Wrestling show in 1994 at the Gifu Sangyo Kaikan. Around that same time, I started watching New Japan Pro-Wrestling as well. I thought Keiji Muto was so cool, and suddenly, Kobashi-san from All Japan and Muto-san from New Japan became my two biggest idols.

Whether it was a good or bad thing that my obsession with wrestling peaked during my senior year of high school is up for debate. I’d start watching a recorded match as a "break" from studying for entrance exams, only to end up watching the whole thing and finishing the day without having studied at all.

For a kid like that to eventually join New Japan Pro-Wrestling, become Muto-san’s personal assistant, and even get to face Kobashi-san in the ring... it felt like living in a dream.

I actually used to have a poster of Kobashi-san on my wall in high school. Just recently, I was invited to Kobashi-san’s self-produced event for a talk show. We talked about so many things and had a blast, but the thing about respect and admiration is that they don't change, no matter how old you get. I think I was the one who walked away with more energy!

My favorite anecdote with Kobashi-san is from when I once told him, "I never get tired." He looked genuinely shocked and asked, "What? You never get tired, Tanahashi-kun? Really?" It really showed off his pure and sincere personality.

I wonder if people still put up posters in their rooms much these days. Personally, I think there's something great about having a room watched over by a giant poster of your favorite wrestler.

By the way, what would you all think if we released individual posters for the NJPW wrestlers? Looking back, I don't recall many solo-player posters during my active years. Maybe as a magazine supplement or a special bonus, but not much else.

If we made posters for every wrestler, the sales would be a great barometer for popularity. Then again, in this day and age, it’s hard to imagine people still taping posters to their walls. As a trial run, how about a series of Tanahashi posters through the ages? We could release 26 years' worth! (Laughs).