Before he was a multi-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and headlined several Wrestle Kingdom shows, Hiroshi Tanahashi was just a simple assistant to other wrestling veterans.
In the latest chapter of NJPW's "Ace's High," which is a biographical interview series detailing Tanahashi's life and career, Tanahashi spoke on the chance to be an assistant for wrestling legend Keiji Muto, also known as The Great Muta while other young wrestlers also worked under other veterans.
"Before I debuted, I worked for (Keiji) Muto. Inoue worked for Kensuke Sasaki, Makabe with Riki Choshu and Kenzo Suzuki with Tatsumi Fujinami," Tanahashi said.
Tanahashi spoke on some of the stuff that he had to do while working under Muto, which even included doing his laundry and getting everything ready for his bath.
"His size really hits you. And he doesn’t really switch off. The way you hear him talk on TV is exactly how he talks in general conversation. He really is the same guy. I think that I got off lightly a little bit. Muto wrestled a lot in the US, and over there you do everything by yourself for yourself, so all I really had to do was his laundry, and make sure he had soap and a towel ready when he went for a bath; stuff like that," Tanahashi said.
The latest chapter of "Ace's High" can be read at this link.
