It’s the second of two retro issues being added to the archives this weekend as our run toward uploading the entire set of Wrestling Observer Newsletters between 1991 to current nears its end.
In this issue from May 5, 2008, Dave Meltzer recaps WWE Backlash which saw Triple H win his 12th WWE world title in a four-way elimination main event.
Dave also recapped the fallout and entire situation of Michael Hayes’ WWE suspension following some words toward Mark Henry.
The issue also recaps another big title win with Keiji Muto returning to NJPW to win the IWGP Championshp.
All that and all the wrestling & MMA news from nearly 6500 days ago in a much simpler time.
The Great Muta was present at ringside for the WWE Payback main event on Saturday.
Muta was briefly shown on camera while seated in the crowd for the Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura main event at Saturday’s Payback pay-per-view in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Rollins defeated Nakamura to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the show-closing bout. Muta did not get involved in the match.
Muta, real name Keiji Muto, retired from the ring earlier this year after a career spanning nearly 39 years.
Prior to his retirement, Muta wrestled Nakamura on January 1 at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s The New Year show in a rare instance of WWE allowing a contracted talent in Nakamura to work a match outside of the company.
Muta would wrestle for the final time as The Great Muta character at The Great Muta Final Bye-Bye event on January 23 of this year in Yokohama, Japan. His final matches under his real name cam in February of this year at the Tokyo Dome at the Keiji Muto Grand Final Pro-Wrestling “Last” Love show, where he lost to Tetsuya Naito, then defeated Masahiro Chono in an unadvertised match to close his career.
Muta was then inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on WrestleMania weekend on March 31 in Los Angeles.
Muta won the Wrestling Observer Newsletter award for Wrestler of the Year in 2001, and was a member of the 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame class.
The Great Muta is the second confirmed inductee for the 2023 WWE Hall of Fame class.
It was confirmed on WWE’s The Bump this afternoon that Muta (Keiji Muto) will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame over WrestleMania 39 week. Muta is being inducted by Ric Flair.
“He’s a tremendous guy, a tremendous athlete, a great person, a great man,” Flair said about Muta. “I’ve wrestled him probably 500 times. And I can’t think of a better guy for the company to honor. And boy when you’re honored and enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame, it really makes you a special, special person.”
Flair said he loves Muta beyond wrestling and has a special place in his heart for him because his late son Reid was working with Muta in Japan just before Reid’s passing.
The legendary career of Muta came to an end with a retirement tour that wrapped up at the Tokyo Dome last month. In his final matches, Muta faced Tetsuya Naito and Masahiro Chono.
Muta had his final match as the Great Muta character in January, teaming with Sting & Darby Allin in a six-man tag team match.
Muta’s retirement tour also included a match against WWE’s Shinsuke Nakamura for Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Rey Mysterio (inducted by Konnan) and Muta are the first two entrants to be confirmed for this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class. The ceremony is taking place after SmackDown in Los Angeles on Friday, March 31. It will stream live on Peacock/WWE Network.
Dave Meltzer and I are back for a new Wrestling Observer Radio going over all the news in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter with a deep dive into the 2022 WON Awards.
We also talked about the following:
Current WrestleMania plans and the leader in the clubhouse for one of the main events
Kenny Omega’s upcoming free agency
AEW Dynamite ratings
Keiji Muto’s farewell and if something like that could happen in the US
Tony Khan vs. Ariel Helwani
The video version of this show is available for paid video subscribers at video.f4wonline.com.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including The Muto Retirement Show, Nagata wins the Triple Crown, RAW ratings, Sami Zayn and the Montreal finish, AEW and NXT reviews for this week, Rampage spoilers, all the news and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Jerry Jarrett funeral notes
2:44: Keiji Muto retirement show
13:53: Yuji Nagata/Kento Miyahara Triple Crown match
17:07: John Cena returning in March, booking lessons learned this week
On this week’s Pacific Rim, we get an in-person review of Keiji Muto’s Grand Final Pro Wrestling Last Love card from the Tokyo Dome by our own Fumi Saito.
He was among the 30,000+ people on hand to witness a truly historic night of pro wrestling. In addition to the winners and losers, Fumi and I examine the themes of the night, the backstories, and the subtext that you may have missed or didn’t know about.
Fumi has covered Muto’s career from the beginning and he talks about what it was like to witness the poetic ending.
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
WWE announced that Roman Reigns will appear at the Road to WrestleMania house show on March 4 in Toronto, Canada.
Warner Bros. Discovery Europe announced that BT Sport in the UK & Ireland will be rebranded as TNT Sports starting in July. BT Sport is the current home of WWE programming in the area.
Carmella spoke to Yahoo News about the pressure to maintain a certain figure in pro wrestling.
AEW Road to Phoenix, which focuses on the upcoming tag team battle royal and Jon Moxley vs. Evil Uno.
Paul Wight talked to Metro about his recent health issues. ‘Well, I spent 11 weeks in a wheelchair because I was waiting for them to build the implant for my knee because of my size. ‘I had crushed all the bone in the knee, I was bleeding into my shin. So, I’ve got a good pain tolerance, but when I say I rode the tyre down to the rim, that’s exactly what I did. But, luckily I still have all my ligaments in that knee, everything’s good there, it’s a nice, brand new titanium joint so it’s good for 35 years. So, I can parachute if I want to – not that I’ll ever jump out of an airplane, we all saw the movie Operation Dumbo drop, I don’t think that’s me, we’re good!’”
Tony Khan appeared in a photo with Dave Brown at Jerry Jarrett’s memorial service.
NOAH announced an attendance of 30,096 for Keiji Muto’s retirement show on Tuesday morning.
After appearing in the undercard during Tuesday morning’s show, Satoshi Kojima announced that he would be leaving Pro Wrestling NOAH for the time being.
Jake Lee challenged GHC Heavyweight Champion Kaito Kiyomiya backstage following his loss to Kazuchika Okada on Tuesday morning.
AAA announced that Pagano is undergoing surgery for an undisclosed issue.
Keiji Muto had his final match at the Tokyo Dome on Tuesday, and it wasn’t against Tetsuya Naito.
Naito did wrestle Muto, winning with the Destino. Towards the end of the match, Muto hit multiple shining wizards, which Naito kicked out of. Muto then teased hitting the moonsault, but ultimately decided against it. Naito took control of the match and eventually picked up the win with Destino.
After the match, Naito raised his fist in the air. Muto fist bumped Naito and held the ropes open for him as Naito made his exit.
Muto then cut a promo, saying that he said one last thing he must do. He called out Masahiro Chono to a match. Chono, who did commentary for the main event, came to the ring and took off his jacket. The two proceeded to have a short match, with Tiger Hattori as a referee. Chono ended up winning with the STF.
After a speech by one of the announcers putting over his career, Muto then made his exit. The last image shown on the video screen was the message “Pro Wrestling Love” next to images of Muto, Shinya Hashimoto, and Mitsuharu Misawa.
Muto also had a retirement show at Yokohama Arena last month for his Great Muta persona. Teaming with Sting and Darby Allin, he defeated Hakushi, AKIRA, and Naomichi Maurufuji.
After eight months and several final matches of sorts along the way, Japanese wrestling legend Keiji Muto will officially have his last pro wrestling match tonight at Pro Wrestling “Last” Love in Tokyo, Japan.
The 60-year-old Muto will face NJPW star Tetsuya Naito in the night’s main event, first set up at Wrestle Kingdom 17: NJPW x NOAH when Naito accepted Muto’s challenge.
The event will feature talent from NJPW, NOAH, Dragongate, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Tokyo Joshi Pro, and DDT.
In a highly-anticipated non-title match, IWGP World Champion Kazuchika Okada will face GHC Champion Kaito Kiyomiya. It began when Kiyomiya kicked Okada flush in the face during a match at Wrestle Kingdom 17: NJPW x NOAH, resulting in Okada attacking Kiyomiya for a double DQ.
In another non-title match, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi will face GHC Junior Champion AMAKUSA.
The rest of the pay-per-view will feature multi-person tag team matches.
This was a great opening tag. The sequences with Inaba were fantastic. Yano held his own as his star continued to brighten. The heavyweights played their role as constant checks to the smaller guys throughout. Good stuff.
Unsurprisingly, the GHC tag champions left this match with a win. After a long rally from Yano, Kitamiya caught him with a Samoan drop and Saito suplex to win the match.
I may be biased, but this match was incredible. TJPW present vs. TJPW future was the perfect dynamic for an eight-man tag, and the crowd ate it up.
The team of Yamashita, Rika, Shoko, and Yuka were the clear favorites, as they were/are the last four women to hold the POP belt, TJPW’s top prize, but the up-and-comers held their own. The match played out in one cohesive sequence, allowing everyone to get in a little something.
In the end, Yuka, the reigning POP champion, took advantage of the constant escalation, hitting a Magical Girl Splash on Yuki Arai to win the match.
Anthony Greene, Jack Morris & Jake Lee (Good Looking Guys) defeated Satoshi Kojima, Takashi Sugiura & Timothy Thatcher
This was a boring match, here to further establish GLG (I guess) on the biggest stage in wrestling. It was easily the worst thing on the pre-show.
This was a painfully typical 6-man through in through, coming to a rather sudden end when Lee hit Thatcher with a kick in the corner, leading to the pin.
Chris Ridgeway, Daga, Eita, HAYATA & Yoshinari Ogawa (STINGER) defeated Alejandro, Atsushi Kotoge, Junta Miyawaki, Seiki Yoshioka & YO-HEY
This was precisely the kind of match you would expect from the NOAH juniors, plus some STINGER meta-drama.
After a few minutes of sequences, Ridgeway started mat work, eventually securing a choke and winning the match.
After the match, Ridgeway and HAYATA were blindsided by their former faction mates, with Ogawa leading the charge. Daga and Eita were clearly on Ogawa’s side.
Chris Ridgeway, Daga, Eita, HAYATA & Yoshinari Ogawa (STINGER) defeated Alejandro, Atsushi Kotoge, Junta Miyawaki, Seiki Yoshioka & YO-HEY
This was the kind of match you would expect from the NOAH juniors, if a little short, plus some STINGER meta-drama.
After a few minutes of sequences, Ridgeway started mat work, eventually securing a choke and winning the match.
After the match, Ridgeway and HAYATA were blindsided by their former faction mates, with Ogawa leading the charge. Daga and Eita were clearly on Ogawa’s side.
This wasn’t my style of match, but everyone gave it their all. Masada was a real standout, especially given his experience, or lack thereof.
This match was quick to break down, with 37K taking an early lead. The match was filled with action, with little-to-no breaks.
In the closing moments, Ueno hit the rookie Masada with the WR to win the match.
El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Naomichi Marufuji & Ninja Mack (NOAH) defeated Diamante, KAI & Shun Skywalker (Dragongate/Z-Brats)
This was another athletic multi-man tag. This time Z-B played the heels throughout, letting the NOAH boys play up their home-field advantage.
The Dragongate team continually isolated the NOAH babyfaces, giving them time to shine. Wagner eventually hit a beautiful moonsault on KAI to win the match.
At some point during this, Diamante landed awkwardly, injuring his arm.
This was a fantastic match. While it’s no surprise Kento and Yuma stood out, all of the All Japan trio was impressive, with Suwama putting in one of his best performances in a long while.
Kento and Nakajima opened this match to a hot reaction from the crowd, saving the real action for later, they tagged out.
The teams were quick to brawl. This chaotic exchange was exhilarating, with both teams going to war on the outside. Once the match finally returned to the ring, Yuma and Soya traded blows. The All Japan trio worked together to further their lead, isolating Soya from the rest of Kongo.
A jumping lariat bought Soya a tag into Nakajima, leaving Kento and Nakajima alone in the ring again. The pair came to blows this time, and the crowd went wild. After the pair proved to be on equal footing, the match broke down.
After another exciting team-vs-team battle, Yuma aimed to close. After multiple suplexes, Yuma locked Kenoh in a choke, but Soya made the save with a giant lariat. Kenoh followed up with a soccer kick for a nearfall, re-establishing a Kongo lead. A roundhouse kick scored Kenoh another nearfall. Finally, Kenoh hit the PFS and won the match for his team.
After the match concluded, Kento and Nakajima had an intense staredown, perhaps setting up another inter-promotional match in the future.
NOSAWA’s retirement match started exactly as you would expect, by rushing their opponents. It didn’t take long for Gedo and NOSAWA to square off, but Ishimori was able to take the lead for his team.
Very early in the match, NOSAWA sat on his knees and stared down a teary-eyed Ishimori. NOSAWA essentially offered himself to Ishimori. Through the tears, Ishimori hit NOSAWA with Bloody Cross, winning the match in under five minutes.
After the conclusion, NOSAWA basked in the Tokyo Dome cheers for a while before heading to the back. This was strange retirement, to say the least.
This was a great match between rival champions. AMAKUSA pushed himself in this match, leaving nothing in the ring. Unsurprisingly, the IWGP champion left with the win, even in a NOAH ring.
This match opened with a relatively typical junior sequence, made special by an incredible crashing dive from AMAKUSA. Even after the dive, Hiromu was able to establish control inside and outside of the ring.
Hiromu’s offense eventually let up, allowing AMAKUSA to land two more stunning dives. Unable to close, AMAKUSA ran at Hirmou, but Hiromu caught him with a nasty throw into the corner.
Hiromu landed a lariat to cement his lead but chose to taunt AMAKUSA with his old mask. AMAKUSA took advantage, retaking the lead and control over the mask. After throwing the mask to the outside, AMAKUSA scored a nearfall, avoiding a timebomb.
Hiromu eventually landed a timebomb, but AMAKUSA kicked out. After the kick out, Hiromu was quick to follow up, landing a second to win the match.
This was an extraordinary match, easily my favorite of the year. I hope this isn’t the end of this pair.
Before the show began, Kaito’s petition to remove this match’s time limit was accepted.
Surprisingly, this match opened with a sloppy collar-and-elbow tie-up. After the tie-up was broken up, the champions started throwing heavy strikes. Okada answered Kaito’s brashness with a German suplex before taking the match outside of the ring.
On the floor, Okada hit Kaito with a backdrop and DDT. Kaito hobbled his way back to the ring, where Okada taunted him with kicks similar to the kick that led to this match. Okada was in complete control.
Kaito stuck Okada with intensity during any opening that Okada gave him. This allowed Kaito to bring Okada to the floor, where he whipped the IWGP champion into the barricade multiple times. After a brief struggle, Kaito hit Okada with a suplex on the apron, which he followed with a dive over the guardrail, wiping out Okada.
Back in the ring, Kaito hit a German suplex for a nearfall. Okada tried to rebound, landing a flapjack for a mid-match reset. The pair traded flying moves, with Okada’s dropkick winning out. Okada landed a tombstone and spinning rainmaker, but Kaito blocked the finishing rainmaker with a knee to the rainmaker arm.
Kaito began to target the arm of Okada further, landing a barrage of dropkicks, including one from the top rope. Kaito landed a pair of shining wizards for a nearfall that had left the crowd raucous, but Okada bounced back with a dropkick.
Okada landed a lariat before trying again for the rainmaker. Kaito ducked, but Okada hit the dropkick and tried again. On the second rainmaker attempt, Kaito reversed into the shining wizard and tiger suplex; Okada kicked out. Okada then hit a tombstone before finally connecting with the rainmaker; Okada pulled up Kaito’s head before the three count. Okada hit Kaito with an enziguri, emerald flowsion, and another rainmaker before pinning the GHC champion.
Keiji Muto’s Final Match: Tetsuya Naito defeated Keiji Muto
Considering its limitations, this match was excellent.
Before the match, Masahiro Chono walked to the ring and cut a promo honoring the career of Muto. A video package then recapped Muto’s career with both Sinatra’s and the Sex Pistols’ versions of “My Way” backing.
Muto’s entrance was spectacular, mixing all of his past themes leading into his rising from under the ramp on a flying platform. During his long walk to the ring, the fans showered Muto in chants of his name.
Once the opening theatrics ended, the match began with a collar-and-elbow tie-up. Naito took the match to the mat, where he and Muto traded holds for some time. After this extended struggle, Muto hit his elbow drop, revealing a stream of blood on his cheek.
Natio fought back, landing a snapmare and a dropkick before sending Muto to the outside. On the ramp, Muto’s legs failed him, leaving Naito free to land a lengthy running dropkick. Then, back in the ring, the action stayed on the mat as it became evident Muto’s legs were far from proper. Naito pushed Muto back to the floor, where he began to target Muto’s injured legs.
Back in the ring, Muto landed a quick dragonscrew before securing the figure four leglock. After Naito escaped, he landed an enziguri and returned the match to the mat.
Naito started setting up Muto’s neck with strikes, but Muto answered with Hashimoto chops and a DDT; Muto then landed emerald flowsion for a near fall, honoring two men who never had retirement matches. Muto hit his first shining wizard of the night for a near fall. Muto then hit a backbreaker before climbing to the top rope, teasing a moonsault; Muto stepped down, deciding it wasn’t worth the risk.
Naito landed a hamstring dropkick to send Muto back to the mat. Muto answered with a dropkick of his own, a dragonscrew, and a figure four. Naito escaped, and again, Muto followed up with a dragonscrew and a trio of shining wizards. After Naito kicked out, Muto climbed to the top rope again but stepped down once more.
Naito quickly responded, hitting a dragonscrew of his own before revealing his now bloodied face. Naito locked in the figure four, leading into an extended struggle. Naito eventually let go and dropped Muto with a pair of shining wizards; Muto kicked out. Realizing the end was in sight, Naito hit Destino and won the match.
After the match, Muto grabbed the microphone and cut a promo. He thanked the crowd and called Chono into the ring. He then challenged Chono to an impromptu match. He asked Tiger Hattori to ref the impromptu bout. Chono hesitated, but once his music hit, he made his way from coms to the ring.
Chono and Muto entered the ring. Tiger called for the bell, unveiling a “secret main event”.
Secret Main Event: Masahiro Chono defeated Keiji Muto
This match opened with a collar-and-elbow tie-up. Chono slapped Muto, sending him to the mat. Chono hit a shining wizard and locked in the STF. Muto tapped out in what must be his and Chono’s actual final match.
This was a nice tribute to Chono, giving him an actual retirement match. It’s also objectively hilarious that Muto’s “final match”, which has been built for ages, was his final match for all of about five minutes.
After the match and some reminiscing in the ring, Muto walked to the top of the ramp for his final sendoff.
After the final pyro went off, a screen with the face of Muto, Misawa, & Hashimoto stretched across the Tokyo Dome.
Closing Thoughts
This show was incredible, easily the best of the year thus far. NOAH’s typical production is unmatched, but this was on another level. The in-ring quality, the gravity of the matches, the crowd — everything was excellent.
At the end of all of this, though, I can’t help but think New Japan, not NOAH, benefited the most. Not only did NJPW wrestlers win all four of the attraction matches, main event NOAH’s Tokyo Dome, and bury the GHC all in one night, they also are coming off of Mercedes Mone’s incredible debut and Yuji Nagata securing the Triple Crown. It was already one of the biggest weeks for New Japan post-pandemic, and this show only seals the deal.
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
Monday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight after Raw talking all the latest MMA and pro wrestling news. You can also send questions to the show but it’s better on the key topics well talk such as Chamber & Raw, the Chamber main event finish, Ariel Helwani, AEW and OTT and Jerry Jarrett to [email protected]
We’re doing weekend polls for Elimination Chamber and the New Japan show in San Jose, so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle, along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
Keiji Muto, one of the true legends of the last 40 years in wrestling, retires tomorrow morning at the Tokyo Dome in a match with Tetsuya Naito. The show airs on Wrestle Universe with this lineup
Masa Kitamiya & Daiki Inaba vs. Yoshiki Inamura & Yasutaka YanoMiyu
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Amakusa in a battle of the IWGP jr. champion vs. GHC jr. champion with no belts at stake
Kazuchika Okada vs. Kaito Kiyomiya in a battle of IWGP heavyweight and GHC heavyweight champions with no belts at stake
Keiji Muto vs. Tetsuya Naito
Raw tonight is from the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ONT. Matches announced are Seth Rollins vs. The Miz, Austin Theory vs. Edge for the U.S. title and Mustafa Ali vs. Dolph Ziggler. Obviously they will start the full scale build for WrestleMania off this show and in theory the rating should be up coming off the PPV. Expect another lively crowd. There were 7,800 tickets out as of earlier today.
Aljamain Sterling will defend the UFC bantamweight title against Henry Cejudo on the 5/6 PPV show. This had been expected for some time. Sterling is coming off recuperation from a torn biceps which has delayed the fight.
Every time I do this it makes me sad about the medical situation in this country. But there are Go Fund Me’s up for
I’m hopeful for the best for both of these men in their battles for health. Graham has had many close calls over the years and has battled health issues for nearly 35 years.
Tony Khan promised a major announcement on Dynamite on Wednesday. They also announced for the tag team Battle Royal on Wednesday that the last three entrants would be Rush & Preston Vance, Top Flight and Aussie Open, who are a late addition to the match. The match is for one of the open spots in a four-way title match with the Gunns and Acclaimed on 3/5 at Revolution in San Francisco.
Lineup for NXT tomorrow is Bron Breakker vs. Jinder Mahal for the NXT title, Gallus vs. Edris Enofe & Malik Blade for the tag titles, Sol Ruca vs. Zoey Stark, Jacy Jayne vs. Indi Hartwell, Trick Williams vs. Ilja Dragunov and Andre Chase & Duke Hudson vs. The Dyad.
Want to mention, as many noted, that Richard Belzer passed away. We wrote about him yesterday in reference that he passed away but didn’t actually mention he passed away, because I thought almost everyone knew. But it should have been mentioned.
Other Notes
Mercedes Mone and Trinity Fatu (Naomi) will be appearing on the opening episode of Bar Rescue on Paramount on Sunday at 10 p.m. Eastern.
Tomorrow night’s MLW television show on REELZ has Alexander Hammerstone against Dragon Gate’s Yamato for the title, The Billington Bulldogs vs. New FBI and Calvin Tankman vs Sam Adonis. The second hour will be an older show with Jacob Fatu vs. Mads Krugger in a weapons of mass destruction match and Myron Reed vs. KC Navarro vs. Arez.
Delmi Exo has signed with MLW. She’s been on shows dating back to 2021.
Warrior Wrestling from Saturday night in Chicago at Thalia Hall before 425 fans: Sam Adonis b Storm Grayson, Queen Aminata b Max the Impaler-DQ, Jordan Kross b Carlos Romo, Trevor Outlaw b Beast Man, Mike Bennett b Joey Janela, KC Navarro b Brian Cage-COR to keep the Warrior title, El Hijo del Vikingo beat Aero Boy, Black Taurus and Aramis to retain the Lucha title. As noted yesterday, we got rave reviews on the main event and hope to see it later this week.
Dave Marquez will be promoting Derby City Wrestling, a weekly series that will have its first taping on 3/26 with Elijah Burke announced. The show will air locally on the low power MY58.3 channel.
Central States Wrestling on Saturday night in Lenexa, KS at the National Guard Armory with Jeremy Wyatt vs. Jake Something as the main event.
Dana White’s Looking for a Fight will be taped n 3/5 for a Combat Zone 79 show in Boston at the encore Casino. UFC fighter Calvin Kattar runs the promotion.
On this week’s Pacific Rim Pro Wrestling Podcast, Fumi Saito and I look at the career of Keiji Muto.
We begin with his debut in 1984, American excursions, the creation of The Great Muta, his rise to stardom in NJPW, the Three Musketeers, All-Japan, Wrestle 1, Hustle, NOAH and more.
Fumi has known Muto since 1984, so this is 90 minutes of insight you won’t hear anywhere else, including what inspired a young Muto to become one of the biggest stars of all time.
Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito made surprise appearances on Sunday at NOAH The Great Voyage in Osaka.
Naito cut an in-ring promo before the main event while his upcoming opponent, Keiji Muto, was ringside at the commentary position. Muto and Naito will face each other in Muto’s final match on February 21 from the Tokyo Dome.
Naito addressed Muto during the promo:
When I heard that Keiji Muto was going to be here, I made sure to stay in Osaka. I’ve made the trip to Osaka for Muto before, back on December 10, 1999. Keiji Muto versus Genichiro Tenryu or the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Battle Final. When Muto lost, I made the trip home, almost in tears.
Never would I have thought that 23 years later I would be Muto’s final ever opponent. Muto, I know you want this to be one last grand work of art. Unfortunately, that won’t be. I want you to leave the ring for the final time in frustration and total defeat at the hands of Tetsuya Naito.
Kaito Kiyomiya defeated Jack Morris to retain the GHC Heavyweight Championship in the night’s main event. After the match, Okada hit the ring and delivered a Rainmaker to the champion. A match between the two has been scheduled for Keiji Muto Grand Final Pro-Wrestling “Last-Love” but Okada would later state he was not going to wrestle Kiyomiya. This followed the two being involved in a stiff brawl leading to a double disqualification in a tag match on the Wrestle Kingdom in Yokohama show last month.
After laying out Kiyomiya, Okada had the following to say:
If you want a match with me, you ask “Mr. Okada” and say please and thank you.
Okada continued to antagonize the NOAH fans who booed his attack on Kiyomiya. He then accepted the match for the Tokyo Dome but “‘not for [Kiyomiya}, but because the ones I can’t stand are the NOAH fans.”
Keiji Muto’s retirement show takes place Tuesday, February 21, from the Tokyo Dome. The full lineup for the show is below.
Keiji Muto (NOAH) vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW)
Non-title: Kazuchika Okada (NJPW) vs. Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH)
Non-title: Hiromu Takahashi (NJPW) vs. AMAKUSA (NOAH)
NOSAWA and MAZADA (NOAH) vs. Gedo and Taiji Ishimori (NJPW)
Kento Miyahara, SUWAMA, and Yuma Aoyagi (AJPW) vs. Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima, and Manabu Soya (NOAH)
Shun Skywalker, KAI, and Diamante (Dragongate) vs. Naomichi Marufuji, Hijo Del Dr. Wagner Jr., and Ninja Mack (NOAH)
Shunma Katsumata, Toui Kojima, Mao, and Yuki Ueno vs. Tetsuya Endo, Hideki Okatani, Yuya Koroku, and Takeshi Masada (DDT)
Eita, Yoshinari Ogawa, HAYATA, Daga, and Chris Ridgeway vs. Atsushi Kotoge, YO-HEY, Seiki Yoshioka, Alejandro, and Junta Miyawaki (NOAH)
Takashi Sugiura, Satoshi Kojima, and Timothy Thatcher vs. Jake Lee, Jack Morris, and Anthony Greene (NOAH)
Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki, Rika Tatsumi, and Shoko Nakajiuma vs. Mizuki, Miu Watanabe, Maki Itoh, and Yuki Arai (Tokyo Joshi Pro)
Masa Kitamiya and Daiki Inaba vs. Yoshiki Inamura and Yasutaka Yano (NOAH)
Keiji Muto is dealing with several injuries as he approaches the final match of his career.
An article in Tokyo Sports released Wednesday revealed that Muto is dealing with hamstring tears in both legs suffered during the main event of The Great Muta Final Bye-Bye. Muto teamed with Darby Allin and Sting to defeat AKIRA, Hakushi & Naomichi Marufuji on the show.
The injuries make it difficult for the 60-year-old to stand and as a result, he was forced to pull out of an appearance at a Setsubun Tsuinashiki ceremony scheduled for Friday.
Muta was a guest presenter at the K-1 AWARDS 2022 on Wednesday and was asked about his upcoming final match against Tetsuya Naito in the Tokyo Dome.
“I’m going to have a good match, but I had a match 10 days ago and separated my thigh. I’m in a pinch, but I’ll do my best. (translations via DeepL)
“I’ve got hamstring tears in both legs. I’m lucky it wasn’t torn, but it hurts anyway. It’s been 10 days since I hurt it, but it hasn’t healed at all. I feel sick, damn it…” he spat.
Muto revealed that he was already dealing with back pain before suffering the hamstring injuries. He went into The Great Muta’s final match “out of shape.”
Actually, I was in bad shape before I went there that day. I had back pain. I don’t know what triggered it, but I was out of shape.”
“The pain in my knee is chronic and I’m used to it, but my muscles are in a lot of pain. I think I put extra strain on my knee and hip joints by protecting them…”
“I feel like I’ve been given a test by the wrestling gods. I don’t know what to do. I train only my upper body, but it’s really hard to do that, too. It’s stressing me out. I’m in the biggest pinch at the end, and I want to extend it by a month…”
Muto was seen being pushed in a wheelchair backstage following The Great Muta Final Bye-Bye. He was also seen using a wheelchair at the K-1 Awards on Wednesday.
Muto’s final match is scheduled for Tuesday, February 21, 2023, from the Tokyo Dome. He will wrestle Naito in the main event. It will be the second time the two have faced off in singles competition. Muto defeated Naito at Wrestle Kingdom VI on January 4, 2012.
The Pacific Rim Pro Wrestling podcast is back with myself and Fumi Saito.
Fumi was live at Yokohama Arena for the Great Muta Final Bye-Bye event. This week, he shares his thoughts on Muta, Sting, Darby Allin, Hakushi and the crowd that night.
With that, the Keiji Muto Grand Final Card has been announced. Tetsuya Naito will be Muto’s final opponent, but before he issued his challenge, Muto considered a few different people before choosing Naito. You won’t believe who Muto talked with to be his last opponent.
Plus, we talk about Jake Lee and also NOAH and NJPW going forward.
This is a very newsworthy show so hear it for yourself and don’t wait to read about it later.
