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.
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.
Keiji Mutoh ended Wrestle Kingdom 17 at Yokohama Arena by challenging Tetsuya Naito to a match at his retirement show on February 21 at the Tokyo Dome.
After Naito defeated Kenoh in the main event, Naito was making his way out of the ring when Mutoh, who was doing commentary during the main event, slid into the ring and called out Naito. Naito entered the ring and said he would clear his schedule. The two posed as the show officially ended.
Mutoh is set to have his final match under The Great Muta persona Sunday morning, when he will team with Sting and Darby Allin of AEW to take on Hakushi, AKIRA, and Naomichi Maurufuji. That show will also take place at the Yokohama Arena.
Mutoh had his final match in NJPW back on January 4 during the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 17. There, he teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shota Umino to defeat Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and BUSHI.
The legendary wrestler made a surprise appearance during the NJPW Battle Autumn tour stop on Wednesday from Korakuen Hall.
During the TV title tournament match between Toru Yano and the Great-O-Khan, the lights in the building went out and Muta was standing ringside when they came back on. Muta then blew poison mist in Khan’s face, allowing Yano to roll him up and get the three count.
Speaking backstage after the event, Muta said he wants to team with Yano and Kazuchika Okada to face Khan at NJPW x Stardom Historic X-Over on November 20.
Muta’s retirement tour continues Sunday at NOAH Pro Wrestling Love Forever 3 from Tokyo’s Ariake Arena. He will team with Naomichi Marufuji and Yoshiki Inamura to face Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, and Tomoaki Honma.
Ren Narita also advanced in the TV title tournament on Wednesday. He defeated Tomohiro Ishii in the main event. Narita and Khan will square off in the tournament quarter-finals.
NJPW TV Championship tournament results:
David Finlay defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru (October 14)
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Alex Zayne (October 14)
Yoshi-HASHI defeated Jeff Cobb (October 15)
EVIL defeated Aaron Henare (October 15)
SANADA defeated Taichi (October 16)
KENTA defeated Hirooki Goto (October 16)
Toru Yano defeated Great-O-Khan (October 26)
Ren Narita defeated Tomohiro Ishii (October 26)
David Finlay vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (October 27 or 30) (quarter-final)
Yoshi-HASHI vs. EVIL (October 27 or 30) (quarter-final)
SANADA vs. KENTA (October 27 or 30) (quarter-final)
Toru Yano vs. Ren Narita (October 27 or 30) (quarter-final)
Semi-final #1 (November 5)
Semi-final #2 (November 5)
Finals (January 4)
Full results from the 10/26 NJPW Battle Autumn show:
Japanese wrestling icons and past rivals Keiji Muto and Hiroshi Tanahashi will compete each other one final time at NOAH’s Pro Wrestling Love Forever 3.
The event is set for Sunday, October 30th at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena.
Muto will team with Naomichi Marufuji and Yoshiki Inamura against NJPW’s Tanahashi, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma as part of Muto/Great Muta’s retirement tour.
The two appeared at a Monday press conference where Tanahashi presented Muto with 38 roses in recognition of Muto’s 38 years in wrestling in a show of respect.
The two have met multiple times in their legendary careers, mainly in tag team matches. The last was in January as part of NJPW vs. NOAH matches that took place the first night of Wrestle Kingdom. Tanahashi & Okada defeated Muto & Kaito Kiyomiya.
The two have had singles matches in both NJPW and AJPW. At 2009’s Wrestle Kingdom, Tanahasi defeated Muto for the IWGP World title.
The following contains spoilers for Friday’s AEW Rampage Grand Slam.
The Great Muta appeared during Wednesday’s AEW Rampage Grand Slam tapings.
Muta aided Sting and Darby Allin during their match against Buddy Matthews and Brody King, which will air this Friday. Matthews was about to attack a handcuffed Sting with a baseball bat when Muta arrived, spitting mist in the face of Matthews. This caused Matthews to bump into Julia Hart, who went through a table. Sting picked up the win for his team. After the match, Sting hugged Muta.
Sting and The Great Muta were both longtime rivals and tag team partners in WCW and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the late 80s and early 90. The Great Muta defeated Sting for the WCW Television title back in September of 1989.
Keiji Mutoh is currently on a retirement tour with Pro Wrestling NOAH. His last match under The Great Muta persona will take place on January 23 at Yokohama Arena. It was announced earlier this month that his final match will take place on February 21, 2023 at the Tokyo Dome.
Keiji Muto’s final match will take place inside the Tokyo Dome.
Pro Wrestling NOAH has announced that Muto’s retirement tour will culminate on Tuesday, February 21 as the company returns to the Tokyo Dome for the first time since Destiny 2005.
In June, Pro Wrestling NOAH announced four dates for Muto’s retirement tour. He was defeated by Kaito Kiyomiya in the first match of the tour on July 16 at Destination 2022. He has since performed at Ultimo Dragon’s 35th Anniversary Show on July 30 and the N-1 Victory Grand Final show on September 3.
Muto’s final match as The Great Muta will take place on January 22 from Yokohama Arena. The remaining dates on his retirement tour are as follows:
September 25, 2022 at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
October 30, 2022 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo
January 22, 2023 at Yokohama Arena (Great Muta Final ‘Bye Bye’)
February 21, 2023 at Tokyo Dome (Keiji Muto Grand Final Pro-Wrestling ‘Last’ Love～Hold Out～)
Tickets for Keiji Muto Grand Final Pro-Wrestling ‘Last’ Love～Hold Out～ go on-sale for NOAH fan club members on September 8. Wrestle Universe subscribers will have access to tickets beginning October 1 and general sale to the public begins on November 19.
Dates have been announced for four of Keiji Mutoh’s last five matches.
NOAH announced that Mutoh will be taking part in matches in July, September, October, and January. The January date is known as “Great Muta Final ‘Bye Bye’”, which will be Mutoh’s last match under his Great Muta persona.
The dates are as follows:
July 16, 2022 at Budokan Hall. Kaito Kiyomiya has already been announced as his opponent.
September 25, 2022 at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
October 30, 2022 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo
January 22, 2023 at Yokohama Arena (Great Muta Final ‘Bye Bye’)
The final date, Mutoh’s fifth and final match, has yet to be announced. The show will be titled “Pro Wrestling Last Love – Hold Out”.
Mutoh announced earlier this month at CyberFest Festival 2022 that he would be retiring, and his final match will take place next spring. He had only returned to action in May after being out for the first part of 2022 due to hip issues.
Beginning his career in 1984, Mutoh is remembered for his runs in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he began his career, and All Japan Pro Wrestling. In 2021, he joined Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he held the GHC Heavyweight Championship last year before losing it to Naomichi Marufuji.
Keiji Mutoh announced his retirement today at Cyberfest Festival 2022.
Mutoh, 59, came to the ring today at the NOAH, DDT, and Tokyo Joshi Pro joint event CyberFest Festival and announced that he will retire next spring. He said that he will have five more matches before his retirement.
Mutoh recently returned to action in Pro Wrestling NOAH back in May after recovering from a left hip injury. He, Naomichi Marufuji, and Satoshi Kojima faced Go Shiozaki, Kaito Kiyomiya, and Masato Tanaka in a losing effort.
Beginning his career in 1984 in New Japan Pro Wrestling, Mutoh quickly became a star both in Japan and in the United States. In the US, he wrestled in World Championship Wrestling under his alter ego, The Great Muta, in the late eighties and early nineties. Throughout his career in NJPW, he held the IWGP Heavyweight title on four occasions.
In 2002, Mutoh jumped to All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he held the Triple Crown title three times. He eventually became the president of the company before departing in 2013, forming a new company called Wrestle-1. When that folded in 2020, he went to Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he won the GHC Heavyweight Championship in 2021, eventually losing the title to Marufuji at last year’s CyberfFght Festival.
Fumi Saito talks about doing commentary for the Hana Kimura memorial show and the meaning behind the matches. Plus, The Stardom 5 Star Gran Prix, New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors, who he’s really enjoying in the tournament, why he doesn’t think All Japan’s foray into women’s wrestling will work, Muto, older wrestlers in Japan, and the infamous Fire Pro Wrestling storyline. Was it really a suicide at the end of the video game’s story mode? Get the answer from the man himself.
Keiji Mutoh & Naomichi Marufuji of Pro Wrestling NOAH announced in a press conference today they were vacating the GHC Tag Team titles due to Mutoh suffering from a left hip injury.
Mutoh and Marufuji held a press conference today to reveal the news. Mutoh said that while he had hip issues for a while, they worsened at NOAH’s Budokan Hall show that took place on January 1. He also said that he needed to take a painkiller injection before his match at the NOAH vs. New Japan card that took place at Yokohama Arena on January 8.
Mutoh, who turns 60 in December, said during the conference that he will return and wants to become GHC National Champion.
Marufuji and Mutoh won the championships back on November 13, defeating Kaito Kiyomiya and Masa Kitamiya. Mutoh’s most recent match was at Bumper Cromp 2022 back on January 16, where he and Marufuji successfully retained the titles against Kenoh and Manabu Soya.
Naomichi Marufuji captured the GHC Heavyweight Championship at this morning’s CyberFight Festival 2021 event.
Marufuji defeated Keiji Mutoh in the main event, pinning Mutoh after a knee strike. Mutoh held the title for 114 days, defeating Go Shiozaki at NOAH’s Destination 2021 event back on February 12.
This marks Marufuji’s fourth reign as GHC Heavyweight Champion, tying Takashi Sugiura and Shiozaki for the most title reigns.
After his title win, Marufuji cut a short promo saying to keep your eyes on him, Mutoh, and the top champions in DDT (Jun Akiyama) and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (Miyu Yamashita). Both Akiyama and Yamashita then came out and cut short promos with Yamashita closing the show by saying the three champions will move forward.
The GHC Heavyweight title match was the third of three main events that took place at CyberFight Festival, a supercard featuring wrestlers from Pro Wrestling NOAH, DDT, and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling that took place at the Saitama Super Arena. Akiyama retained the KO-D Openweight title, defeating HARASHIMA. Yamashita defeated Yuka Sakazaki to retain the TJPW Princess of Princess Championship.
CyberFight has announced a new interpromotional event that will take place in June at the Saitama Super Arena.
In a press conference held this evening, CyberFight announced their CyberFight Festival 2021 event will take place on June 6th. It will feature matches from the four brands under the CyberFight umbrella: Pro Wrestling NOAH, DDT, Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, and Ganbare Pro. It was also noted that all of the major championships (GHC World Heavyweight, KO-D Openweight, and Princess of Princess Championship) would be defended.
There are also plans for cross-promotional matches. However, NOAH and DDT president Sanshiro Takagi noted there were no specific plans for the matches yet.
Two promotions under the CyberFight umbrella have made moves recently to put their top championships on established names from the past. Keiji Mutoh won the GHC Heavyweight title earlier this month at Budokan Hall, while Jun Akiyama holds DDT’s top title, the KO-D Openweight Championship.
A look at the career of 80s star Hacksaw Butch Reed, who passed away this past week, is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We look at all of his titles won, sports career before wrestling, what was and wasn’t exaggerated about him, how he got started in wrestling, how fast it was that he was moved to star status, including main eventing at the key wrestling arenas in the country very early, the role Dory Funk Jr, made in his career, how he was booked, a super tag team with Skip Young that few outside of Florida ever saw, feuding with the biggest names on top, his matches with Ric Flair up and down the state of Florida, his sellout with Flair in St. Louis, runs in Georgia and his move to Mid South, his Mid South runs, the high point of his career, his feud with JYD, his Superdome main events, his face and heel turns, his biggest angles, his fight with John Nord and his departure from Mid South, his meeting with Slick, heading to WWF as The Natural Butch Reed, and his WCW run as part of the tag team of Doom with Ron Simmons, life after wrestling and his feelings on Will Hobbs.
Also in this issue:
Nick Khan’s talk about things WWE is doing to try and get new fans, a look at the aging of the sports audience and how wrestling fits in, update on Braun Strowman, update on John Cena TV series, son of 90s star starting in WWE camp, WWE star talks having a stroke, WWE star gets stalked, experience of being in the Thunderdome and what they look for, how WWE & AEW did compared to sports this past week, international rtings news, more on COVID’s effect onWWE, big matches coming on upcoming shows, WWE market value and most-watched shows on the WWE Network this past week.
Bellator’s new broadcast deals in the U.S. and the U.K., as well as main events for the first shows in April, and look at the light heavyweight tournament.
New Beginning in Hiroshima and the Castle Attack cards for New Japan.
Most-watched televised pro wrestling matches in history, including Hogan vs. Andre and Rikidozan vs. Destroyer.
Preview the next two WWE major shows.
Saturday’s UFC event with the potential knockout of the year.
Gina Carano losing her job in “The Mandalorian” on the anniversary of her landmark fight with Julie Kedzie.
A feature looking at the best matches of top wrestlers of 2020.
Television ratings of the past week, including segment-by-segment numbers for the past two weeks on Wednesday, who was watching in different age groups, how different segments did on Raw & Smackdown and more.
ORDERING INFO: 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].
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WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
PWInsider reported shortly before NXT tonight that the Karrion Kross vs. Santos Escobar match that was made last week will not be taking place tonight. No word was given as to why.
Seth Rollins appeared on this week’s episode of The Bump. Other guests include Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez, Montez Ford, and “Young Rock” star Bradley Constant.
In an interview with USA Today, The Rock said he would run for president if it was something that people wanted. “I would consider a presidential run in the future if that’s what the people wanted,” he said. “Truly I mean that, and I’m not flippant in any way with my answer. That would be up to the people…So I would wait, and I would listen. I would have my finger on the pulse, my ear to the ground.”
Barstool Rasslin’ uploaded a video highlighting Bradon Walker’s trip to NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day.
Edge spoke to Sports Illustrated about Christian returning at the Royal Rumble and headlining WrestleMania this year.
Finn Balor will be this week’s guest on After the Bell with Corey Graves.
Charlotte and Sasha Banks will take part in Topps’ WinterCon 2021 event that will run from February 25 through February 28. Everything will take place on Topps’ Twitch channel.
WWE announced a new multi-year agreement with TV3 that will allow WWE programming to air for the first time in the Baltics (Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania). TV3 Sport will air Raw every Tuesday, SmackDown every Saturday, and NXT every Thursday starting on February 23.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, new GHC Heavyweight champion Keiji Mutoh expressed interest in defending the title in the United States. “I will do my best and beat the champion, and hopefully even return to the United States with the championship gold,” Mutoh told Sports Illustrated prior to his match this past weekend. “Though it may be difficult at the moment due to COVID-19, I wish to have a title defense in the U.S.”
Madison Square Garden will welcome back people starting on February 23 with a New York Knicks game.
During Impact last night, aired another ‘paid ad’ aired featuring Tony Schiavone and Tony Khan.
One of the UFC fighters cut today was Syuri Kondo, who wrestles regularly for Stardom. She had a 1-3 record and hadn’t fought since May 2019.
Teddy Hart was arrested on February 10 and is currently in custody at the Tarrant County Correction Center in Texas.
