Shinsuke Nakamura has opened up about WWE granting him permission to face The Great Muta.
It was announced on Sunday that Nakamura will face Muta at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s The New Year 2023 event on January 1 at Budokan Hall. An article in Tokyo Sports recently revealed how Nakamura was able to receive permission from WWE to do the match.
“After a disagreement at first, he persisted in negotiating with a new regime after Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon retired in July,” a translation of the article reads. “The final agreement was reached on the 26th of this month, and it seems that the tenacity has paid off.”
Nakamura mentioned in the article that the match against Muta is something he worked hard to make happen.
“It’s nothing but a miracle,” Nakamura said. “Of course, I wanted to do it. I opened a door that no one could break in. Hahaha…it’s a real ‘Forbidden Door’.”
“I think it’s really fate, and I worked hard to make it happen. I’ve fought Keiji Muto twice in the past, but this was my first encounter with Great Muta, the first and last. I definitely think that I am in the midst of the miracle of the times,” he continued.
Keiji Muto’s last match as The Great Muta will take place on January 22, 2023 at The Great Muta Final Bye-Bye show in Yokohama. He will team with Sting on the show. Muto’s retirement tour then concludes with his final match on February 21, 2023, at the Tokyo Dome.
The clues to the “White Rabbit” on SmackDown lead to another show. These clues need to be more than just promos for the next episode, otherwise WWE risks fans turning on this angle. So far, it’s turned out to be just a carny trick in the digital age. Fans need to be rewarded for their time, not used.
Plus, a monologue from three weeks ago turns out to be prophetic when it comes to the CM Punk controversy, The Great Muta and Bobby Fish make surprise appearances on AEW and IMPACT respectively, the lineup for EXTREME RULES so far, and more. Check it out.
Pro Wrestling NOAH announced on Saturday morning that Sting will team with Muta at Muta Final Bye-Bye, the event that will feature Keiji Mutoh’s final match under The Great Muta persona.
“We are pleased to announce the participation of AEW superstar and international pro wrestling legend Sting at the GREAT MUTA FINAL ‘BYE-BYE’ event, which will be held on Sunday, January 22, 2023 in Yokohama,” NOAH’s announcement read. “It was The Great Muta who came to the unexpected rescue of Sting On AEW Rampage: Grand Slam this week. This incident triggered him to partner with Sting at the Yokohama Arena event.”
Muta appeared towards the end of the Sting & Darby Allin vs. Buddy Matthews & Brody King no disqualification match, aiding Sting by misting Matthews. After Sting picked up the victory, the two shook hands and hugged.
Sting and Muta had a storied rivalry in pro wrestling that dates back to 1989, facing each other and sometimes teaming with one another both in WCW and New Japan Pro Wrestling throughout the 1990s.
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.
Job Listing: Onlamp php/mysql developer. Experience with vbulletin and drupal/WordPress a plus. Email [email protected] with subject PHP DEVELOPER with resume.
The life and times of Gene LeBell, MMA, stunt work, pro wrestling, an accessory to a murder, being trained by Lou Thesz, national judo champion, enforcer work in boxing and wrestling, details on the supposed first mixed match in history and later refereeing Ali vs. Inoki, the Bearcat Wright story, Steven Seagal, Bruce Lee, Chuck Morris, Ronda Rousey, Roddy Piper, the Los Angeles wrestling territory
Updated G1 Climax report with all the bouts last week, the standings and the final shows
Clash at the Castle update
Vice’s Tales from the Territory, what is and isn’t confirmed
UFC Saturday night coverage
AAA Triplemania preview and Verano de Escandalo coverage
The death of the Mexican star TNT, and a look back at a boom period for wrestling in that country
The most detailed look at the pro wrestling TV business over the past week
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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Tuesday News Update
WWE
Matches taped for Main Event this week include Tamina and Dana Brooke vs. Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H., as well as Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander vs. T-Bar and Shelton Benjamin.
The person that attacked AJ Styles during last night’s Raw has been identified as Rajan Husher, who trained at the Battle Arts Academy.
Cardi B on Twitter wrote about the Edge and Lita pairing from 2005-6: “I used to love them….they was such a sexy ass couple …This was truly my wwe era …even tho I was a Trish Stratus girl I used to love this couple.:”
This week’s AEW Road to, which focuses on the title unification match between CM Punk and Jon Moxley.
Tony Khan on Twitter noted that the Dynamite episode featuring Jon Moxley vs. Chris Jericho for the interim AEW World Championship match did record viewership on ITV4.
Lenny Leonard, longtime announcer on the independent scene, announced on Twitter that he has decided to step away from wrestling going forward. “After close to 2 decades I just think it’s time to call it a day,” he wrote. “Evolve being sold to WWE and the pandemic closing Japan off to me for the last 3 years pretty much put the wheels for this day in motion a while back. There are only so many spots for announcers on the indy scene and it was very clear that there was not going to be a spot for me being part of one of the televised companies. I’m not using the word retire, not because I plan on coming back, but because wrestling announcing was never my career, but simply something I did.”
After NJPW listed him returning on the upcoming Burning Spirit tour, Alex Coughlin on Twitter wrote there had been a miscommunication issue and wouldn’t be returning to the ring just yet. “Sorry if anyone got excited but there was some sort of miscommunication, I won’t be ready to return to the ring for a little while longer- Recovery is going well though, I’m doing everything I can. I WILL be back though, and I will be stronger than ever… eventually.”
Pro Wrestling NOAH will allow vocal crowd noise for their October 30 show. Social distancing will remain intact and those in attendance are requested to wear non-woven masks.
Stan Hansen will be present for the upcoming Triple Crown title match between Suwama and Kento Miyahara at All Japan Pro Wrestling’s event on September 18.
Michael Elgin has reportedly been arrested in Japan.
Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net reported that Elgin was arrested last weekend in Japan for stealing protein powder and has remained in jail since. The report noted that Elgin could face up to five years in jail.
Elgin was on tour with Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he was one half of the GHC Tag Team Champions with Masa Kitamiya. On July 9, NOAH announced that Elgin would be unable to compete in an upcoming card in Shizuoka. On July 12, they announced that Elgin would also miss the Budokan Hall event set for July 16 and the titles were vacated as a result. Timothy Thatcher and Hideki Suzuki ended up winning the titles, defeating Kitamiya and Yoshiki Inamura.
Prior to returning to NOAH in April, Elgin had only wrestled sporadically since 2020 following Speaking Out allegations made against him. He has previously worked for Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and Impact Wrestling.
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.
Timothy Thatcher has debuted for Pro Wrestling NOAH.
The 39-year-old performed on the promotion’s Star Navigation 2022 event from Korakuen Hall on Tuesday. He was revealed as the mystery teammate of Hideki Suzuki, Takashi Sugiura, Rene Duprée and Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. in a 10-man tag team match. Their opponents were Go Shiozaki, Kaito Kiyomiya, Michael Elgin, Masa Kitamiya, and Yoshiki Inamura.
Thatcher picked up the win for his team by making Inamura submit to a Fujiwara arm bar.
NOAH will be back in Korakuen Hall on Wednesday. Thatcher has been scheduled to face Shuhei Taniguchi in singles action on the show.
The promotion is building to CyberFight Festival on June 12 from the Saitama Super Arena.
Thatcher was released from WWE on January 5 after having debuted for the promotion in April of 2020. Since leaving the company, he has performed for Defy, GCW, West Coast Pro Wrestling, and at WrestleCon.
Michael Elgin is making his return to Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Pro Wrestling NOAH has announced that Elgin will return to the promotion later this month, marking the first time he’s wrestled for them since 2020. Elgin will face Masa Kitamiya at night two of NOAH’s Majestic 2022 event on Saturday, April 30.
Majestic 2022 is taking place at Sumo Hall in Tokyo and will air live on Wrestle Universe.
Elgin wrestled for Pro Wrestling NOAH three times from 2019-2020.
This February, Elgin filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Impact Wrestling after being removed from Impact programming in June 2020 following allegations made against him during the #SpeakingOut movement. Elgin also claimed that Impact prevented him from working for Pro Wrestling NOAH in December 2020, damaging his reputation in Japan.
Impact announced on June 22, 2020 that Joey Ryan and Dave Crist’s contracts had been terminated after #SpeakingOut allegations and Elgin had been suspended pending a further investigation. Four days later, it was announced that Elgin would not be appearing in any future Impact programming.
Elgin claimed that Impact made it seem like he was fired by the promotion after an investigation. Elgin’s lawsuit against Impact alleges that Scott D’Amore told Elgin via email that “”the company’s decision not to utilize you in further programming was not based on any investigation beyond the public disclosures (and your responses thereto) at the time.”
Elgin was kept under contract with Impact despite not being used. The contract was set to expire this month, but Elgin said he became a free agent earlier than expected due to Impact not paying him since February because of the lawsuit.
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].
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.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
Garrett Gonzalez and I will be talking about the Observer Hall of Fame voting and the latest news for Wrestling Observer Radio later today. Bryan and I will be talking about UFC and the weekend wrestling shows tomorrow night.
The Hall of Fame issue of the Observer, one of the biggest of the year, is now out. We have a huge story on the balloting, including how many votes everyone got this year and last, all the first ballot Hall of Famers in history, the highest voting percentages in history, as well as how the candidates did with historians, reporters, wrestlers and retired wrestlers and industry professionals. We also have the most detailed look at the MLW lawsuit against WWE against WWE. We also look at the plans for WrestleMania and how they have changed, New Japan vs. NOAH, lots of AEW contract updates, the most four-star matches in 2021 and of all-time, a feature on Shozo “Strong” Kobayashi, one of the biggest stars in Japan of the 70s, Is there a WWE succession plan, injury updates and ticket sales.
The 2/19 PPV from Saudi Arabia will be the Elimination Chamber. They have been batting around ideas regarding changing the name. Elimination Chamber and Saudi Arabia kind of opens things up to potential ridicule and at one point today the plan was to call the match WrestleMania Chamber. At this point the name is “The Annual Elimination Chamber.”
Pro Wrestling NOAH announced Kaito Kiyomiya, Yoshinari Ogawa, Junta Miyawaki, Yoshiki Inamura, Kinya Okada, Yasutaka Yano, Super Crazy, Tadasuke, Daiki Inaba and Masato Tanaka are off Sunday’s show in Sendai. The reasons are either having tested positive or being in close contact with someone who did. Kiyomiya said that he tested positive. Tanaka didn’t test positive but was feeling very sick. The Sunday show airs on Wrestle Universe at 1 a.m. Eastern headlined by Katsuhiko Nakajima defending the GHC title against Masa Kitamiya
Smackdown tonight is from Omaha. They have better ticket sales than most shows in recent weeks. Announced is Sami Zayn doing his own stunt show to prove he can do things better than Johnny Knoxville. There will be a Seth Rollins-Roman Reigns face-to-face. Aliyah returns to face Natalya. Lita also returns to television on tonight’s show.
AEW Rampage tonight has Adam Cole vs. Trent Barreta, Andrew Everett vs . Shawn Spears, Leyla Hirsch & Red Velvet & Kris Statlander vs Penelope Ford & The Bunny & Nyla Rose, and Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy defend the tag titles against John Silver & Alex Reynolds. We were told this was great, better than anything on Dynamite.
The state of Yucatan in Mexico announced new restrictions including no massive public events until 2/15. Not sure what that means for the 1/30 tapings in Merida which was to feature FTR defending the AAA tag titles against somebody. It was originally Penta & Fenix but Fenix is injured. The local promoters has said they’ve been told they can still run the show saying the restrictions don’t apply to pro sports events. Penta tabbed it as 99 percent that Fenix won’t be able to wrestle by 1/30. All those in attendance have to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test. A KDNA promotion show in Monterrey tonight was canceled.(thanks to TheCubsFan)
We’re looking for reports this weekend from tonight’s Smackdown tapings in Omaha, tomorrow’s show in Fargo, ND and Sunday in Sioux Falls,SD to [email protected]
Demonic Flamita in his social media indicated he tested positive for COVID.
WWE
WWE will open Raw on Monday with a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. set to John Legend’s “Never Break.”
The Houston Chronicle has a story on independent wrestler Ninja Mack.
A story on J Robinson, the famed University of Minnesota wrestling coach who had Brock Lesnar, Shelton Benjamin and others on his teams over the years. He was also a college roommate of future pro wrestling star Gerald Brisco.
ISPW tonight in Totowa, NJ at the Totowa PAL with Danny Morrison, managed by Maven, against Bull James, plus Jimmy Hart, Matt Sydal, Crowbar, LSG and Cheeseburger appear.
IWA from Saturday night at the Sawtell, Australia RSL Club: Donnie Mako b Kai Drake, Party Juan b Jude London, Kingsley b Jessica Troy, Tree Hugger Luchi & Sam Osborne & Will Kiedis b Larry Kelly & Matt Call way & Phil Woods in an elimination match (thanks to Kirk Beat tie)
NFC on Saturday at 7 p.m. at The District in Atlanta with Shamel Findley vs. Romondo Scott.
Biff Busick, the former Oney Lorcan, returns to Beyond Wrestling on 2/4 at Fete Music in Providence, RI.
Matt Cardona appears for AIW Wrestling on 2/11 at the Odeon Concert Club in Cleveland, OH.
West Coast Pro streams live tonight on IWTV at 10 p.m. Eastern from South San Francisco:
Homicide vs. Jacob Fatu
Nicole Savoy vs. Masha Slamovich
Mike Bailey vs. Aramis vs. Rey Horus
Davey Richards vs.;Kevin Blackwood
AJ Gray vs. Juicy Finau
Bryan Keith vs. Vinnie Massaro
Titus Alexander vs. Adrian Quest vs. Kenny King vs. TJP
Wrestling Observer Live with Mike Sempervive and pro wrestling champion “Filthy” Tom Lawlor is back on a Tuesday with tons to talk about including Saturday’s AEW Battle of the Belts rating, incredible NFL booking and day three of Wrestle Kingdom 16 featuring New Japan-NOAH.
We also give an update on the Punk Pops box for sale on eBay and our brief thoughts on Monday’s edition of WWE Raw.
Pro Wrestling NOAH has revealed KENTA’s match for their New Year’s Day show at Budokan Hall.
KENTA will team with Kazushi Sakuraba & Takashi Sugiura in a six-man tag team match against Daiki Inaba, Masa Kitamiya & Yoshiki Inamura at NOAH’s The New Year 2022. The show is taking place on Saturday, January 1 and will be available live on NOAH’s Wrestle Universe streaming service.
It was announced on November 28 that NJPW’s KENTA would be taking part in NOAH’s Budokan Hall show. It will be the first time KENTA’s wrestled for NOAH since 2018, when he returned to the company to face Naomichi Marufuji at Marufuji’s 20th anniversary event. KENTA was still with WWE then. He joined NJPW after departing WWE in 2019.
KENTA is currently the IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion in NJPW.
The Budokan Hall show is taking place in advance of the NJPW vs. Pro Wrestling NOAH supercard at Wrestle Kingdom 16 night three. Wrestle Kingdom 16 night three is being held at Yokohama Arena on Saturday, January 8.
NOAH’s New Year’s Day show will be headlined by Katsuhiko Nakajima defending his GHC Heavyweight Championship against Go Shiozaki. Here’s the full card for the event:
GHC Heavyweight Champion Katsuhiko Nakajima defends against Go Shiozaki
GHC National Champion Kenoh defends against Kaito Kiyomiya
KENTA, Kazushi Sakuraba & Takashi Sugiura vs. Daiki Inaba, Masa Kitamiya & Yoshiki Inamura
GHC Tag Team Champions Keiji Mutoh & Naomichi Marufuji defend against Masato Tanaka & Masaaki Mochizuki
GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion HAYATA defends against Yoshinari Ogawa
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.
Keiji Mutoh has signed a two-year contract with Pro Wrestling NOAH after winning the GHC Heavyweight title.
During a joint press conference with new DDT KO-D Openweight champion Jun Akiyama, Mutoh confirmed that he has joined the NOAH roster full time for the next two years. When the contract ends, Mutoh will be 60 years old.
Akiyama, 51, announced that he has joined the DDT roster on a full-time basis. He won the KO-D title Sunday morning at Kawasaki Strong 2021, pinning champion Tetsuya Endo. NOAH and DDT are under the same parent company, CyberAgent.
Mutoh won the championship at Budokan Hall on February 12th, pinning Go Shiozaki to win the championship for the first time. Kaito Kiyomiya came out and challenged Mutoh after the match. The match has now been announced for the March 14th Great Voyage in Fukuoka show.
With his GHC Heavyweight title win, Mutoh has become the third person to win the IWGP Heavyweight, AJPW Triple Crown, and GHC Heavyweight titles, the other two being Kensuke Sasaki and Yoshihiro Takayama.
