10 Things Fans Should Know About The Great Muta
Easily one of the first Japanese stars to make an impression on a wide audience of Western wrestling fans growing up in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Keiji Mutoh — otherwise known as The Great Muta — is a legend in the sport. Since debuting in 1984, he’s put on memorable matches in WCW, New Japan Pro Wrestling, All Japan Pro-Wrestling, and more recently in Pro Wrestling NOAH.
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A top star in Japan, the highly decorated Muta is definitely a wrestler fans should be aware of, so let’s cover the career of the icon and some crucial facts fans need to know.
10 Debuted His Gimmick In The US
Trained in the New Japan Dojo, Keiji Mutoh had several excursions to the United States in the mid-to-late 1980s, working under names like White Ninja and Super Black Ninja. But when he came to WCW in 1989, he adopted the persona of The Great Muta. Presented as the son of another notable Japanese wrestler in the US, the Great Kabuki, Muta ended up beating Sting to capture the NWA World Television Championship, holding the belt for four months. Following his excursion, Mutoh would periodically return to the US over the years, but only ever under his Great Muta persona.
9 The Great Muta Is An Alter Ego
Because of the above, Great Muta is pretty much the default persona for Western wrestling fans. However, the same is not true in Japan. Once his US excursion was finished, it was Keiji Mutoh who returned to NJPW, though he would introduce the Great Muta gimmick to fans after about five months. In the years that followed, Great Muta would essentially function like Finn Balor in the 2010s, where the alternate persona would manifest for big matches.
8 Iconic Moves
One of Great Muta’s iconic moves was the Poison Mist, where he’d spray a colored liquid in the face of opponents — of course, while the referee wasn’t looking. While it’s associated with Muta, it was actually the aforementioned Great Kabuki who innovated the move. However, he did innovate a couple of maneuvers that have been adopted by other wrestlers.
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One such move is his bridging Muta Lock submission, which Tenille Dashwood (formerly known as WWE’s Emma) uses as a finisher. More common, however, is the Shining Wizard, which has been used by AJ Lee, Nixon Newell (formerly WWE’s Tegan Nox), and Adam Cole.
7 The Three Musketeers
Keiji Mutoh, Shinya Hashimoto, and Masahiro Chono all came through the NJPW Dojo at the same time, and found themselves all on excursion in Puerto Rico. There, they formed a trio called The Three Musketeers, a name that stuck as all three ended up becoming top stars who defined New Japan in the 1990s. Over the years, all three men would capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and win the G1 Climax at least once.
6 Four-Time IWGP Heavyweight Champion
In August of 1992, Keiji Mutoh — in his Great Muta persona — beat top NJPW star Riki Choshu to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the first time. On the 400-day run that ensued, Mutoh would rely on Great Muta to successfully defend the title — that is, until he finally dropped the belt to Shinya Hashimoto. Two more title runs would follow in the 1990s, and a fourth would happen in 2008 while Mutoh was working for All Japan (see below).
5 The Muta Scale
During his first reign with the IWGP Heavy belt, Mutoh (as Great Muta) took on Hiroshi Hase in a non-title singles match that would go down in history. Muta would come out on top in the acclaimed 23-minute effort, but in the process bled all over the place to unprecedented levels. The match would be the standard by which blood in wrestling would be judged, with fans creating The Muta Scale to quantify just how bloody a match got. For example, a 0.0 would mean no blood, while a 1.0 would mean there was as much blood as in the Muta vs. Hase match.
4 Member of nWo Japan
The year 1996 saw Masahiro Chono turn heel and found nWo Japan, a NJPW counterpart to WCW’s white-hot faction. A feud with Keiji Mutoh would ensue, during which Mutoh would frequently tease joining the group — so much that sometimes Mutoh fought alongside the nWo in his Great Muta persona, while opposing them as Mutoh.
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Eventually, he went full hell and finally joined the group, assuming leadership after Chono got injured. This change in leader would result in nWo Japan turning babyface, and naturally a feud ensued when the heel Chono returned from injury.
3 Defected To All Japan Pro Wrestling
In 2002, a year-long storyline rivalry between New Japan and All Japan would end with Keiji Mutoh legitimately jumping ship to AJPW. There, Mutoh would not only become president of the promotion, but would enjoy in-ring success, becoming a three-time Triple Crown Champion and winning three iterations of the Champion Carnival, a tournament not unlike the G1 Climax. He’d also become a double-champion, defeating Shinsuke Nakamura to capture his aforementioned fourth IWGP Heavyweight Championship in 2008.
2 Founder of WRESTLE-1
Backstage leadership changes in All Japan Pro Wrestling led to Keiji Mutoh quitting the company in 2013, sparking a mass exodus of Muta loyalists including former WCW cruiserweight Kaz Hayashi, former NJPW star Minoru Tanaka, and future NJPW star Sanada. Mutoh would form his own promotion, WRESTLE-1, bringing along those aforementioned AJPW expats. There, he’d have a 127-day run as WRESTLE-1 Champion, forge a working relationship with Impact Wrestling, and eventually transferred his power to Hayashi while continuing to work with the company.
1 GHC Heavyweight Champion
In late 2019, Keiji Mutoh started making somewhat regular appearances for Pro Wrestling NOAH, which increased in the years that followed. In February 2021, he surprised fans by beating top star Go Shiozaki to capture the company’s top belt, the GHC Heavyweight Championship, at the age of 58. His 114 day run would end at the hands of NOAH ace Naomichi Marufuji, but the two would later team up to win the GHC Tag Team Title.
