I agree on the points about Mutoh being disinterested. I seem to remember a Mutoh/Kawada match for the Triple Crown that Kawada won after an intense match. Kawada wins and is lying on the mat totally exhausted. Mutoh lays there for a few seconds, rolls out of the ring, and strolls up the ramp while Kawada is STILL selling!!
That being said I'm still a big Mutoh fan. It seems he shows up for most big matches but not quite consistently for others. I loved the Hashimoto G1 final and the Triple Crown win over Tenryu. I also dug his G1 match with Nagata around 2000, I believe.