"The Great Muta" Keiji Muto

[elliott]

31 minutes ago, Boss Rock said:

Muto is someone I plan to a deeper dive on because he definitely seems like a controversial pick. From the little I've seen, wrestling as himself he could be great but as Muta he relied too much on the gimmick and charisma. And while I haven't seen any of the matches, his current run as NOAH champ has been super polarizing.

 

So you're saying he should've been Muta full time? I agree

[Boss Rock]

[El-P]

On 5/30/2021 at 11:14 PM, elliott said:

Anyone gonna go to bat for Muto?

I will. Eventually. Been going through quite a bit of NJPW 90's, and with the hindsight of what's coming up later in his career which I intend to revisit too (meaning mostly his AJ/interpromotional stuff, as I've seen most of the later NJPW Tanahashi era matches not long ago), including him still having some compelling performances at past 58 years old in NOAH, there's no way he's not going in. A wrestler with just way too many genius ideas and instinct, maybe too conceptual for his own good sometimes, but I'm big on creativity and pushing things forward. And sometimes I'm just in awe on what he's coming up with, and I realize I was SO wrong on some of his stuff before (the two Takada matches for instance). Wizard is not a gimmick, it's a fact.

[Ma Stump Puller]

Impossible for Muto to not have a spot in the middle of my personal top 100. Wasn't the biggest fan of him in his prime as I thought he sometimes had too much to do in the ring and not enough to actually hone in on in particular: he has some nice matches here and there but there's definitely a sense that he's doing a lot but not really at the same time: he does a lot of leg work to really no real endgame and tends to be pretty meh outside of his usual big spots and agility. Starting early 2000's, he finally GETS it. Hones in on the leg work, slows himself down to big sequences rather than just the whole match of him flinging himself around, but makes sure to innovate when it matters. He's had his fair share of omega bleh matches but Big Match Muto is incredible, a true innovative icon who truly reinvented the big match structure. I think people tend to credit guys like Marufuji and KENTA a bit too much when it comes to stuff like that when I think Muto was equal in influence, if not more, by his over the top, flashy style and presentation. You see it a lot in the generations who come after him.

I was probably one of the few people who thought his 2021 NOAH title stint was good tbh, so maybe that's just me being bias lol. Get Muto to slow down a bit and he can really tell a story, and seeing him at the very end of his tether having to drag wins from younger, hungrier talent with just his experience and wit alone is very gripping stuff, despite his obvious limitations. 

 

 

 

[Reel]

I'm up in the air about Mutoh, because when he's bad, he's real bad, but I think the 2021 run is a feather in his cap. Is it a good 'top of the card in a major promotion' run? I don't think so, but as a 'nearly 60, post-prime run' it's been pretty good. 

[Chess Knight]

I've been a Mutoh denier for over a decade but I do like the late 80s/early 90s WCW run (plus he was pretty great in the G-1 Vader match), so it's not impossible there are more spurts of his career that win me over. A decent sized match list of post-91 Mutoh would be cool if someone wants to make the case for him.

I don't really like the term "lazy" but he seemed unmotivated at the strangest of times. I think it was the Hashimoto match in April of 95 where he missed a moonsault and just....laid there on his stomach...looking around? Like he wasn't selling stomach or even making a grimacing face, he just did the wrestling version of starfishing in bed. It was weird, and I remember going through the 92 and 93 yearbooks years ago and seeing similar things. 

[Ma Stump Puller]

As of recently, I would also suggest watching his first Retirement Series match with Kiyomiya. Even if his 2021 style is extremely polarising, I think most can agree that Muto uses incredibly strong storytelling that he didn't really have at that level in his prime to enhance his ring quality WAY more than it should be for a 60 year old wrestling. Kaito is fantastic in his own right, but Muto definitely deserves his flowers in that match as well given how well they work together.

 

[club]

Reading this thread, Muto seems as divisive as ever. I love the guy.

Bad first - there are plenty letdowns, particularly in the late 90s. 

Right then with that out the way, as a mega charismatic dude working within his limits, knowing when to hit his big spots and mugging it up he's S-tier. I’d rate his greatest hits very very highly. Some great matches in the 90s, some great spectacles as Muta, and his 00s reinvention was fabulous. He really understood his physical limitations and was able to build around them and let his star presence shine through.

A match that never gets much pro-wrestling love (pun intended) is his 2007 TC match vs Minoru Suzuki. It's on GAORA's YT channel now. Well worth the time.

[Mantaur Rodeo Clown]

Don't understand anyone not considering him for top 100. Consistency obviously has a place, but when a wrestler's ceiling is THAT high, if they have THAT sort of command of a crowd for so long, they're one of the greats. See: Okada, Nakamura, Orton

I don't think lazy is ever the right term. No pro wrestler is lazy. There are much easier way to be lazy than take bumps every single week. You just work yourself into the bosses ear, or you stay at home for months due to creative differences. Lazy is Kevin Nash in WCW. It's Miro in AEW. The more correct term is unambitious. Nakamura has an over act, Orton has an over finish, why mess with an all-time great formula. Keiji Mutoh had the fans hooked just on pure presence and aura. Because he was that good.

Revisited some of the Tenryu matches in '99. Just good plain fun with surly old man Tenryu against Norwood 4 Mutoh. Then the spectacle slop brawls with Jinsei Shinzaki and Liger.

The 2002 Kawada match another classic in his renaissance, where he was probably more influential than we give him credit for, in terms of pacing, momentum and big finishes.

 

[Boss Rock]

Would someone be able to provide a rundown of Muto's best matches?

[G. Badger]

On 7/7/2025 at 11:26 AM, Boss Rock said:

Would someone be able to provide a rundown of Muto's best matches?

I'm definitely in the camp of good/bad Muto but he's definitely grown on me now that I've seen more of his career. The NWA matches are the best that I've seen of him in the U.S. but maybe there's better ones? Here's a list of his best stuff imo.

Nobuhiko Takada & Akira Maeda vs Keiji Mutoh & Shiro Koshinaka (NJPW 03/20/87)
Takada & Maeda vs Mutoh & Koshinaka (NJPW 03/26/87)
Muta vs Sting (WCW/NWA 09/01/89)
Flair vs Muta (WCW/NWA 11/25/89)
Muta vs Sting (WCW/NWA Starrcade 1989 12/13/89)
Great Muta vs Hiroshi Hase (NJPW 09/14/90) Much better than the Muta Scale '92 match
Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono vs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (NJ 11/1/90)
Keiji Muto vs Masa Chono (NJPW G-1 Climax 08/11/91)
Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase vs Bam Bam Bigelow & Vader (03/01/92 NJPW)
Big Van Vader & Bam Bam Bigelow vs Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase (NJ 5/1/92)
Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase vs Masahiro Chono & Shinya Hashimoto (NJ 11/4/93)
Steiner Brothers vs. Keiji Muto & Hiroshi Hase (01/04/95 NJPW)
Keiji Muto vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW G-1 Climax 08/15/95)
Genichiro Tenryu vs Great Muta (WAR 10/11/96)
Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Muto (NJPW 05/03/99)
Genichiro Tenryu  vs. Keiji Mutoh (AJPW 06/08/2001)
Keiji Muto vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW G-1 Climax 08/12/01)
Keiji Mutoh vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 02/24/02)
Toshiaki Kawada & Masanobu Fuchi vs Keiji Muto & Satoshi Kojima (AJPW 04/12/03)
Kaz Hayashi VS Keiji Muto (AJPW 10/24/10)

I think people have softened their opinion on Muto over the years as tapes gave way to DVD which gave way to reliable high speed internet. It's easier to come across very good to great Muto matches which help fill in the gaps between the great-classic matches listed above.  That said he does have some low-lows where you have to wonder, " what the hell is he thinking!? "

Personally I'm interested in seeing more of him in the 90's to see what his day-to-day matches were like. 

[Boss Rock]

2 hours ago, G. Badger said:

I'm definitely in the camp of good/bad Muto but he's definitely grown on me now that I've seen more of his career. The NWA matches are the best that I've seen of him in the U.S. but maybe there's better ones? Here's a list of his best stuff imo.

Nobuhiko Takada & Akira Maeda vs Keiji Mutoh & Shiro Koshinaka (NJPW 03/20/87)
Takada & Maeda vs Mutoh & Koshinaka (NJPW 03/26/87)
Muta vs Sting (WCW/NWA 09/01/89)
Flair vs Muta (WCW/NWA 11/25/89)
Muta vs Sting (WCW/NWA Starrcade 1989 12/13/89)
Great Muta vs Hiroshi Hase (NJPW 09/14/90) Much better than the Muta Scale '92 match
Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono vs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (NJ 11/1/90)
Keiji Muto vs Masa Chono (NJPW G-1 Climax 08/11/91)
Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase vs Bam Bam Bigelow & Vader (03/01/92 NJPW)
Big Van Vader & Bam Bam Bigelow vs Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase (NJ 5/1/92)
Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase vs Masahiro Chono & Shinya Hashimoto (NJ 11/4/93)
Steiner Brothers vs. Keiji Muto & Hiroshi Hase (01/04/95 NJPW)
Keiji Muto vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW G-1 Climax 08/15/95)
Genichiro Tenryu vs Great Muta (WAR 10/11/96)
Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Muto (NJPW 05/03/99)
Genichiro Tenryu  vs. Keiji Mutoh (AJPW 06/08/2001)
Keiji Muto vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW G-1 Climax 08/12/01)
Keiji Mutoh vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 02/24/02)
Toshiaki Kawada & Masanobu Fuchi vs Keiji Muto & Satoshi Kojima (AJPW 04/12/03)
Kaz Hayashi VS Keiji Muto (AJPW 10/24/10)

I think people have softened their opinion on Muto over the years as tapes gave way to DVD which gave way to reliable high speed internet. It's easier to come across very good to great Muto matches which help fill in the gaps between the great-classic matches listed above.  That said he does have some low-lows where you have to wonder, " what the hell is he thinking!? "

Personally I'm interested in seeing more of him in the 90's to see what his day-to-day matches were like. 

Thanks!