|
https://youtu.be/IdNVXxvOFy0?si=Aq82T1t_gPZ-GF0l Welcome to the second monthly Wrestler of the Month! This month we honor the recently retired for real Keiji Muto or The Great Muta, the best wrestler ever. Wikipedia has more on his long illustrious career.. A true pioneer in wrestling with his flashy style in japan and his Muta style in America. Hes was a champion everywhere he went and is a true superstar. Heres a few tasty matches to get you started. vs Bob Sapp https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Sb411B7TH/ Come for the dancing, stay for the Powerbombs vs Hiroshi Hase https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5huce One of the most bloody matches of all time, but this is not their bloodiest match  vs Yuji Nagata https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7f9yz2 a passing of the torch before Muto leaves for AJPW What are your thoughts on Muta? Do you like the Poison Mist or the Shining Wizard or maybe the Flashing Elbow? Oh whats that noise? Oh poo poo Honma watch out hes gunning for you! https://i.imgur.com/e4r7Egk.mp4 Muta you crazy bastard!
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2023 14:52
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 13, 2024 17:53 |
|
|
January 4th 2000, Wrestling World 2000 at the Tokyo Dome. In the co-main event Mutoh faced his generational rival Masahiro Chono in a "loser's stable disbands". Chono representing Team 2000 & Mutoh repping nWo Japan, because he'd stolen the unit from Chono. Mutoh loses & goes on hiatus in order to let his rapidly disintegrating knees (heavyweights probably need to not even do moonsaults, that's the lesson from Mutoh & Kobashi) heel up. He has a couple of matches in Japan as Great Muta, his first extended run in the gimmick since '97, & even goes for a nostalgia run in WCW. Which is slightly marred by the fact he was attached to The Dark Carnival faction At Wrestling World 2001 Keiji Mutoh returns, with a new look. His hair is gone, shaved off because he had started to bald. Instead, he's rocking a goatee because it's 2001. Later that month he also turns up in All Japan, facing Baba protégée Taiyō Kea, who'd later in the year join Mutoh in his new faction, Bad rear end Translate Trading (Japanese stable names that make little sense rule. See DG's Real Extreme Diffusion), aka BATT, a mix of NJPW guys (Mutoh, Don Frye & Shinjiro Otani), All Japan guys (Kea & Hiroshi Hase) & even a Michinoku Pro representative in Jinsei Shinzaki (who WWE fans may remember as Hakushi). In February he unleashed his new finishing move, the now-iconic Shining Wizard. BATT feuded with Team 2000, the main focus for Mutoh in New Japan, but he would also keep popping up in the post-NOAH split All Japan, we got a interpromotional dream match with Toshiaki Kawada, & then in front of a sold out Nippon Budokan he won the Triple Crown from Genichiro Tenryu, defending it against Dr Death, Scott Hall, Chono (an AJPW Budokan show headlined by 2 NJPW guys. Baba would be rolling in his grave) & Tatsumi Fujinami, while also going to the G1 semi-final, & winning AJPW's Real World Tag League AND the IWGP & AJPW Tag Team titles with Taiyo Kea. Then next year starts as always at the Dome, this time Mutoh & Hase beating Fujinami & Osamu Nishimura in a fairly forgettable upper midcard match. One week later Keiji Mutoh has announced that he is defecting full-time to All Japan. By the end of 2002 he is named President of the company by Makoto Baba, and becomes the leading shareholder & owner. Mutoh All Japan, the Pro Wrestling Love era, is kind of overlooked. NOAH was the main focus of Japanese wrestling fans in this era. But there's some great stuff, & Mutoh was in a surprising amount of it considering how cooked he seemed at the end of the '90s. Few wrestlers have reinvented their style quite so successfully when already at the top of their company. So here, have some of the best 21st century Mutoh. Mutoh vs Genichiro Tenryu, 8/6/01 - The aforementioned Triple Crown match. Mutoh isn't the only one having a bit of a renaissance, Tenryu is outstanding. Mutoh & Hase vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata, 8/10/01 - It's 4 tremendous wrestlers. A NOAH guy & an NJPW guy against BATT repping both AJPW & NJPW. And only 18 months after the AJPW/NOAH split at that. It's not the greatest thing you'll ever see but there's a lot to love. Mutoh vs Toshiaki Kawada, 24/2/02 - The wrestled in April '01 but this one is for Mutoh's Triple Crown and is the much better match. Mutoh tries to work the leg in an attempt to negate Kawada's notorious kicks. Does he succeed? Mutoh vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, 7/4/08 - New Japan send their great hope to All Japan to compete in the Champion Carnival where he shares a block with Kawada, Kea, Satoshi Kojima & of course Mutoh. It's one of the last great Mutoh singles matches, though there's one more I want to link Mutoh vs Jun Akiyama, 20/3/12 - This is right near the end of Mutoh's time in All Japan (he sells up in June 2013). Akiyama has come over from NOAH & taken control of the Triple Crown (a title he never won in his original AJPW run), beating Suwama before defending against Kea & Takao Omori. Can Mutoh reclaim this belt for All Japan? His knees are close to finally giving up the ghost even with his less intensive style but can he manage one last run? (If you watch one of these then make it the Tenryu match)
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2023 17:40
|
|
|
No surprise that I think Muta absolutely rules, because everyone should think that Muta rules. The longevity and variety in his career is almost unmatched and he had the type of finale every wrestler should dream about. I really believe that the entire ending of "Last" Love will be eventually as well-remembered as one of the greatest wrestling moments ever and spoken of in reverent whispers by people who watched it either live or close to it. I get tears in my eyes every time I watch it. A truly selfless act and one of those special moments only wrestling can create.
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2023 18:03
|
|
|
forkboy84 posted:January 4th 2000, Wrestling World 2000 at the Tokyo Dome. In the co-main event Mutoh faced his generational rival Masahiro Chono in a "loser's stable disbands". Chono representing Team 2000 & Mutoh repping nWo Japan, because he'd stolen the unit from Chono. Mutoh loses & goes on hiatus in order to let his rapidly disintegrating knees (heavyweights probably need to not even do moonsaults, that's the lesson from Mutoh & Kobashi) heel up. He has a couple of matches in Japan as Great Muta, his first extended run in the gimmick since '97, & even goes for a nostalgia run in WCW. Which is slightly marred by the fact he was attached to The Dark Carnival faction you better watch that bob sapp match i posted!
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2023 19:02
|
|
|
Muto's spasmodic elbow drop is one of the best moves in pro wrestling. What a cool guy. Is there a good writeup anywhere of his time at the helm of AJPW? Or is it an era better left forgotten? I think it's very interesting
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2023 16:19
|
|
|
The Pro Wrestling Love era is sometimes a mess, you should see the list of weird & wonderful mix of foreigners they brought in. Just look at the wonderfully named faction Roughly Obsess & Destroy. You had TAKA Michinoku and Taiyo Kea as "native" talent (& Kea is from Hawai'i but he went through the dojo) & then at various points you had The Wall, Mike Awesome, D-Lo Brown, Jamal & Rosey (Umaga & his cousin), Bull Buchanan, Rico Constantino, Justin Credible & Matt Morgan. And then they got replaced as the heel faction by Voodoo Murders who had a mostly different weird assortment of ex-WWE guys, Giant Bernard, Johnny Stamboli, Chuck Palumbo, Viscera & Rene Dupree to name some of the many. But yeah, I think it's full of hidden gems. Like there's a 2003 match with Low-Ki vs Silver King that's fantastic. Probably the best matches of Satoshi Kojima's career were in that All Japan run, before they went to NOAH we had some tremendously fun stuff with young Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kensuke Sasaki. Shuji Kondo was terrific in the Junior division. And by the backhalf of the decade you have the development of Suwama as the homegrown ace, Minoru Suzuki. I dunno, it's definitely an overlooked era & kind of underserved as far as (easily accessible) footage goes, so I don't know about any definitive retrospective on it, but it's definitely an era I think is worth a look at despite not being '90s All Japan
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2023 16:42
|
|
|
apophenium posted:Muto's spasmodic elbow drop is one of the best moves in pro wrestling. What a cool guy. the flashing elbow is so cool, gangrel stealing it made it even better. forkboy84 posted:The Pro Wrestling Love era is sometimes a mess, you should see the list of weird & wonderful mix of foreigners they brought in. Just look at the wonderfully named faction Roughly Obsess & Destroy. You had TAKA Michinoku and Taiyo Kea as "native" talent (& Kea is from Hawai'i but he went through the dojo) & then at various points you had The Wall, Mike Awesome, D-Lo Brown, Jamal & Rosey (Umaga & his cousin), Bull Buchanan, Rico Constantino, Justin Credible & Matt Morgan. And then they got replaced as the heel faction by Voodoo Murders who had a mostly different weird assortment of ex-WWE guys, Giant Bernard, Johnny Stamboli, Chuck Palumbo, Viscera & Rene Dupree to name some of the many. looking at Mutohs Tag League partners is making me want to watch all of the 2000s tournaments. The first two years are pretty normal. We got Taiyō Kea in 2001 and in 2002 Road Warrior Animal. 2003 looks like the most TEW rear end tounement ever with NOSAWA and LA Parka (Orginal), Bull Buchanon and The Wall (brother), D'Lo and Taka, Kawada and a dude with no wiki page, Mutoh and a Sumo from WAR, Kojima and Kaz Hayashi, and the winners were Justin Credible and Jamal. 2004 is even weirder with a fake GREAT MUTA (Johnny the Bull) and a real Keiji Muto, 3 differnet Love Machines, and another year of Bull Buchanan, 2005 he teams with Akebono, 2006 with Kawada, 2007 with very new Joe Doering, 2008 Ryota Hanma, and lastly 2009 with a returning from MMA retirement Masakatsu funaki. i watched this match with my breakfast not realizing that the deadly piledriver was in it and i absolutly lost my poo poo. This match ruled peak Steiners peak Orange Trunks Mutoh and Hiroshi Hash. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x83mrci
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2023 17:24
|
|
|
Is it possible to discuss Muto without bringing up his HUSTLE run, during which he impregnated Yinling the Erotic Terrorist with his infamous green mist, only for her to lay a large egg that hatched into their 500-pound sumo baby? No. No, it is not.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2023 23:39
|
|
|
delfin posted:Is it possible to discuss Muto without bringing up his HUSTLE run, during which he impregnated Yinling the Erotic Terrorist with his infamous green mist, only for her to lay a large egg that hatched into their 500-pound sumo baby? Muta is still out there misting babys to this day https://monthlypuroresu.com/features/the-great-muta-mists-a-baby-in-noah/
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2023 22:42
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 13, 2024 17:53 |
|
|
I will tell you what is not a hidden gem of the AJPW dark ages, the 2007 Tag League final of Muto and Joe Doering vs Satoshi Kojima and Suwama. The match is not bad just lacking in heat. Heres some footage maybe 300 people have seen. https://i.imgur.com/rwZZMOv.mp4 https://i.imgur.com/T4dpLrA.mp4 https://i.imgur.com/oJP8yNo.mp4 One of the weak parts of the match is Joe, he looks very out of place in there and his promo after winning the most Prestigeous Tag Team Tournement is extrmemly low energy. He does do some cool moves, spiral bomb, spear, argentine back breaker but not enough to make up for his weird presence. Muto what is my final rating https://i.imgur.com/yjY7QUx.mp4
|
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2023 16:52
|
|