On February 21, 2023, pro wrestling great Keiji Muto, also known around the world as the Great Muta, wrestled the final bout of his Grand Final: Pro-Wrestling “Last” Love, losing to both Tetsuya Naito and Masahiro Chono (who was also wrestling his retirement match) to end a historic, near four-decade career. In light of this moment, we dug into the archives to present the full spectrum of Muto’s work in the squared circle. From the early days of the Great Muta in the NWA to the debut of the Shining Wizard, here are five great Keiji Muto matches.
Dick Slater and the Great Muta vs. Ric Flair and Sting
Clash of the Champions VIII: Fall Brawl ’89, September 12
This was in the midst of the supernova-hot J-Tex Corporation vs. Ric Flair and Sting feud that dominated the second half of 1989 in the NWA. Dick Slater was a last-minute replacement for Terry Funk, who had a staph infection in his arm. Slater is a perfectly fine Kirkland-brand Terry Funk; they both do a lot of the same bumping and offense, and if you squint, Slater totally passes, although it is kind of like replacing Steph Curry with Jordan Poole. This was the first time the Great Muta and Flair had ever matched up, and they had electricity that never really manifested itself in a singles match (their televised matches were good but not great, and hopefully footage of the house show matches between these two will turn up some day). Muta’s physical intensity pushed Flair, and they would just go after each other every time they were in the ring together.
The crowd was hot for every interaction in this match, and all four men in the ring kept a breakneck pace; the match included a 1989 lucha dive train, with Muta hitting a pescado on Flair, Sting following up with a pescado of his own, and Slater just kind of stumbling over the top rope into the fray. There were two great heat sections in this bout: one on Flair, leading to a big Sting hot tag, and one on Sting, after Gary Hart drilled him with a roll of quarters, which led to Flair running roughshod when he was tagged in. (Flair didn’t really work a ton of babyface tag matches, but, man, he is great as a babyface getting tagged in to clear the ring.) The finish was totally gnarly: Muta took out Sting with the deadly yellow mist, and Slater used an arm cast to bust Flair open (and bump the ref). Funk then comes barreling from the back with a plastic bag and tries to suffocate Flair with it; it was one of the more brutal angles of the 1980s, one which got a bunch of people in trouble with WTBS. It was an ultimate “Kids, don’t try this at home” moment.
Keiji Muto vs. Big Van Vader
NJPW Violent Storm in Kokugikan, August 1991
This is part of the legendary 1991 G1 Climax tournament, which would mark the passing of the torch to the Three Musketeers (Masahiro Chono, Shinya Hashimoto, and Muto). Professionally shot footage of this match doesn’t exist, but luckily for us, someone snuck in a handheld camera. This was really a stylistic precursor to the incredible Sting vs. Vader series that would begin a year later. Vader, the rampaging beast, clobbered Muto with straight, brutal punches to the face, rib-splintering avalanches and splashes, and huge bombs and throws. Meanwhile, Muto had to use his agility and speed to stick and move, hoping he could either survive long enough to tire Vader out or catch him slipping. It was basically the wrestling version of the Rumble in the Jungle, with Muto replacing Ali’s jabs with springboard dropkicks and handspring elbows.
There were a couple of huge highlights in the match. Vader tried to crush Muto against the guardrail but missed, and Muto followed up with his handspring elbow on the floor. Muto later went for the same move in the ring, and Vader snatched him out of the air mid-handspring and obliterated him with a German suplex. If you told me that Muto retired directly after that move instead of 32 years later, I would believe you. The finish was very cool; Vader went for an avalanche in the corner but dinged his knee, and Muto then hit him with a crossbody, which Vader caught, but his knee buckled a bit, and Muto was able to spin him into a roll-up for the pin. The crowd responded by showering the ring with seat cushions to show their appreciation for the spectacle of it all.
Keiji Muto vs. Shinya Hashimoto
NJPW G1 Climax 1995, August 15
This was the final of the 1995 G1 Climax, and it was really the moment where Muto took the pole position among the Three Musketeers. Muto had defeated Hashimoto for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship earlier in the year, and here, he took down his rival once again to win his first (and only) G1 Climax title. This was a slow-burn heavyweight slugfest. Both guys had gone through grueling tournament blocks to get to this point; Muto had a bandage on his forehead after it was busted open multiple times during the tournament.
They started on the mat, going after body parts, with Muto trying to take out Hashimoto’s knee to lessen the impact of his whipsaw kicks and Hashimoto working over Muto’s shoulder. The match continued to build to a huge climax, where Muto went for a moonsault, but Hashimoto moved. Muto landed on his feet but was met with a violent leg sweep that sent him flying. Hashimoto planted Muto with a DDT, and the impact reopened the wound on Muto’s forehead. Hashimoto went for the brainbuster, but Muto shifted enough that they both landed awkwardly. Hashimoto inexplicably went to the top rope and tried an elbow but missed. Muto then sprung to the top and tried a moonsault but crashed and burned. Both wrestlers slowly climbed to their feet and gave viewers an incredible standoff, like a pair of grizzled gunfighters in a spaghetti western. It felt like the next big move would end the match, and Muto struck first, whipping off a hurricanrana; he then sprung to the top rope and hit two big moonsaults for the win and the trophy. It was a classic NJPW heavyweight match, the kind of grueling battle in which legends are made, and it was possibly the best example of the Three Musketeers’ wrestling, showing the drama and skill the group brought to wrestling at the time.
Great Muta vs. Jinsei Shinzaki
NJPW Battle Formation in Tokyo Dome, April 1996
This was part of the huge Tokyo Dome show that was main-evented by Shinya Hashimoto vs. Nobuhiko Takada in an NJPW vs. UWFi inter-promotional war. Inter-promotional battles were the theme of the whole show, so we got this first-time battle between NWA/WCW’s mystical Japanese character and the WWF’s version of that archetype. The best Japanese Great Muta matches were all about spectacle, and this was one hell of a spectacle. Shinzaki came to the ring bathed in white light, with Buddhist shakyo all over his body; the story of this match was that Hakushi was a warrior monk who was coming to New Japan to cleanse it of its homegrown demon. When Shinzaki came to the ring, he unveiled a wooden grave marker to place on Muta’s final resting spot.
This was a match about individual memorable moments rather than ultimate coherence, but the big moments were big. After some initial feeling out, Muta was able to launch Shinzaki backward off the ring apron, hard over the guardrail, and through a table. It looked extremely painful and is one of the most natural table spots I ever remember seeing. Muta followed him and spiked him through a table with a piledriver. Muta then grabbed Shinzaki’s wooden grave marker, broke it in half, and used the jagged pieces to carve up Shinzaki’s forehead; soon, Shinzaki’s white monk’s garb was completely stained red. The bout was a bloody mess going forward; Muta wrapped the crimson Shinzaki’s white belt around his neck and wrote the kanji for “die” in blood on the shattered grave marker. Shinzaki got one big burst of offense in as he ducked Muta’s mist, sent Muta to the floor, and blasted him with chair shots before nailing Muta with his gorgeous Space Flying Tiger Drop handspring moonsault, which was an amazing visual in a huge Tokyo Dome while he was covered in vibrant red blood. Shinzaki then hit a missile shoulder block and a praying headbutt. However, when Shinzaki went for his praying powerbomb finisher, he got a face full of poison green mist. Cue the backbreaker and the moonsault and the win for the Great Muta. It was a total vibes match, and not a ton happened, but the things that did happen were awesome.
Keiji Muto vs. Genichiro Tenryu
AJPW Super Power Series 2001, June 8
This bout featured a reinvented Muto, with a shaved head, goatee, and the Shining Wizard. He came into the match representing NJPW in an inter-promotional battle with All Japan Pro Wrestling original Genichiro Tenryu, who had recently returned to help AJPW after Giant Baba passed away and Mitsuhara Misawa left the promotion (and took most of the roster with him). Most wrestling fans had written Muto off as a top worker after a bunch of semi-listless years as part of nWo Japan and a desultory stint in the spiraling Vince Russo era of WCW. His “Pro-Wrestling Love” era was his Chris Paul–on-the-Suns moment, showing everyone that he still could go out there and deliver at a high level.
This match involved two master performers who may have lost some of their athleticism but still had their abilities to craft a story and find those moments. Muto came out blazing, hitting a quick dropkick to the head and one to the knee. He then grabbed Tenryu by the leg to set up a Dragon Screw, only for Tenryu to block and grab a leg of his own. Muto then jumped up and cracked him with the Shining Wizard. Muto followed that up with a backbreaker and ran for a moonsault, only for Tenryu to take a powder. They did a great job of establishing Muto’s quick-strike ability, showing that the Shining Wizard was a death move, and letting people know that he could dim your lights with just one.
The match slowed down a bit after that initial burst, and they built to a second crescendo. Muto sent Tenryu to the floor with a kappo kick and almost hit a Shining Wizard plancha, driving his knee into Tenryu’s skull. Muto tried to bring him back into the ring with a suplex, but instead, Tenryu hit a brainbuster on the ring apron, which is an unbelievable spot for 2001, especially for someone to be taking at the stage that Muto was in his career. Tenryu then landed a lumbering but forceful tope suicida. They both stumbled to their feet, but as Tenryu tried to get back to the ring, Muto flung him off with a Dragon Screw to the floor. Muto hit a dropkick off the apron right to the knee, which became his target for the remainder of the match, going after the leg with dropkicks and Dragon Screws while Tenryu continued to attempt big moves, like a spider German suplex and a sheer drop brainbuster. Tenryu, 51 at this point, even hit a top rope hurricanrana, not a move traditionally in his bag. Muto, however, was able to block a brainbuster with a knee to the head, which stunned Tenryu. A kappo kick by Muto set up another Shining Wizard, which only got Muto a two count, but the writing was on the wall. Muto hit the Shining Wizard again, and Tenryu barely lifted his shoulder. Muto then went old school and hit his backbreaker and a moonsault to get the win and capture the Triple Crown. This was a real statement by both wrestlers, showing what they could do when it looked like time had passed them by. This match ended up winning the Wrestling Observer Match of the Year in 2001, and while there were a lot of great wrestling matches that year, it is hard to argue against it.
Phil Schneider is a cofounder of the Death Valley Driver Video Review, a writer on the Segunda Caida blog, host of The Way of the Blade podcast, and the author of Way of the Blade: 100 of the Greatest Bloody Matches in Wrestling History, which is available on Amazon. He is on Twitter at @philaschneider.