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Return to: Sheriff Lonestar's PPV of the Week
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#Post#: 27556--------------------------------------------------
Sheriff Lonestar's PPV of the Week; The Great Muta in profile
By: SheriffLonestar Date: June 21, 2014, 1:27 am
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This week TNA go to New York for their first ever taping session
in the Big Apple and one of their key draws in this proving
ground will be Keiji Mutoh, more commonly known as The Great
Muta to American fans. Keiji Mutoh and The Great Muta actually
are not really the same person. Bare with me here, but though
they share similar same move sets, that is were the similarity
ends. Mutoh has always been a clean cut sports orientated
incredibly driven character, but when the chips were down it was
often The Great Muta who walked the aisle in high pressure
situations. This week we look at the history of the character
and some of his stand out moments.
The precursor to the Muta character was Super Balck Ninja which
he began in the territories. Here he is in Puerto Rico wrestling
for Carlos Colon's WWC promotion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb0zneVZyx4
Muta d�buted as a character in World Class Championship
Wrestling in 1988, a development of Mutoh's other American
persona Super Black Ninja as shown above. However it was in WCW
that he really hit his stride. Managed by Gary Hart and
apparently the son of his former prot�g�e The Great Kabuki who
Hart had a big draw with in Dallas, Muta's character was an
instant hit. Even in this short TV match with perennial WCW also
ran Ranger Ross, where he is clearly working heel, a Muta chant
breaks out purely out of respect for his work. Muta here has
most of the characteristics that would define him; The mist, the
pacing, the power drive elbow and the moonsault. His run was
successful too, beating Sting for the NWA World Television
Championship.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hd8DyAtHCE
It sadly didn't last long, Hart's J Tex corporation fell apart
under pressure from The Four Horsemen (in a storyline sense)
after Ric Flair deposed Terry Funk, the secondary story line of
that feud was Arn Anderson's chase for the World TV Title, a
classy series often lost in wrestling history, but Why don't I
let Arn explain it for himself?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml8UbytIb08
By the end of his WCW run it was time to head home to New Japan
Pro Wrestling, where they loved the Muta character and it would
develop a distinctly different career to that of Keiji Mutoh. A
full on heel, but a satisfying and hugely drawing character that
would come out for just the big events. Here he takes on NJPW
legend, and multi time IWGP Champion Tatsumi Fujinami the
companies number two draw at the time behind Antonio Inoki. You
can see that NJPW took what WCW had developed and injected it
into the bigger arenas NJPW could fill. They spent money on
production, and its night and day as Fujinami, black boots and
black tights looks like he is wrestling in a different century.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QenzeQE4vwE
This period also held many great cross promotional events, with
WCW and it would be his match with Sting that would be a key
draw of 1991's Superdome show. A match that had not been seen on
Japanese soil, the pair had had a great series over the TV title
in '89 securing both men's development on both companies. With
Muta in full on heel mode, and the pre injuries and wear and
tear Sting just coming off another great run with Ric Flair.
This had potential. Better in their story telling and a more
relaxed pace than perhaps Japanese fans were used to, none the
less it worked impeccably well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgpJvsttTsg
The following year Japanese fan's were given the chance to
choose the Steiner Brothers opponents for The Supderdome show
and they picked Sting and Muta to work as a team. The Steiners
then were in their imperious phase, without doubt the best tag
team on the planet at the time, and it was thought it would be
one hell of a match between them and the two face painted icons.
Muta tweaked his character a little to be more of a face, but it
was window dressing to suit the story. This was an epic big
match draw and helped fill the Tokyo Dome once again when NJPW
could seemingly to do it at will.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgpJvsttTsg
The nineties was the era of the dream match in Japan. Everyone
wanted to see the big American names against the home grown
talent. Hulk Hogan being no exception. Hogan signed a big deal
with New Japan for a series of matches in and around 1993 just
before he returned to full time action in WCW. In fact in this
match if memory serves he was still WWF Heavyweight Champion. In
a bizarre twist I believe Muta was also NWA and IWGP World
Champion, or had recently lost it, which technically makes this
the biggest match of all time, which is a bit weird when you
think about it but things were moving so fast in NJPW no one
seemed to take notice. Things you will notice about this match;
Hogan was actually a far more able ring worker than he let on,
because he knew what fans wanted in every market and actually
opened with a Cross Arm Lock. Hogan doing submission? Yup its
all here folks, but remember he was trained by shoot specialist
Hiro Matsuda.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz20AZ8WqMs
As the WCW relationship developed for NJPW, Muta would rack up
some frequent flyer miles especially when the Muta became a part
of the NWO. Keiji Mutoh didn't for a while, but Muta did, in a
similar story line to Sting's toying with the organisation. In
Muta's case, with now Japan, he infiltrated the group, became
its leader and turned them face. This was a way off though and
to begin with he had to do the grunt work of being an NWO member
in WCW. Here he has an uphill struggle against The Giant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmh3eDgtzIQ
After the NWO spilt he would have another year in WCW working as
the tag partner of Vampiro, when he got home to Japan things
were not exactly peaches and cream on the wrestling scene. With
the death of Giant Baba, All Japan Pro Wrestling was a mess,
Motoko Baba had taken over the company and insisted that it
continue in its Kings Road ways, being an isolationist
organisation. Hearing that the roster, who knew they had to
promote new talent to survive jumped, nearly all of them, and
formed their own company NOAH leaving a skeleton crew on a
sinking ship. The Great Muta was brought in to pop gates, but
coming our of contract with NJPW, he was presented with a job
opportunity; become president of AJPW and take the company
forward. Being given creative control Keiji Mutoh jumped at the
chance, but it would be The Great Muta who would take control in
the ring as AJPW champion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-L8ZjUF1bs
His run with AJPW would be creatively and financially
satisfying, but it came to a natural end as new owners bought
into the company. He decided his talent lay best elsewhere and
he started his own company Wrestle 1. Wrestle 1's roster has
largely been made up of the AJPW regulars who jumped to the new
company with Mutoh, and once again it has been The Great Muta
who has been doing the leg work in the ring. Mutoh, while always
popular and still in demand by NJPW for its Superdome shows, can
be a great draw, but it is Muta that puts the crowd over the
edge. With the help of TNA Wrestle 1 is carving out a unique
place in Japanese wrestling. Here is a recent match where Muta
tagged with former CMLL, ECW, and WWE veteran �The Japanese
Buzz Saw� Tajiri against Frankie Kazarian and Abyss.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTb0NU5XZE
While Muta isn't the worker he once was, who can be after twenty
five years at the very top of your profession? He understands
his place on the card as a special attraction and has worked
hard to promote others as the lead draw. Putting himself in tag
team matches and giving others the rub has proved to the corner
stone of his approach. He only pulls the moonsault out on very
special occasions these days, but his other finisher The Shining
Wizard has been taken up by many pro wrestlers in the world as
the go to spectacular finisher. One of the few big stars never
to work in the WWE, he is revered there making their �Stars who
never signed with the WWE but should have� list. Muta comes back
to America a different man than his d�but but it will be a
career highlight, in this stage in the game wrestling the last
city that has to be on every pro wrestler list world wide will
be something special.
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