10 Early WWE Hall Of Fame 2018 Predictions 

4. The Great Muta

Christian Hall of Fame
WWE.com

The Great Muta is the clear favourite to follow in the footsteps of Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami as the next major Japanese name to receive Hall of Fame recognition.

His presence in North America was major. His legendary 1989 extended introduction was a notable factor in the NWA enjoying its greatest ever critical year. His work in the midcard was sensational. His workrate was so crisp, advanced and innovative that he opened western eyes to the concept of the Japanese workhorse on a national scale.

He is known by the majority of western fans for that sensational run, but he recovered from a succession of knee injuries, compounded by his invention of the Shining Wizard, to become one of wrestling's great renaissance men as both Muta and Keiji Mutoh - coming back time and again to enjoy critical and commercial reigns with New Japan's IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Mutoh is an undisputed legend of wrestling, not that that matters.

Beyond his self-evident accomplishments, Muta is one of few deserving Japanese performers of whom WWE owns the rights to considerable video footage, so his is a more convenient - and perhaps therefore more likely - induction than most.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!