10 Things You Didn't Know About The Great Muta
1. It's Time For Him To Go
This was touched upon in the introduction, but despite the glowing praise awarded to Mutoh in this article, he has become a bleak parody of himself - and a corrosive influence on the Japanese professional wrestling scene.
With his name prominent in online circles as a result of this retirement tour, and his sentimental cachet inferred from that monster of a pop at AEW Rampage: Grand Slam last year, you might think that the Great Muta is a universally beloved character.
This isn't true: fans have outright despised his work since 2021.
At 58, reigning, inexplicably, with the GHC Heavyweight title, he was nothing less than a disgrace. Watching him collapse following a handspring elbow - that weakened him so badly that his elbow strike looked more like he was propping himself up on his opponent for support - might have been depressing.
But it was hard to sympathise for a glorified mummy who, poisoned by the mist of his own ego, used his influence to hold down an entire company. Even at Wrestle Kingdom 17, his last appearance for the promotion that made him famous, he couldn't do a job on the way out. He wouldn't even visually endorse Shota Umino. Mutoh, a problematic old man, was defensive and jealous that somebody with functioning knees was allowed to shine and left the ring immediately after the bell sounded. He hasn't moved that quickly since 2008. Keiji Mutoh was a pro wrestling legend who couldn't let go. If this is indeed his final bye bye, it is years overdue.
In the end, he did more to create a new generation by spraying spunk into someone's orifice in a wacky parody segment.