Next Inductee Announced For WWE Hall Of Fame 2023

The latest name announced for the WWE Hall of Fame is...

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Hall of Fame 2023 The Great Muta
WWE

As has been heavily rumoured, the Great Muta has been announced as being a part of the WWE Hall of Fame's 2023 class.

It had previously been confirmed that Ric Flair would be revealing the next HOF inductee on today's episode of WWE's The Bump, and indeed it was the Nature Boy who announced that the legendary Great Muta will be joining Rey Mysterio in the Hall of Fame this year.

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While it's not been confirmed as of yet, the belief is that Ric Flair will be the one to induct Muta, and Flair's comments during his Bump appearance likewise seem to indicate this. As noted by Naitch, he shares a special bond with Keiji Muto due to how Muto spent time with Ric's son Reid just two days before Reid's tragic passing back in 2013.

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Of course, Keiji Muto is the man behind the Great Muta character. Across a 39-year career - which only came to an end last month - Muto battled across the globe under his real name and under his face-painted Great Muta persona. Much like Scott Hall's induction as Razor Ramon in 2014, it appears that Muto is being inducted under his Great Muta gimmick.

A genuine game-changer, Muto's revolutionary in-ring style, athleticism and physical charisma has served to influence and inspire a countless number of wrestlers who have come after him. The Pearl of the Orient is a bona fide icon of the industry, and his success ranged across the world from New Japan Pro-Wrestling, to All Japan Pro Wrestling, to Pro Wrestling NOAH, to Jim Crockett Promotions/WCW, to Championship Wrestling from Florida, to Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council and beyond.

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Interestingly, as either Keiji Muto or the Great Muta, the 60-year-old never wrestled a single match under the WWE umbrella. That said, Muto did work several cross-promoted NJPW and WWF shows in Japan in 1985 as the then-World Wrestling Federation looked to branch out into international markets.

In addition to the Great Muta and Rey Mysterio, there has been plentiful rumblings that Batista and Stacy Keibler will be a part of the 2023 Hall of Fame class.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.