Mutoh, like many strong style wrestlers, began with a decorated amateur background, as he competed in both amateur wrestling and judo before entering the NJPW Dojo under the tutelage of Hiro Matsuda. His fellow dojo grad class included Jushin Thunder Liger, Masahiro Chono, and Shinya Hashimoto; the four names that would carry NJPW through the ninties.
Mutoh had his debut match in October 1984 against Chono, and was quickly sent on international excursions, as NJPW is wont to do with their high potential Dojo graduates. He spent part of 1986 in Florida as”White Ninja,” before returning to Japan and being dubbed “Space Lone Wolf,” which would make a great anime name. He teamed with legend Antonio Inoki in a major stable feud, giving him his first major exposure in Japan.
Mutoh made another excursion, this time to Puerto Rico as “Super Black Ninja.” He was unmasked, and left to go to WCCW where he feuded with Kevin Von Erich, before the NWA granted him the gimmick that would go on to define is career, an entire era of wrestling in Japan, turn American eyes toward NJPW, and inspire the next wave of Japanese stars.
The Great Muta
In 1989, Gary Hart introduced NWA/WCW audiences to his newest client: The Great Muta, “son” of his former client The Great Kabuki. The two shared the similar style of facepaint with face obscuring hair, and of course the legendary “Asian mist,” which Kabuki was the first to do. Muta did not speak, as I’m not sure he could speak English very well at that point. As a matter of fact, I don’t know if he can today; whether it be Tajiri levels of kayfabing (Tajiri pretended even to the other wrestlers that he could speak almost no English, when he is in fact fluent), or he actually can’t. See for yourself.But if he’s talking to Apter, it has to be a work.
Right?
Fuck, I don’t know. Muta is that damn good.
Anyway, Muta was unlike anything American audiences (at least the post-boom audience) had ever seen. Of course, one could never predict when Muta would secret the mist from the gland that only Japanese wrestlers have, and spit it.
Seriously, that’s the explanation. It’s awesome, though.
Muta feuded with the big WCW names of Ric Flair, Luger, and Sting, from whom he won the WCW TV title, which he held into early 1990. Shortly after he returned to Japan, and shifted between Muta and Mutoh at will.
NJPW (as primary promotion)
Muta would not debut until six months after his return to NJPW. He quickly shot up the NJPW rankings, as he and Chono won the IWGP Tag Titles and reigned for a half year.
In 1991, the Japanese torch was passed after a thrilling G1 Climax final where Chono defeated Mutoh, and celebrated with his opponent and Hashimoto, leading to the creation of the “Three Muskateers.” Chono would go on to beat Muta again in the next year’s G1, as well as winning the vacant NWA World title, but it mattered not to Muta, as he beat Riki Choshu for the IWGP Heavyweight title. Later in the year, he would feud with Hiroshi Hase in many bloody matches, which led to the creation of the Muta Scale, which grades the level of blood in a match from 0.0 to 1.0 Muta, 1.0 being the amount Muta bled to leave a scar that is still rather prevalent today.
After beating Chono in a NWA/NJPW supershow match, Muta joined “The Dragon” Tatsumi Fujinami as the only two men to simultaneously hold the NWA and IWGP World titles. He lost the NWA belt a few weeks later to Barry Windham.
He would eventually lose the IWGP title to Hashimoto after defenses against Hogan, Sting, Chono, and Kabuki. He then teamed breifly with Hogan to face the Power Warriors (Animal and “Power Warrior”), he reserved the Muta gimmick for special occasions only. Hase and Mutoh formed a tag team and efentually capyured the IWGP Tag Titles. He would return to WCW for a one off match against Steve Austin, and then set his sights on regaining the title Hashimoto took from him, which he did nearly a year later, leading Hase and Mutoh to vacate the tag titles and set out on singles success.
Mutoh finally won the G1 Climax in 1995, becoming the first man to hold the IWGP title and win the G1 at the same time. He carried the title into 1996, where he lost it to Nobuhiko Takada at the JAnuary 4 Dome Show. He spent the rest of 96 feuding with Chono’s newly formed nWo Japan, constantly teasing joining while simultaneously fighting them. He caused mass confusion when Keiji Mutoh fought for NJPW, but The Great Muta fought for nWo Japan. Eventually, both merged into one, Mutoh joined nWo Japan, and sealed away Muta. He and Chono once again won the Tag titles and spray painted them black in true nWo fashion.
Mutoh took time off to rehab his knees in 1998, as years of moonsaults and leading with his knees were grinding away at his knee caps. He came back for the G1, but was eliminated in the first round. Chono left to rehab his own injuries, leaving Mutoh in charge of nWo Japan, which he turned face. Chono returned and fought for the nWo name with his cronies that had left when Chono was injured, including Scott Norton, who Mutoh had beaten for his third IWGP title. Mutoh lost the war at the 2000 Dome Show, and took an extended leave to further rehab his knees, which were worsened in the late ninties. He returned to WCW as Muta in 2000 in a program with Vampiro, although the complete fuckery that was 2000 WCW had him booked terribly and nobody remembered him from the early ninties. He left WCW and attempted to wrestle in WWF, but a no compete clause forbade him.
Muta returned to NJPW with a new look, shaving his receding hair and donning a mask in lieu of face paint and debuting his new finisher, the Shining Wizard: a run up knee/shin strike commonly used by lightweight wrestlers the world over since Muta’s innovation.
Mutoh would then transition to AJPW as his major promotion, returning in 2008 to win his fourth and final IWGP title by defeating Shinsuke Nakamura, and losing it to his protoge Hiroshi Tanahashi and beginning Tanahashi’s true reign as ace.
Mutoh has made reappearances in NJPW, but usually only at the Dome Show.
AJPW
Mutoh defected to All Japan in 2002 after a cross promotional angle with NJPW. He competed in matches in the first half of the year, and was named as President of the Promotion by Giant Baba’s widow Mokoto. He reduced his role as an active competetor, usually only wrestling as part of international exchanges, such as RQW in London, or in promotional spots as Muta in TNA or his appearance at PWG’s WrestleReunion show.
In 2008, during his run with the IWGP title, Muta won AJPW world title, making him the second man to hold both titles at once.
Muta was out most of 2010 with reconstructive knee surgery. In mid-2011, Mutoh resigned as President of AJPW after a legitimate backstage brawl led to a wrestler having a stroke after a match, which Mutoh blamed himself for. Many other wrestlers were suspended in the wake of the incident.
Wrestle-1
After the incident, Mutoh sold all of his shares of AJPW for 200 million Yen, and his right hand man while president was fired by the new AJPW president, leading Mutoh to resign completely from AJPW.
Merely a week and a half later, Mutoh announced that he would use his share money to create Wrestle-1, a new promotion, along with many of those who left AJPW after the leadership change.
Wrestle-1 would go on to enter a talent exchange with TNA, which ended when they learned of Vince Russo’s involvement with TNA, and the fact that they had made Sanada, his protoge and hopeful ace, a cheap knock off of the Muta gimmick, which led to Mutoh passing him over as ace.
Mutoh wrestles only occasionally now, at W-1’s large events, and a few TV tapings for TNA when they had a relationship. Muta won the W-1 title, but lost it in March of 2015.
Overall, Muta may be the most influential Japanese wrestler of the past 30 years, along with Jushin Liger, as both of them mangaged to draw eyes from around the world to Japanese wrestling.
