The Great Muta

[mrhexum]

The Great Muta doesn't get brought up too often around here so I thought I'd bring him up and see what you guys had to say about him.

As a kid I remember thinking he was awesome. The mist, the moveset (one of the first I remember seeing do a moonsault), and the pace at which he worked really made him stand out to me at the time. He wasn't always at one pace which was cool, he could work the fast, high flyer style, the martial arts style, and could do slow and methodical when he had to.

When the question of "Guys I would have like to see in WWF/E" comes up, Muta is one of the first that pops into my head.

What did/do you guys think of Muta?
Would you have liked to have seen him have a run in WWF/E?

 

[reed214]

good post! I love muta. thanks to the internet, I got to go and look at a lot of his matches that I missed of Muta's b/c I don't live in japan. he had some fantastic matches with Sting (tagging with sting and against him), Hogan (ofcourse he carried it and made hogan look semi-ligit), the steiners, L.O.D and not to mention with the japanese talent. i put Muta in the top 10 of all time (my list relies a great deal of in-ring ability so no hogan,cena,warrior,batista,nash..you get the point)

and i would have loved for him in 96/97 to have a series of matches with HBK. i think that would have been great to see those two legends clash in a fast-paced showdown. bret hart had a few really good matches vs hakushi, so just think if it were Muta. and probably the greatest series of matches that this would have made...Owen Hart vs Muta!!! would have rewrote pwi's best matches. anyone who hasn't seen much of him need to go to youtube and watch him go.

 

[justtxyank]

Muta was one of my favorite workers of all time. I always wanted him to get more run in WCW during the nWo days. He wouldn't really have fit in with the E to be honest, though a run with Undertaker could have been cool and it was one of my "dream matches."

Absolutely fantastic worker who is diminished because he was Japanese and obviously spent the majority of his career there.

 

[god-soldier]

I also like the Great Muta in the NWA and WCW I think a run in the WWE would of been perfect for him especially in 93 when Yokozuna was billed from Japan and they were looking for an international star to battle Lex Luger and Bret Hart. I feel Muta could have filled that void better than Crush could and even better than Yokozuna could. Being managed by Mr. Fuji would have fit him as well because Fuji was a huge asset for Yokozuna and he may have been able to help Muta the same way. The Poison mist that he would shoot from his mouth would been a great ending to have him beat Bret Hart or Lex Luger or Mr.Perfect. If I do recall correctly Muta almost won the NWA title on a occasion in WCW and NWA so he could definitely been a main eventer. Plus I think a match between Muta and Bret Hart or HBK would have been amazing. Even a match between Muta and Savage could have definitely been a classic. Since Muta could wrestle so many variations he could basically put on a great match with anyone and been a huge heel in WWE. Overall Muta was a great wrestler I always enjoyed his matches with Sting their rivalry was one of the best in WCW or NWA. I saw an old match between Steamboat and Muta from Japan which was a superb match I always wanted to know who would win between the 2 and that match was great if you guys get a chance you should watch it. Muta in the nWo should have been used more by WCW he could of been very effective in the nWo if he was used properly better fit to help Hogan steal matches then the disciple could ever be. Muta should be honored in the hall of fame!!!!

 

[boozinjedi]

Muta would've had an awesome run in the WWF/E back in the day,Remember Hakushi??....he was the closest to Muta's style that they ever had.
I could see him having great matches with Bret,Owen,Savage,123 Kid especially!

He is definitely HOF worthy!!

 

[shogunsrampage]

if mem serves me right muta had no interest in going to e.. muta and other top japanese stars realized wwf/wwe would not let them use their strong style.. i believe muta said this when asked awhile ago and why guys like him,chono, saskue,tenzan ect ect ect never step foot in the e after the downfall of wcw. as for how he would of worked... if allowed to use his style i believe he would dof had standout matchs with the guys mentioned.. you gotta remember these guys had their spotlight in wcw because bishoff liked the style and made a partnership with njpw, something that remains common with japanese wrestling as you will commonly see stars from njpw in other top orgs.... vince would never everrrr let his stars goto tna or roh n such... and we see time n time again we see guys come in and get made to wrestle wwe style, which muta wanted no part of

 

[rwg279]

I think Muta could still do a limited run in wwe.. RR to a few ppvs. after WM type thing I would want to win wwe and world titles during it with a wm match against like taker maybe? Basically WWE needs to Put him the HoF.

 

[ECW Sandman]

The Great Muta was one of the greatest Japanese wrestlers that I have ever seen, His Moonsults from out of nowhere were just wicked, His matches with Sting and Luger are legendary I can still remember Muta spraying the green mist in to sting's eyes and then He tried doing the same to Luger and Luger blocked it, I think The Great Muta should be in the WWE Hall Of Fame he more then deserving to go in to the Hall, But there is one match in WWE I would love to see with Muta In The Great Muta Vs Tajari If WWE could get both of them for one match together to face each other I would go nuts that would be an good match to see live or on TV.

 

[jmt225]

When I think of the 3 greatest wrestlers in history... I think Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Keiji Mutoh.

A lot of people would never put Muta in such high regard, but the fact of the matter is he should be considered one of the greatest ever by anyone with any knowledge of professional wrestling. He's definitely the greatest to ever come out of Japan. The guy could have as good of matches as anyone (Misawa, Kobashi, Liger, etc... he's every bit as good in the ring as those guys were), his characters have all been legendary figures in Japan, he's one of the VERY few to come from Japan and have legit success in the United States, and his longevity is remarkable when you consider how many deadly, tough matches he has been apart of. Not to mention all the things he has done behind the scenes... the guy is truly one of a kind in this business.

As far as him having a run in the WWF... of course I would have loved to have seen it. Muta's one of those rare guys who would have been perfect for the WWF in any era. In the late eighties/early nineties Muta would have fit in with all the wacky characters; in the mid-nineties where "pure wrestling" was the thing in the WWF for a couple of years Muta would have fit in perfectly; Muta in the Attitude Era would have work with the dark shit going on in the company since Muta could be as dark and scary as anyone; and in the post Attitude and PG Era Mutoh could have worked as himself and been successful. Personally, if I had to pick an era... I probably would have picked WWF at it's lowest point when Bret and Shawn were champions, because Muta vs. those guys would have been absolutely tremendous. Plus, of course, Muta and 'Taker could have had a great feud during that time as well.

 

[THE SWAG]

i have always loved muta he is one of the rare Japanese wrestlers that can adapt to the smaller guys and the bigger guys, the guy could flat out go.

and i do agree he would have had classic matches with bret, owen, hbk, just to name a few. his name says it all, GREAT. mos def belongs in the HOF

 

[xxxdaniel_ariesxxx]

I love the Great Muta, and the fact that he isn't in the WWE Hall of Fame is a travesty behind only Bruno, Savage and Owen not being in yet.

A lot of people say that Taker has the best entrance in wrestling, but I say that Muta can beat him in the "mystique" department any day of the week with his entrances. It is a shame that those two have never met though

 

[AttitudeAJM]

Hulk Hogan is the Babe Ruth of pro wrestling. Anyone that is watching and is under the age of 30 is watching because they went crazy for Hulk Hogan in the 80's. Not to mention the fact that Hogan had fantastic matches and even carried guys in the ring like Andre in 87 and Warrior in 1990.

Onto the topic. The Great Muta/Keiji Mutoh is one of the best characters that wrestling has ever seen. Its been rough watching him as of late with bad knees but without him, who knows if there would still be an All Japan Pro Wrestling. Not to mention I got to see Mutoh vs. Kawada for the TCC

 

[giblet55]

Keiji Mutoh is one of my favorites of all time! He was one of the greatest mysterious wrestlers ever. His feud with Jushin "Thunder" Lyger was awesome. Same as the poster above, I spent many youtube hours watching Muta matches and enjoying the japanese wrestling style. I loved his matches with Vader in Japan as well. My only fear of him going to the WWE is being misused. Muta is legendary in Japan and I would have hated to see his legacy tarnished by a poor american run...

 

[jbwphoto1]

Always had love for The Great Muta from the very beginning when the Crocketts brought him in as the son of The Great Kabuki.

Anyone doubting his skills need only look for matches with Muta against people like Sting and Lex Luger who eventually became great workers, but at the time would leave you scratching your head wondering what they were up to. Muta was so finely conditioned it looked as though he would never get tired in a match. No matter how many times you saw him wrestle, tv or live, he seemed to always do things a little differently so it didn't feel as if you'd seen all his moves before. Really wish he could have been a bigger player in the US. Not sure what era, but yes, The Great Muta is certainly Wrestlemania worthy.

 

[mr.nobody]

Muta is one of the most copied and duplicated wrestlers in history. All over the world they have followed him and seen him put on classic matches his whole entire career.
As far as wwe goes it depends on when he would of came in cause I feel certain eras of wwe he might of been buried and other times could of been amazing for him.
Like the mid 90s would of been terrible for him but the late 80s he could of been a great heel against the megapowers with Mr. Fuji and Demolition or Powers of Pain.

 

[frostbite2819]

The thing about Muta that he never gets credit for is the amount of infleuence he had on kids growing up that are wrestling today. i remember starracade 89 i think it was when it was a tournament style between sting, flair, luger and muta where all the guys had to wrestle each other in singles matches and whoever had the most points won, well muta didnt win, but he clearly out-wrestled the other guys, even flair. that was my first exposure to him and that 'style' of wrestling and i have been a fan ever since.
and i would bet my balls to a biscuit that if you asked a lot of the high-flying wrestlers (styles, bourne, jomo, punk to an extent) that are around my age (31) who some of their first big influences were into the high-flying, fast-paced japanese style that muta's name would come up every time.
simply put, he is a legend, without ever stepping foot into a WWE ring.

 

[HoHo]

Muta probably one of the best Japanese Wrestlers to come wrestle in the Us and have success, but the casual fan doesn't know who he is which is sad.The chances of him entering the Hof are slim since he was never in the WWE.

 

[GrandSword]

I've said a lot about Mutoh on this board. I love the guy, so I wont repeat myself..

So I'll say that I just loved how when he first debuted in the NWA/WCW he had this unbeaten streak and then had the TV title match against Sting. Two guys mirror image. One good, one evil, both explosive and had IT.. it was amazing to see. Did Muta win that match? Did Sting? It was so intriguing... and they rivaled each other for years and spanned two continents. Loved it!