Keiji Mutoh

Keiji Mutoh (武藤 敬司, Mutō Keiji, born December 23, 1962) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He first gained international fame during his time in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). He is best known for his time in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) where he competed under the ring name The Great Muta in the 1990s. Mutoh is a former owner and president of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and was a full-time wrestler for them from 2002 to 2013. Mutoh has also served military service in Japan and was able to reach the rank of master sergeant.

Keiji Mutoh
Keiji Mutoh in November 2009
Born	(1962-12-23) December 23, 1962 Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Bach Mutoh The Black Ninja The Great Mota The Great Muta Keiji Mutoh Kokushi Kokushi-Muso The Space Lone Wolf The Super Black Ninja The Super Ninja Viet Cong Ming The White Ninja
Billed height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Billed weight	110 kg (240 lb)
Billed from	The Land of the Rising Sun
Trained by	Hiro Matsuda
Debut	October 5, 1984
Retired	February 21, 2023

He is credited as one of the first Japanese wrestlers to gain a fan base outside of his native Japan in the United States. His Great Muta gimmick is one of the most influential gimmicks in puroresu. He is one of three wrestlers to hold the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Mutoh is an eight-time World Champion, having held the NWA World Title once, the IWGP Title four times, and AJPW's Triple Crown three times. He also has held a dozen World Tag Team Championships in the U.S. and Japan. Between NJPW, AJPW, and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Mutoh has held 21 total championships.

Mutoh is also known for competing in what is generally considered to be the bloodiest professional wrestling match of all time against Hiroshi Hase, which lead to the creation of the "Muta Scale".

He is the founder of Wrestle-1 (W-1) and is the current owner of the promotion. He also wrestles for it semi-regularly, and also makes occasional special appearances for the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as part of a TNA/W-1 talent exchange partnership.

On March 31, 2023, Mutoh was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Ric Flair.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Figure-four leglock
  • Moonsault
  • Muta Lock – Innovated
  • Shining Wizard / Senkou Youjutsu – 2001–present; Innovated
• Signature moves
  • Asian mist
  • Cradle piledriver
  • Cross armbreaker
  • Dragon screw
  • Dragon suplex
  • Dropkick, sometimes from the top rope or to an opponent's knees
  • Flashing Elbow (Running twisting elbow drop)
  • Frankensteiner
  • Handspring back elbow
  • Leaping clothesline
  • Nenbutsu Powerbomb (Sitout powerbomb with theatrics) – adopted from Hakushi
  • Rib breaker
  • Rope hung snap swinging neckbreaker
  • Rolling savate kick
  • Space Rolling Elbow (Cartwheel back elbow to a cornered opponent)
  • Triangle choke
• Managers
  • Gary Hart
  • Oliver Humperdink
  • Megu Fujiura
• Entrance themes
  • New Japan Pro Wrestling (1984–2002)
    • "Champion At Heart" by Hong Kong Explosion (1984–1986)
    • "The Final Countdown" by Europe (1986–1988)
    • "Hold Out" by Osamu Suzuki (1990–1995, also used in WAR and Pro Wrestling ZERO1)
    • "MUTA" by Osamu Suzuki (1990–1995, also used in WAR)
    • "Triumph" by Andre Andersen (1995–1997, also used in Catch Wrestling Association, WAR and UWF International)
    • "Great Muta Concerto" by New Japan Pro Wrestling (1996–1999)
    • "nWo Triumph" (1998–2000)
    • "Muta Materno" (2000)
    • "Outbreak" (2000–2002, also used in All Japan Pro Wrestling)
    • "Kokushi Muso" (2001, also used in Michinoku Pro Wrestling)
  • International excursions (1986–present)
    • "Friday The 13th, Part III Theme" by Black Ice (World Wrestling Council and World Class Championship Wrestling, 1988–1989)
    • "Luminous Forces I" (World Championship Wrestling, 1989–1990)
    • "Kimi Ga Yo" (WCW, Starrcade '90: Collision Course, December 16, 1990)
    • "War Lords" (WCW, Clash Of The Champions XV: Knocksville USA, June 12, 1991)
    • "Tokyo Takeaway" (WCW, 1992–1995, 1997, 2000)
    • "Tear It Up" (WCW, 1997–1998)
    • "Take It" by Insane Clown Posse (WCW, 2000)
  • All Japan Pro Wrestling (2001–2013)
    • "Outbreak" (2001–2002, also used in New Japan Pro Wrestling)
    • "Trans Magic" by All Japan Pro Wrestling (2002–2009, also used in NJPW and Pro Wrestling NOAH)
    • "Kokushi Gikyoku" (2002–2005, also used in Pro Wrestling ZERO1)
    • "Muta Sanbika" by All Japan Pro Wrestling (2002–2006, also used in Ring Of Honor, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, and Toryumon Mexico)
    • "Kingly" by Wu Bai and China Blue (2005–2013)
    • "Muta Inden" (2006–2010, also used in NJPW, WWC, HUSTLE, Real Quality Wrestling, and Juggalo Championship Wrestling)
    • "Symbol" by Osamu Suzuki (2009–2013, also used in NOAH)
    • "Muta Galaxy" (2010–2013, also used in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Pro Wrestling Syndicate)
  • Wrestle-1 (2013–present)
    • "Hold Out" (2013–present)

Championships

• All Japan Pro Wrestling
  • Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
  • World Tag Team Championship (5 times) (with Taiyō Kea (1), Arashi (1), Joe Doering (1), Masakatsu Funaki (1) and KENSO (1))
  • F–1 Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kannazaki¹
  • Akiho Yoshizawa Cup (2010) – with Masakatsu Funaki and S1 Mask
  • Champion Carnival (2002, 2004, 2007)
  • Giant Baba Six Man Cup (2002) (with George Hines and Kaz Hayashi)
  • January 2 Korakuen Hall Heavyweight Battle Royal (2011)
  • January 3 Korakuen Hall Junior Heavyweight Battle Royal (2011)
  • World's Strongest Tag Determination League (2001) (with Taiyō Kea)
  • World's Strongest Tag Determination League (2007) (with Joe Doering)
  • World's Strongest Tag Determination League (2009) (with Masakatsu Funaki)
• Championship Wrestling from Florida
  • NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Continental Wrestling Federation
  • NWA Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)²
• Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling
  • NWA World Television Championship (1 time)
  • WCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) (with Vampiro)
  • BattleBowl (1992)
• New Japan Pro Wrestling
  • IWGP Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
  • IWGP Tag Team Championship (6 times) (with Hiroshi Hase (2), Masahiro Chono (2), Shiro Koshinaka (1) and Taiyō Kea (1))
  • NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • Greatest 18 Championship (1 time)
  • G1 Climax (1995)
  • Super Grade Tag League/G1 Tag League (1993, 1994) (with Hiroshi Hase)
  • G1 Tag League (1997) (with Masahiro Chono)
  • G1 Tag League (1998) (with Satoshi Kojima)
  • G1 Tag League (1999) (with Scott Norton)
  • MVP Award (2001)
  • Singles Best Bout (2001) (vs. Yuji Nagata on August 12)
  • Tag Team Best Bout (2001) (with Hiroshi Hase vs. Jun Akiyama and Yuji Nagata on October 8)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • He was ranked #3 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the "PWI 500" in 2002.
  • He was ranked #25 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
• Tokyo Sports
  • Match of the Year (1999) (with Genichiro Tenryu on May 3, 1999)
  • Match of the Year (2011) (with Kenta Kobashi vs. Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano, All Together, August 27)
  • Performance Award (1998)
  • Rookie of the Year (1986)
  • Special Award (1989)
  • Tag Team of the Year (1990) (with Masahiro Chono)
  • Tag Team of the Year (2005) (with Akebono)
  • Wrestler of the Year (1995, 1999, 2001, 2008)
• World Wrestling Council
  • WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • WWC World Television Championship (1 time)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Best Wrestling Maneuver (2001) (Shining Wizard)
  • Match of the Year (2001) (vs. Genichiro Tenryu on June 8, Tokyo, Japan)
  • Most Improved Wrestler (2001)
  • Wrestler of the Year (2001)
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1999)

¹Championship not officially recognized by All Japan Pro Wrestling.
²Championship reign not officially recognized due to outside interference.

Other websites

• Wrestle-1 profileArchived 2014-11-01 at the Wayback Machine (Keiji Mutoh)
• Wrestle-1 profile Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine (The Great Muta)
• New Japan Pro Wrestling profile
• WWE profile