THE MOSS COVERED THREE HANDLED FAMILY CREDENZA

ARTICLE #39
MAY 20, 2002

Muta: The Enigma

Keiji Muto has generally been considered to be one of the most talented and gifted heavyweight workers of the past 15 years. Under his real name, he has been one half of many of the greatest matches in New Japan history because of a strong work ethic. However, when he dons the paint and becomes the Great Muta, all bets are off in terms of his work. Sometimes he�s fantastic, sometimes he�s very good, sometimes he�s uninspired and other times he�s terrible. Amazingly sometimes all of those take place in one match! Many have called him an enigma because of this: his great work ethic while using his real name, and his frequent laziness and poor work while working as Muta. This article takes a look at the good, the bad and the ugly side of the Great Muta�s work in the ring.

NWA Title: Masahiro Chono (c) vs Great Muta 1/4/93

Muta went for a full nelson and then attempted a Fujiwara armbar. Chono countered and applied a hammerlock. In a cool spot, Muta backed Chono into the corner and gave him a backwards dropkick. Muta applied a headlock on Chono and took him down but Chono countered with a headscissors and Muta rolled out of the ring. Muta grabbed a wrench under the ring as if he was going to use it, but the ref took it away from him and Muta didn�t fight him. Muta gave Chono a few kicks to the gut. He snapmared Chono and hit a power elbow. Muta mounted Chono and turned him over to apply a cross armbreaker of sorts. Chono countered by applying a leglock on Muta�s left leg. Chono gave Muta�s leg a couple kicks. They had a test of strength but Chono quickly took Muta down and worked on his leg. Chono crossed Muta�s legs and bent them back until Muta reached the ropes. Muta kicked Chono and threw him out of the ring. Muta whipped Chono into the barricade and kinda rammed him into the apron/threw him back into the ring. Muta gave Chono a top rope chop and threw him over the top rope to the entrance ramp. Muta kicked Chono and gave him a bulldog on the ramp for a pop. Muta then went about 60 feet up the ramp and did a windsprint into a lariat on Chono amidst strong heat. Chono caught Muta off-guard with a punch from the apron. Muta caught Chono on the top rope and gave him a top rope superplex. Muta back suplexed Chono for a near fall and German suplexed him for a more heated near fall. Muta then gave Chono a handspring elbow but missed a moonsault. Chono immediately got up and applied his STF on Muta for a pop. Muta escaped the STF when he reached the ropes. Chono landed a yakuza kick but Muta quickly responded with a dropkick. Muta attempted a suplex but Chono countered and gave Muta an abdominal stretch into a rollup for a near fall. Chono gave Muta a top rope shouldertackle for a near fall and a powerbomb for another near fall. All of a sudden Muta got up went for a moonsault but crashed onto Chono�s knees. (did WCW edit something here or did Muta literally �Hulk up�?) Chono attempted a top rope shouldertackle but Muta drove him face first to the mat. Muta gave Chono a backbreaker and hit a moonsault for a dramatic near fall. Muta hit a second moonsault and pinned Chono to win the title. I think the match went 14:42 but about 13:10 aired on the Japan Supershow III PPV. This was a really good match for its time, and it played beautifully in the Tokyo Dome. This was only a few months after Chono suffered his first neck injury, and he had much more mobility and physical smoothness than in later years (although he wasn�t as charismatic or as smart a worker as he would become). Definitely not the best Muta match ever, but definitely a very good match by Muta standards, in part because his laziness streak had not yet kicked in. Not always exciting, but very well paced from start to finish, as the moves were very logically plotted. I�ve heard ratings as high as ****1/4 for this match, but that�s stretching it. This was definitely a great match in early 1993, at a time right before many of the standard setting matches in All Japan and All Japan Women would take place. It doesn�t hold up as well today as other matches from its time, but still was a very good match. ***1/2

WCW U.S. Title: Steve Austin (c) w/Col. Rob Parker vs Great Muta 4/17/94

Muta applied a waistlock and Austin bailed to the ropes. Muta took Austin down with a headlock. Austin tried to counter but Muta maintained the hold. Austin took Muta down and stomped him. They had a criss cross exchange ending when Muta applied an abdominal stretch. Austin countered and tried to apply an abdominal stretch of his own but Muta elbowed him. Muta grabbed a waistlock and rolled up Austin for an early near fall. Muta took Austin down with a headlock again. Austin tried to counter the headlock with a back suplex but Muta flipped him back to the mat. Austin got to his feet and this time gave Muta a back suplex to escape. Muta countered a suplex attempt with one of his own and scored with a power elbow. Muta took down Austin with a headlock again and maintained the hold for a while. Muta tackled Austin, they had another criss cross, and Muta gave Austin a dropkick. Muta took down Austin with a headlock but this time Austin countered with a headscissors. Muta escaped the hold and Austin bailed out of the ring. Back in the ring Austin rolled up Muta for a near fall. He took Muta down with a drop toehold and went for a headlock but Muta quickly countered with a hammerlock. Muta maneuvered Austin into a pinning position and gained a near fall. Muta applied a headlock and they had a criss cross. Parker grabbed Muta�s leg and distracted him long enough for Austin to knock him out of the ring with a jumping knee. Austin rammed Muta�s head into the apron and Muta staggered right into the ringpost. Austin rammed Muta into the barricade. Back in the ring Austin hit Muta with knee shots and stomped him. Austin snapmared Muta and kneedropped him for a near fall. Austin applied an abdominal stretch for a while and used the ropes for leverage. After about two minutes Muta finally escaped the hold by hiptossing Austin. Muta won a slugfest but missed a dropkick. Austin hit a second rope elbowsmash for a near fall and choked Muta in the ropes. Austin rammed Muta into the turnbuckle but Muta responded in kind. Muta gave Austin a spinning mule kick and a backdrop. Muta suplexed Austin and dropkicked him. Muta missed a top rope dropkick. Austin attempted to apply a Hollywood invine (kind of an inverted toehold) but Muta blocked it. Muta gave Austin a stun gun for a pop and a handspring elbow for another pop. Muta gave Austin a top rope huracanrana and superkicked Parker off the apron. Muta then backdropped a charging Austin over the top rope and was disqualified as a result at 16:30 so Austin retained the title. Boy was that top rope DQ rule annoying! But that didn�t make much difference here, because this was a very disappointing match. This was a prime example of �bad� Muta, where he really phones it in for the first half (more in this match), and he took few bumps until late in the match. Austin wasn�t really inspired to work a hot pace and let Muta dictate the pace. The spots they did were fine but they also did too many headlocks and abdominal stretches for too much of the match. If this was MutO vs Austin, this could have been **** or at least ***. However, this was around the time MutA started a trend of laziness in most of his matches. *1/4

Great Muta vs Hakushi 4/29/96

Hakushi�s usual ring name is Jinsei Shinzaki, but this time he competed under his WWF gimmick. After an interesting pre-match segment, the bell rang. Muta went for a full nelson but Hakushi countered by reaching the ropes. Muta repeatedly kicked Hakushi in the corner, whipped him into the opposite corner and hit his trademark handspring elbow. Muta knocked Hakushi over the top rope with a spinning mule kick. Muta went after Hakushi but Hakushi caught his arm on the apron. Hakushi then held Muta�s arm and did his ropewalk into a flying chop. Hakushi slammed Muta and hit a Vader bomb. Hakushi kicked Muta in the corner and choked him. Hakushi then gave Muta of all things, a bronco buster (without the face full of stuff). Hakushi choked Muta in the corner with the tape around his wrist and applied a nervehold. Muta fought back, they had a criss cross exchange, and Muta hit Hakushi in the neck. Muta went to throw Hakushi out of the ring but Hakushi simply collapsed. Muta choked Hakushi in the ropes. In a pretty amazing spot, Muta tackled Hakushi, who fell off the apron and jumped so far back he flew beyond the barricade and crashed in between two rows of tables in the timekeeper�s area. Muta deliberately went after Hakushi and piledrove him through a ringside table. Muta broke the stick Hakushi carried to the ring and attacked him with it, busting him open in the process. Muta snapmared Hakushi right after he returned to the ring and gave him a power elbow. Muta attacked Hakushi�s bloodied forehead and removed Hakushi�s belt, which he then used to choke Hakushi. Muta then hung Hakushi over the top rope with the belt. In a sick yet perversely funny spot, Muta used Hakushi�s blood as finger paint and wrote some Japanese characters (letters) on part of the broken stick. Fans popped when they realized what took place. Muta kicked Hakushi at ringside. Back in the ring Hakushi countered a suplex attempt, landed a chop and gave Muta a back suplex. Hakushi missed a dropkick and Muta again attacked him in deliberate fashion. Muta back suplexed Hakushi for a near fall. He attempted a second back suplex but Hakushi fell on top of him. Hakushi superkicked Muta and slammed him but then missed a top rope headbutt. Muta hit a handspring elbow and bulldogged Hakushi. He gave Hakushi a backbreaker. Muta missed a moonsault but landed on his feet and mule kicked Hakushi. Muta bit Hakushi�s head and gave him a top rope huracanrana for a near fall. Muta whipped Hakushi into the barricade. Muta missed an elbow and Hakushi gave him a couple superkicks. Muta blew green mist but Hakushi ducked. Hakushi threw Muta out of the ring and rammed him into the ringpost. Hakushi repeatedly hit Muta with a chair at ringside. Hakushi hit his space flying tiger press on Muta for a pop. Hakushi gave Muta a top rope shouldertackle and a top rope headbutt for a near fall. Hakushi attempted a prayer powerbomb but Muta countered by blowing green mist in his eyes. Muta mule kicked Hakushi, hit a top rope chop and moonsaulted Hakushi for the pin at 19:44. Fans were often quiet in between spots, but were really into the match. They just went too slow most of the time in between moves. They could still have been deliberate, given the moves time to register, and done the same amount of work within at least five fewer minutes. The pacing and arrangement of moves was solid and the offense was good on its own right. Both men worked hard, but seemed to be consumed by the need to be slow, especially Muta. This match showcased both �bad� Muta and �good� Muta, in spots, and overall his performance fell somewhere in the middle of that scale. For its length I�ll call this a borderline good match, but it could have been so much better given the actual talent and conditioning of both men in 1996. **1/2

Great Muta vs Power Warrior 1/4/97

Muta kicked Warrior and raked his eyes. Muta threw Warrior out of the ring and dumped him over the barricade onto a ringside table. Muta piledrove Warrior on the table, which didn�t break or even budge. Muta threw several chairs on Warrior and also dumped the table on him. Muta then dumped a second table on top of the heap of chairs that Warrior was buried under. Warrior suddenly stood up as if nothing happened. He rammed Muta�s head into the ringpost. Warrior dumped Muta over the barricade and piledrove him through a ringside table. Back in the ring Warrior snapmared Muta and applied a chinlock. Warrior missed a dropkick and Muta gave him a power elbow. Muta threw Warrior out of the ring and onto the entrance ramp. Muta kicked Warrior and gave him a bulldog on the ramp. Muta then ran halfway back to the entrance and did about a 60 foot windsprint into a lariat on Warrior. Muta went for a handspring elbow but Warrior caught him. Warrior went for a German suplex but Muta elbowed him and gave him a spinning mule kick. Warrior caught Muta on the top rope and press slammed him to the floor (not as spectacular a bump as it sounds). All of a sudden Muta threw a bunch of chairs into the ring. Warrior went after him but Muta whipped him into the barricade. Back in the ring Muta hit Warrior with a chair, who no-sold and responded with a lariat. Warrior went for a chairshot, Muta sprayed red mist, but Warrior blocked it with the chair and then hit Muta with a pretty solid chairshot. Muta jumped off the top rope but Warrior punched him in mid-air. Warrior powerslammed Muta for a near fall and gave him a lariat for another near fall. Warrior powerbombed Muta for a near fall but Muta blew mist in his eyes. Muta came off the top rope with a chop on Warrior and hit a moonsault for a near fall. Muta grabbed a table and threw it into the ring. He propped the table in the corner, whipped Warrior into it, and gave him a handspring elbow. Muta gave Warrior a top rope huracanrana onto the flat table. Muta gave Warrior a backbreaker but missed a moonsault. Warrior hit a lariat and then gave Muta a northern lights bomb on the table for the pin at 16:09 (10:32 aired). Sasaki was arguably in his worst period as a worker at this time and certainly not would have been expected to have a good match with Muta using his own alter-ego. However, this was a good match that avoided the main pitfall of the Muta-Hakushi match: being too slow in between spots. By no means was the pacing fast at all, but they didn�t waste too much time in between spots. Everything Warrior did was solid, and the Muta-dictated pacing actually helped to hide many of Warrior�s limitations as a worker, allowing him to do what he could do well. Muta had his lazy moments, but they were fewer than an average Muta match and he definitely worked to make this a memorable match. I wouldn�t call it memorable, but I�d call it good. Actually they produced a match that would have been just fine even if they had worked under their real names instead of their alter-egos. Definitely an example of �good� Muta. ***

Great Muta vs Masahiro Chono 4/12/97

Chono applied a front facelock early on the mat. They locked knuckles and Chono kicked Muta. Chono landed a couple forearms and went for a yakuza kick but Muta somersaulted right by him. Muta scored with a spinning mule kick but Chono responded with a yakuza kick and Muta rolled out of the ring. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, one of Chono�s supporters at ringside, attacked Muta and threw him back into the ring. Chono landed a couple punches and gave Muta an atomic drop. He took Muta down by the legs, teased a low blow, and then stomped Muta in the gut. Chono gave Muta a hangman�s neckbreaker for a one count. Chono raked Muta�s eyes and scored with a yakuza kick. Chono grabbed a can of spray paint and went to tag Muta with the paint but Muta gave him a spinning mule kick. Muta snapmared Chono and hit a power elbow. Muta jumped off the top rope and hit Chono with the spray paint can. He then tagged Chono�s back with the �NWO" letters. Muta then blew mist onto Chono�s back. Muta kicked Tenzan at ringside before footage clipped forward. Muta gave Chono a power elbow and threw him out of the ring and onto the entrance ramp. Muta suplexed Chono on the ramp. He did his windsprint about 50 feet across the ramp and went for a lariat but Chono met him with a yakuza kick. Chono slammed Muta on the ramp and threw him back into the ring. Chono gave Muta a yakuza kick but Muta caught him on the top rope with a punch. Muta gave Chono a top rope superplex. Muta whipped Chono into the corner and gave him a handspring elbow followed by a bulldog. Muta bounced off the ropes but ran into a yakuza kick. Chono gave Muta a back suplex and a piledriver. Chono hit a top rope shouldertackle and went to apply his STF but Muta kicked him low. Muta rolled out of the ring and threw a ringside table into the ring. Muta propped the table up in the corner. He whipped Chono into the table and went for a handspring elbow but crashed into the table when Chono moved. Muta blew mist but Chono ducked and gave him a low blow. Chono then gave Muta a yakuza kick for a near fall. Chono grabbed the table, the ref tried to take it from him and they struggled. Muta then knocked Chono into the table with a top rope dropkick. Muta gave Chono a backbreaker and hit a moonsault for the pin at 14:09 (10:37 aired). Chono�s seconds Tenzan and Hiro Saito tended to Chono but Muta threw them out of the ring. Muta and Chono then had a staredown and shook hands, beginning a lengthy drawn out angle where Muta would eventually join the NWO. This was a decent match. Given who was involved I can�t say I was pleased nor was I disappointed. Muta wasn�t as lazy as he had been in several previous outings, but he didn�t turn up the intensity down the stretch as much as in many previous matches either. Chono was solid, but stuck to his signature spots while not working really hard. In general, this was the type of match that kept rolling along without dragging much, yet never became exciting. Kinda like the aforementioned 1/4/97 Muta match, but without the intensity or drama. **1/4

Great Muta vs Naoya Ogawa 8/10/97

Antonio Inoki was the special ref for this match. Muta blew green mist in Inoki�s eyes before the bell and Inoki punched him in response. Ogawa went after Muta and landed a couple kicks. Ogawa went for a choke but Muta backed him into a corner. Ogawa applied a front facelock and then applied a headlock on the mat. Muta countered and choked Ogawa with the black belt from Ogawa�s gi. Ogawa went for a leglock but Muta kept turning around to counter. Muta choked Ogawa with the belt again. Muta then gave Ogawa an ipponzei (judo throw I think). He tried to maneuver Ogawa into a choke but just stayed on top of him for a while without doing much. They reached the ropes and Ogawa fell out of the ring. Ogawa returned to the ring but Muta met him with a kneelift. Ogawa blocked an ipponzei attempt but Muta gave him an armdrag into an armbar. Ogawa then gave Muta an ipponzei of his own and Muta rolled out of the ring. Ogawa gave Muta an Ogawa space tornado (or �OST�, a kind of judo throw) and applied a cross armbreaker. Muta escaped by blowing green mist in Ogawa�s eyes and fans popped. Muta kicked Ogawa low and gave him a power elbow. Muta then applied a cross armbreaker on Ogawa. Someone threw in a towel, I think it was alternate ref Masao Hattori, and he called for the bell giving Muta a TKO win at 6:39. Well, uh, I don�t know quite how badly to react. The match certainly wasn�t good, but wasn�t terrible given its focus and style. Fans really popped for the action as well, so that helped. Muta was pretty typical Muta in the 6 minutes, and generally nothing special. Ogawa really looked weak in terms of not being a polished or poised worker, but hit his spots pretty well. The finish was sudden and maybe a bit cheap, but not really a bad finish given that the match wasn�t looking good by that point. A crappy match, but not memorably terrible. *

Next Issue: Kerry Von Erich vs Ric Flair: The World Class Classics

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