Balistik Blabber: The Great Muta

Welcome to the 23rd Balistik Blabber! Today weýre going to talk about an active legend in professional wrestling. See how I say ýactiveý instead of ýlivingý? To those who donýt get the difference, youýll get it eventually~ I now present to youý the 20th entry to the ýEx-World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Talentý

THE GREAT MUTA!

In Japan, professional wrestling may look the same as it does in America but there are subtle differences. These differences can make or break an aspiring wrestler and one such wrestler was able to weather that storm and make his marký this man was KEIJI MUTOH.

An amateur wrestler and practitioner of Judo, Mutoh was more than prepared for the ring when legendary trainer Hiro Matsuda began training him. This was the same Hiro who trained Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Lex Luger, Ron Simmons and Ric Flair! Soon Mutoh made his debut in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) in 1984. This first run didnýt fly off the ground very well despite competing with, as well as teaming up with the companyýs best including Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto. Itýs funny because nowadays, these same three men are considered pioneers and innovators of their time. Around the second half of 1985, Mutoh was sent on an excursion to America to learn a few more tricks of the trade. The destination was ýWorld Class Championship Wrestlingý in Texas where he wrestled under the name ýThe Super Ninjaý where he briefly feuded with Kevin Von Erich. Other destinations of the excursion included Florida and Puerto Rico (lucha libre style training) when his growing potential caught the eye of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). On May 21, 1986, Mutoh wrestled as ýThe White Ninjaý and beat Kendall Windham to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight title! Mutoh would have the belt until later June when Kendall beat him to regain it. Prior to his eventual transformation, Mutoh returned to Japan and wrestled under yet another gimmick named ýSpace Lone Wolfý with the UWF. During his time there, he fell victim and got knocked out with the ýdreadedý Tuokon Slap Attacký, a gimmick attack that was a sort of symbolic ýslap of respectý various wrestlers asked from the legendary Antonio Inoki to discipline them. Mutoh also won the International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) Tag Team titles with Shiro Koshinaka on March 20, 1987 but would lose it 6 days later to Nobuhiko Takada & Akira Maeda -- the same team they earned it from. Some unknown force must like Mutoh, because soon he was travelling the world again, this time to the World Wrestling Council (WWC) in Puerto Rico! He never ran out of gimmicks because he had another one: ýBlack Ninjaý. On February 6, 1988 he defeated Invader 1 and earned the WWC Television Title as well as Miguel Perez Jr. to become the WWC Puerto Rican Champion! It was during this time that Mutoh was able to tangle with many legends in various bloody encounters including Carlos Colon (father of Carlito and Primo Colon), Frank ýBruiser Brodyý Goodish and Abdullah the Butcher!

Mutoh soon debuted his most widely recognized gimmický ýTHE GREAT MUTAý in Jim Crockettýs NWA! He wore face paint, fought with an unorthodox mix of striking, high flying maneuvers and surprisingly powerful grapples. The Great Muta also utilized the dreaded ýAsian Mistý or more commonly known as ýpoison mistý at varying points of a match be it the beginning, during or after. The mist is usually spewed into his opponentýs face or eyes and comes in various colors. Depending on the color, the spray supposedly has a different level of effect. Sounds a bit like a videogame no? Hereýs a list showing the various effects of this ýdeadlyý spray attack by color:

Green = obscures vision for a short time

Red = supposedly leaves a ýburningý sensation on the eyes rather than limiting

vision

Black = more powerful that the green variation; blinding effect lasts longer than

green version

Yellow = supposedly has a paralyzing effect; takes effect as long as it makes

contact on any part of the body

Another note to add to the poison mist attack is that The Great Muta WAS NOT the first to use this ýdastardlyý techniqueý that credit goes to Akihisa ýThe Great Kabukiý Mera, The Great Mutaýs ýonscreen fatherý (to those who canýt catch oný theyýre NOT REALLY related)! The two once formed a tag team called ýThe Rising Sunsý but it didnýt really catch on and was soon dropped. As ýThe Great Mutaý, Mutoh wrestled mostly as a ýheelý character (EEEVIL) and faced the likes of Terry Funk, Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and his eternal rival Sting with whom he engaged in a rivalry that went well over 10 years! On July 23, 1989 edition of the original ýGreat American Bashý pay-per-view, Muta and Sting fought to a ýno contestý decision after a double pinfall occurred. They would face each other again on September 3 culminating in Muta beating Sting and capturing the NWA World Heavyweight title! On a separate occasion, Muta also beat Dick Murdoch to win the NWA World Television title. All this happened and soon, two years had passed and Muta felt like going home once again~

Soon Mutoh was back in NJPW and was competing with both Japanese and ýgaijiný (foreigner) opponents as they had a talent exchange program with World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It was during the years of 1991 to 1993 that Mutoh made his mark in Japanese wrestling together with Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto. In 1991 on the very first G-1 Climax tournament in Japan, Mutoh and Chono fought each other through 30 minutes with the victory going to Chono. Afterwards, Hashimoto entered the ring and the three men celebrated like members of the ýMadison Square Garden Incidentý but instead of creating controversy, the event moved the audience ý so much so that they labeled the men ýThe Three Musketeers of NJPWý. In another unforgettable though bloody moment, Mutoh faced Hiroshi Hase on December 14 that same year. To take revenge for earlier attacks, Hase poked Muta with a foreign objectý and Muta bled like A FOUNTAIN! Typing that in ALL CAPS cannot exaggerate enough how much blood Mutoh lost that day as a result of blading himself too deep but nonetheless it created a spectacle that has never been duplicated for its sheer danger. That day, the ýMuta Scaleý was created and a match was forever immortalized in the fans that saw it.

The career of Keiji Mutoh is one filled with color. Through the years he has faced countless enemies from across the globe, won many titles and sprayed mist on many a hapless personýs faceý Heýs faced legends like Inoki and even Tiger Jeet Singh as well as mixed martial artists such as Don Frye and Ken Shamrock. He also made some pretty controversial actions such as betraying NJPW and joining All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for some time, earning the ire of NJPW loyalists. He also has been involved with new World order Japan, both as an opposer and a supporter of the faction. He had a second run with WCW but he had a very nagging knee problem and he was unable to regain his enormous fanbase unlike the previous time. Despite that, he is always trying to evolve his wrestling style and this led to the creation of one of my most favorite wrestling moves: THE SHINING WIZARD! The basic setup is that your opponent is down on one kneeý you take a short run, use one leg to gain leverage by stepping on your rivalýs outward knee, and deliver a nasty knee or shin attack to your opponentýs neck or face with your other leg. This move has been improvised and utilized by hundreds of wrestlers following in the footsteps of Mutoh. Gregory Helms is one of the most prominent users of the move as a finisher as well as Rob Van Dam on certain occasions. This and countless other mannerisms by Mutoh have made such an impact that even in videogames it has been given tribute! Go play a round of Tekken and choose the character King and you will see that he has the moonsault, the Shining Wizard in his arsenal as well as the ýflashing elbowý, an exaggerated elbow drop with a twisting motion. You can find his signature taunt in the ýSmackdown VS Rawý videogame series as the ýwizard tauntý as well as another attack he calls ýSpace Rolling Elbowý which is a corner attack where he performs a cartwheel to a back elbow attack, followed up with a bulldog.

Innovator, and a legend all around the ringý the WWE doesnýt know what itýs missing! Not to undermine their achievements, but I believe Mutoh is greater than The Undertaker or Bret ýThe Hitmaný Hartý itýs not because he has been a part of nearly every aspect of the business: wrestler, trainer and promoterý itýs not because he has won more titlesý itýs because he has not only made a legacy, but also passing on that legacy to a new generation. I donýt think there can be another ýTaker, but there can definitely be many more ýMutasý in future generations of professional wrestling! In fact, Iýve decided to feature one of the most prominent ýMuta-inspiredý wrestlers on the next issue! Keiji Mutoh is an ýAUTOMATIC HALL OF FAME ENTRYý. No question asked. EVER!

Thank you very much for reading! See you all in the next Blabber!

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