The Great Muta retired, but his alter ego has at least one match left. Also, Ricky Steamboat would not wrestle Ric Flair due of his health
The Great Muta Retired
Keiji Muto is a name not many fans are familiar with. Although, he is better known as The Great Muta.
About a year ago, he stated his intention to retire. Because of such a decorated career, he was given a farewell tour.
Several months back, Sting and Darby Allin were taking part in a match for AEW. They were outnumbered until The Great Muta made a surprise appearance.
That single appearance was done to setup a future tag team match. As part of he Great Muta Final “Bye-Bye” tour, that bout took pace January 22.
The Great Muta teamed with foe-turned-friend Sting and Darby Allin for Pro Wrestling NOAH. In the end, they defeated AKIRA, Hakushi and Naomichi Marufuji.
The ending sequence saw Sting hit a scorpion death drop, Allin a coffin drop and The Great Muta landed a shining wizard onto Hakushi to secure the win.
After the bell, The Great Muta attacked Hakushi’s ringside monk. Then, he stabbed Hakushi with a grave marker and wrote his name in blood.
⚰️ Coffin drop from @DarbyAllin! #noah_ghc #byebyeMUTA pic.twitter.com/PWLprKGtMA
— Pro Wrestling NOAH Global (@noahglobal) January 22, 2023
GREAT MUTA WINS HIS LAST EVER MATCH!
After a scorpion death drop, a coffin drop and a Shining Wizard, Muta pins HAKUSHI! #noah_ghc #byebyeMUTA pic.twitter.com/GSYK9GqOxi
— Pro Wrestling NOAH Global (@noahglobal) January 22, 2023
Great Muta uses HAKUSHI’s own blood to write the sign post for his grave! #noah_ghc #byebyeMUTA pic.twitter.com/c1CrcEsNaB
— Pro Wrestling NOAH Global (@noahglobal) January 22, 2023
BYE BYE GREAT MUTA! #noah_ghc #byebyeMUTA pic.twitter.com/vmsoK4fhOw
— Pro Wrestling NOAH Global (@noahglobal) January 22, 2023
From how things played out, The Great Muta character is no more. But, his alter ego, Keiji Muto, is still around.
Muto will now meet Tetsuya Naito on February 21. That is being billed as the final match for Muto.
Yes, it is a little confusing at first. Since he has two gimmicks, with each getting their own retirement.
The Great Muta is retired, but not Muto. His retirement should take place during the February 21 show.
Rick Steamboat Concerned For Ric Flair
Ric Flair’s final match saw him and Andrade El Idolo defeat Jeff Jarret and Jay Lethal. But, that was not the original plan.
Long time rival of Flair, Ricky Steamboat was supposed to be involved in the match. After of week of discussions, Steamboat opted out because of Flair’s declining health.
“I found out that Flair was wearing a pacemaker,” said Steamboat to Sportskeeda Editor Bill Apter. “All these years I never knew, and I immediately just said I don’t think I want to do this.”
“I don’t want my legacy to be that I was in the ring when if he happened to pass away or something went wrong. I didn’t want that.”
Steamboat did return for a match in November. At the Return of the Dragon event, he teamed with FTR to defeat Nick Aldis, Jay Lethal and Brock Anderson.
Honestly, Streamboat and Flair need to stay retired since pro wrestling is physically daunting on the body.
