Keiji Mutoh
From Freepedia
Keiji Mutoh (武藤敬司 Mutō Keiji) was born December 23, 1962 in Yamanashi, Japan.
Mutoh was trained to be a professional wrestler by Hiro Matsuda in the New Japan Pro Wrestling Academy. He debuted on October 5, 1984. In high school he participated in judo. Mutoh wrestled mainly for New Japan Pro Wrestling, and now for All Japan Pro Wrestling in Japan. In the United States he has wrestled in the World Wrestling Council, World Class Championship Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling.
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Alter-egos
- Great Muta, which he has wrestled as fairly continuously throughout his career, switching back and forth between this character and his real name. Great Muta is a mysterious gimmick where he spits green or red mist and plays mind games to distract his opponent's. Muta was originally billed as the son of older Japanese wrestler Great Kabuki who used a similar gimmick. The two are not related in real life. Originally he wore various different face paints, which he later exchanged for a mask after he shaved his head.
- Originally Mutoh used the figure four leglock as his finisher when wrestling under his real name, and the moonsault when wrestling as Muta. The usage of the moonsault, and other incidents, lead to several knee injuries. Because of this Mutoh doesn't use the moonsault as much anymore, saving it for big important matches. In early 2000s Mutoh innovated the Shining Wizard, which he uses now as his finisher for both characters. The Shining Wizard has become a very popular move, even a fashion in the wrestling industry, with many people using either the original Mutoh version or a variation of it.
- Kokushi-Muso, a Gimmick used only for a few shows, possibly just one. It is a play off of Jinsei Shinzaki's American character known as Hakushi. Hakushi means "White Angel" and "Kokushi" means "Black Angel"
- White Ninja, was used early in his career in New Japan Pro Wrestling and in Florida Championship Wrestling.
- Super Ninja, was used in the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico.
- Super Black Ninja, was used in World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas.
Profile
- Height: 188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
- Weight: 100 kg (243 lb)
- Date of birth: December 23, 1962
- Town of birth: Fuji Yoshida, Yamanashi, Japan
- Debut: October 5, 1984, vs. Masa Chono
Finishing and signature moves
- Shining Wizard (Strike to the side of the opponent's head with the side of the knee after stepping off one of the opponent's knees)
- Moonsault
- Dragon screw
- Figure four leglock
- Space Rolling Elbow (Cartwheel to back elbow)
- Crazy Elbow Drop (Known in Japan as the Flashing Elbow)
- Handspring back elbow
Illegal attacks
- Spewing Green Mist (dokukiri) (As Great Muta he will usually spit a colored mist, usually green, in his opponent's face, blinding them)
Championships and accomplishments
All Japan Pro Wrestling
- 2-Time AJPW Triple Crown World Heavyweight Champion
- 2-Time AJPW Unified Tag Team Champion (with Taiyo Kea and Arashi)
- Champion Carnival (2002 and 2004)
- Real World Tag League (2001) (with Taiyo Kea)
- World Tag Team Tournament (2003) (with Arashi)
- Giant Baba Memorial Six Man Tag Tournament (with Kaz Hayashi & George Hines)
New Japan Pro Wrestling
- 3-Time IWGP World Heavyweight Champion
- 6-Time IWGP World Tag Team Champion (with Shiro Koshinaka once, Masa Chono twice, Hiro Hase twice and Taiyo Kea once)
- 1-Time Greatest 18 Champion
- G1 Climax (1995)
World Championship Wrestling
- 1-Time WCW World Tag Team Champion (with Vampiro)
National Wrestling Alliance
- 1-Time NWA World Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time NWA World Television Champion
- 1-Time NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion
World Wrestling Council
- 1-Time WWC Puerto Rican Champion
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him # 25 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003. He was also ranked # 22 of the best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Hiro Hase.
| International Wrestling Grand Prix World Heavyweight Champions | |
|---|---|
| Inoki | - | Fujinami | - | Fujinami | - | Vader | Hashimokov | Choshu | Vader | Choshu | Fujinami | Vader | Fujinami | Choshu | Mutoh | Hashimoto | Fujinami | Hashimoto | Mutoh | Takada | Hashimoto | Sasaki | Fujinami | Chono | - | Norton | Mutoh | Tenryu | Sasaki | - | Sasaki | Norton | Fujita | - | Yasuda | Nagata | Takayama | Tenzan | Nakamura | - | Tenzan | Sasaki | Sapp | - | Fujita | Sasaki | Tenzan | Kojima | Tenzan | Fujita | Lesnar | |
