All Japan Pro Wrestling (2002–2013) Keiji Mutoh

mutoh great muta in november 2009

on january 11, 2002, following end of year-long cross-promotional angle new japan pro wrestling, keiji mutoh shocked japanese wrestling world defecting all-japan full-time competitor, taking satoshi kojima , kendo kashin him. @ nippon budokan on july 20, mutoh wrestled 3 different characters on card: kokushi muso , defeating kaz hayashi on second match, himself in mid-card, , in second-to-last match, defeated kojima, under great koji persona, great muta. on september 30, during japan 30th anniversary party @ famed tokyo city hotel, mokoto baba officially announced mutoh s appointment new president of japan, transferring of baba family stock him. despite position, however, mutoh has not stopped wrestling full-time japan, , lead supporters in feuds voodoo murders. on december 27, 2003, mutoh made return united states, wrestling ring of honor promotion part of interpromotional japan vs. roh card, hosted series of cross-promotional dream matches. in main event, mutoh reverted great muta persona , teamed arashi defeat prophecy members christopher daniels , dan maff.

he made british debut on january 12, 2007, wrestling real quality wrestling @ york hall in green, london, england, defeated rqw heavyweight champion martin stone in non-title match. mutoh won 2007 champion carnival, competing in block , finishing 6 points total; mutoh defeated toshiaki kawada in finals on march 30, 2007.

in march 2007, while mutoh in orlando, florida, in order establish working agreement between japan , total nonstop action wrestling (tna), made appearance company, under great muta gimmick, @ destination x pay-per-view, in segment christian cage. in february 2009 mutoh featured in multiple interview segments, taped in japan, spoke of student akira raijin, had begun working tna.

on september 29, 2008, wrestling great muta, defeated suwama capture triple crown heavyweight championship, becoming second wrestler, after satoshi kojima, hold triple crown heavyweight championship , iwgp heavyweight championship @ same time.

on march 14, 2009, mutoh defended triple crown heavyweight championship against yoshihiro takayama. bloodied him severely, trademark, , used shining wizard opponent on barricade. during course of match, however, mask ripped off, , bleeding profusely. towards end of match, takayama dominated muta, muta reversed kick dragon screw, , attempted use asian mist against him, takayama blocked it, , performed everest suplex pin on muta, , won match. muta subsequently walked away in shock of had happened.

on january 30, 2010, mutoh, under great muta gimmick, made special appearance pro wrestling guerrilla in los angeles, california, during wrestlereunion 4 weekend, teaming kai in match, defeated team of joey ryan , scott lost.

in april 2010 mutoh went through reconstructive knee surgery keep him out of ring rest of year. mutoh made return on september 10, 2010, when faced masakatsu funaki in special return match.

on june 7, 2011, mutoh announced resignation president of japan pro wrestling. remain in promotion active wrestler , member of supervisory board. mutoh s decision stemmed real-life incident yoshikazu taru assaulted nobukazu hirai backstage @ japan pro wrestling show, led hirai suffering stroke after competing in match. mutoh took blame incident, led japan suspending not taru, kazuhiko masada, masayuki kono , minoru tanaka present when attack took place. after being on midcard , without big feud of 2011, mutoh became main challenger noah s jun akiyama, had won triple crown championship suwama, , after akiyama defended title 2 times (against taiyō kea , takao omori), akiyama challenged mutoh match took place in march 2012, mutoh lost. on june 1, 2012, mutoh returned united states make appearance pro wrestling syndicate (pws) in rahway, new jersey, teaming kai defeat anthony nese , sami callihan in tag team match.

in november 2012, mutoh , business partners sold of japan shares speed partners corporation ¥200 million. on june 1, 2013, speed partners president nobuo shiraishi took on new president of japan, firing previous president, mutoh s longtime right-hand man masayuki uchida, in process, led mutoh resigning promotion, effective june 30, 2013.