Keiji Muto Retires After Final Match…Or Two

The Japanese legend Keiji Muto has finally brought the curtain down on his iconic wrestling career, but not before squeezing in just one more match.

Muto has been on a retirement tour for quite some time now and competed in his final match as his alter-ego The Great Muta back in January when he teamed with AEW’s Darby Allin and Sting to defeat the trio of AKIRA, Hakushi, and Naomichi Marufuji.

His last bout as Keiji Muto took place in the Tokyo Dome at the show named Pro Wrestling “Last” Love. A host of stars from Japanese promotions such as NJPW, NOAH, Dragongate, All Japan Pro Wrestling, DDT, and Tokyo Joshi Pro were on the card but fans were truly there to see Muto go one-on-one with former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito.

Before the match, Keiji Muto was honoured by another Japanese great in Masahiro Chono before his elaborate and theatrical entrance unfolded. Once the bell rang, Muto didn’t show much sign of the hamstring injury he suffered during his previous outing. But the skills of Naito proved definitive in the end with a Destino bringing the match to a close and with it the career of Keiji Muto…for all of five minutes.

After the match, Muto took to the microphone and out of nowhere challenged Masahiro Chono to a match there and then. An unsure Chono left the commentary table and took Muto up on his offer, himself last competing in a ring back in 2014.

This bout was a quicker affair with Chono hitting a shining wizard before locking Muto in the STF for the submission victory.