Muto comments on his final match taking place at the Tokyo Dome.
After a near 40-year career, Keiji Muto (The Great Muta) will be retiring in February 2023. His final match is taking place inside the Tokyo Dome. The last time he wrestled at the venue was in 2014 at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 where he and Toru Yano took on Minoru Suzuki and Shelton Benjamin.
Muto was interviewed by Tokyo Sports and said it is going to be an honor to have his final match at The Dome. He mentioned several former colleagues of his that were not able to have a retirement match. Muto added that he does feel sad knowing that his retirement date is officially set.
It’s an honor. It’s a great honor to be a wrestler. Shinya Hashimoto, Mitsuharu Misawa and Chono have not had their retirement matches. I am truly blessed.
It is easier now that the goal has been set. But I also feel sad. I think, ah, it has finally been decided… At the same time, I also think, I have to finish the race. It’s funny, because I’ve never had Coronavirus. If I were to catch Coronavirus, people would say, what are you going to do? I’ll be very nervous. I would be extremely nervous. So I would have to get my family involved. It’s tough.
Earlier this year, Muto had to take a break from in-ring competition due to a hip injury. The gap in his hip joint had been decreasing, so he was taking hyaluronic acid and oil as a form of treatment.
He told the outlet that his hip and knee joints are doing well and thinks things are progressing better now that he’s working on a limited in-ring schedule on the lead-up to his retirement bout.
Well, things are going well. I think it’s [hip and knee joints] getting better under these circumstances.
The next match for Keiji Muto is scheduled for September 25th. He is teaming with Kazuyuki Fujita and they’ll be taking on Katsuhiko Nakajima and GHC National Champion Masakatsu Funaki.
