The Navigation Log 10.05.08: Muta World

Posted by Matt Short on 10.05.2008

Keiji Muto rules Japan and Naomichi Marufuji wins All Japan gold and sets on a collision course with KENTA. Both of these things seem to further point to more cross-promotional interaction between all three of Japan's Big Three companies, but is it really worth getting hopes up?

Happy October, 411! That can mean but one thing: watching the hell out of horror movies between now and November 1st. Anything is good for this, good or bad movies. It doesn't matter. For example, I'm planning on going to a marathon of all five Saw movies mid-month. Shitty as the series has become, it's an October tradition I've had since the first film came out. Then there's the classics too: Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street, and Phantasm. I love this time of year.

Onto the Navigation Log!

The Great Muta Wins Triple Crown
Last weekend in the main event of All Japan's big show in Yokohama The Great Muta, alter ego of Keiji Muto, defeated Suwama for the Triple Crown. This was the kind of win that reverberated throughout the wrestling world. Muto even won Wrestler of the Week here on 411Mania, which can be a rarity for non-main stream wrestlers. It is definitely a news worthy title win, but it isn't quite all sunshine and roses from my perspective.

First, the positives. The win and the reaction to it has really shown the value of Muto as a draw in Japan. The man is a living icon in the Japanese wrestling world, if not the entire world. Just think for a minute how many guys use the Shining Wizard and how many variations there are of that move and you should have a pretty good idea how deep the influence goes. Hell, the Mute Scale? The Great Muta winning a major title over the weekend was enough for people to stop and take notice. It's also significant because at the moment it makes Keiji Muto the most powerful wrestler in Japan right now. He not only runs All Japan, but he now holds the Triple Crown at the same time as he holds the IWGP Heavyweight Title from New Japan. Thus, he's got 2 out of three major titles in Japan, with only Kensuke Sasaki's GHC Heavyweight Title out of his grasp. So truly, Muto rules Japan for the time being.

But we shouldn't jump the gun. A lot of people were right away calling for a Muto vs. Sasaki match with all the belts on the line, possibly coming at New Japan's Wrestle Kingdom III. Now that match… that match would probably be the kind of draw that could re-start a Japanese wrestling boom. But then attendance has been so down that anything could generally be seen as a boost. Maybe saying a "new boom" is going too far, but if you had a period where there was open cooperation between all three major Japanese companies, the level of interest would absolutely go up. There's only a small hitch, people have forgotten about: kayfaybe. Keiji Muto and The Great Muta are completely different people! One is a businessman and innovative wrestler while the other is a poison-spitting demon from hell. At this point, there's no possible way to do a title unification. While Muto technically has all the gold, he's sharing half the titles with his alternate personality. As such there will have to be some shifting around of belts to accommodate any type of Winner-Take-All match.

I will have to admit, I'm not completely happy with Muta winning the Triple Crown. For one thing, he's old and beaten up. Much as I was saying about Misawa during his last GHC title reign, he can bring the goods when it's called for but he just can't go all out all the time. You're taking the title off of a strong, up and comer like Suwama and giving it to an old man. Yes, the old man is a better draw, but it's not exactly an investment in the future. That's what I like least about this: Suwama's title reign is over. True, he had a very strong run, when put up against Takeshi Morishima's first run. He won the Champion's Carnival, then immediately after that defeated Kensuke Sasaki for the Triple Crown. He had a successful defense against main rival Osamu Nishimura then went to a time limit draw in his defense against Taiyo Kea. I think there was definitely some more gas in the tank of his title run and I was enjoying it a whole lot.

Muta's win might only have a tiny window for him to bask in this glory. He'll be defending his IWGP Title against Shinsuke Nakamura next weekend. It's a highly anticipated rematch as Muto won the belt from Nakamura in the first place. New Japan's young ace has a hell of a lot to prove here. He's gone out of his way to step up his game and make sure he's on a completely different level than when he face Muto the first time. Nakamura really should win the title, rather than having everyone hold their breath for some kind of huge title unification match.

NOAH vs. All Japan
While some kind of full on three-way partnership between All Japan, New Japan, and NOAH aren't fully in the cards there have been some hints at it. New Japan and All Japan have had a great working relationship. NOAH has also recently sent propositions to New Japan as well, with some small cooperation in the form the team NO LIMIT trying for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles. Maybe more will come of that, or maybe not.

The thing to watch now is All Japan. Specifically Naomichi Marufuji. Marufuji travelled to All Japan for the Yokohama show and successfully challenged Ryuji Hijikata for the All Japan World Jr. Heavyweight Title. Marufuji is back to showing off his talent in the junior division again, which is always a good thing. Some might see it as a demotion, but when you consider the fact that he's already held the Grand Slam in NOAH, his being chosen to hold the All Japan belt is fairly significant. Considering how he started in All Japan as a jobber and is now holding one of their belts, it shows how far he's progressed as a performer. His first defense has already been set, and it's going to be a doozy of a bout. Marufuji defends against long-time rival and former partner KENTA. This is almost guaranteed to be a match of the year candidate, considering that the last time these two went one-on-one they actually were given the Japanese match of the year award in 2006. But just to highlight the importance of this as All Japan appearing in NOAH, an All Japan referee will be overseeing the match. Consider this as well: KENTA is challenging Bryan Danielson for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title around the mid-point of the tour. Should he win, could the Budokan Hall match be turned into a champion vs. champion match? The pieces are there, but whether they fall in place is purely up to chance right now.

NOAH will also be getting some extra help from All Japan during the Autumn Navigation. Atsushi Aoki is back to his 10 Match Trial Series and is facing the extremely well-travelled Kaz Hayashi from All Japan. He's not quite in for the same kind of beating he might be getting from say… Jun Akiyama or someone like that, but he'll have his work cut out for him. I see it getting a little fast-paced, which is good. The series has been very varied in terms of matches, anywhere from heavyweight mismatches to very strongly done mat-based battles (see Aoki vs. Yoshinari Ogawa). I'm looking forward to it.

But let me once again stress this: I know there's a lot of cooperation going on here. More than in the past considering the split between NOAH and All Japan. But let's not jump the gun on this. I think it would take a huge miracle before we see full partnership like All Japan has with NOAH. Remain hopeful for full interaction between all of the Big Three. But also stay realistic.

Weekly Puro
Here is where we talk some more about Marufuji. The guy didn't break out until he joined with NOAH. Up until this match he'd been successful as a junior and had even captured the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Titles with Minoru Suzuki. But this is where he began to be noticed as a serious threat as a singles competitor. This match is also a testament to the greatness of Akira Taue.

Pro Wrestling NOAH: Akira Taue vs. Naomichi Marufuji


At Home
No Mercy is tonight! This might be the most interesting card the WWE has had in awhile. I only wish at least one of the tag team titles was on the line, but I can live without it. Why? Michaels vs. Jericho is more than enough reason to buy this show. I said this in the Roundtable, but it is worth saying again. This ladder match is an example of the perfect booking of a gimmick match. In the recent past the gimmick itself has been the selling point. You get Hell in the Cell for the Cell, not so much for the people who are in it. A match gets a reputation for being insane and you can't wait to see who will end up diving off the cage or in the case of the ladder match, plummet to the floor through tables. Instead here the build has been so perfect that you actually want to see these two in the ladder match as opposed to just a ladder match that happens to have Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho in it. The only thing that comes close to this kind of build was Edge vs. Undertaker in Hell in the Cell and that delivered. And I'm hoping and praying that Rey keeps his mask. If he does later, then I hope they at least build to it properly. If they want to treat Mysterio as their resident luchadore (which is a loose term if you compare Rey of the past to the one of today) then they really need to play up more how important the mask is. Not so much as a part of his costume, but as his very identity. That might be harder after the introduction of his family into past storylines. But maybe that won't be as much of a problem, I don't know how often storylines in Mexico bring in real life family who aren't already in the business.

Short Takes
-Genba Hirayanagi is officially using the uppercut lariat as his finisher and is calling it Shouryu Genba. I hereby declare Genba NOAH's Rookie of the Year.

-Mike Campbell was absolutely right in his column this week about the awesomeness of CHIKARA's Vin Gerard saga. Seriously, the best storyline in independent wrestling today.

-Is Jamie Noble getting a push or will he just end up being humbled old country way when next he faces Regal? That's a match I'd like to see on PPV if they build it a bit more.

-I'm someone who really wants Jeff Hardy to win the title this weekend. I picked him to win, but realistically, I have a hard time seeing it happen.

-The Midnight Meat Train is an awesome movie.

That's all for this week. Tune in next week with more hyperventilating about whether or not the Big Three are getting along. Also any other big news that comes up over the week. Until then, peace!