shares his respect for Great Muta.
After a career spanning almost 40 years, Japanese legend Great Muta is preparing to hang up his boots. His last match will take place in Pro Wrestling NOAH at The Great Muta Final “Bye-Bye”on January 22 when he teams with AEW’s Sting and Darby Allin to take on the trio of Hakushi, AKIRA, and Naomichi Marufuji. Ahead of the bout, Sting expressed his feelings about Muta’s retirement in an interview that was posted on Pro Wrestling NOAH’s YouTube channel.
“I have a high opinion about Muta and great respect for him,” Sting said. “We both go back more than three decades together, and in my opinion, he is the only Japanese wrestler that ever transcended wrestling here in America as far as Japanese wrestlers coming here. Many great ones came, don’t get me wrong, but Muta—nobody touches what Muta did. To this day, Muta is revered and respected by wrestlers and fans alike. We mirrored each other throughout our whole career, from the very beginning all the way through present day. He’s the last one of his generation standing in Japan, I’m the last one of my generation here in America.
“It’s bittersweet. It’s gotta come. It’s right around the corner for me too, so it’s making me think about my own career. What a stellar run that Muta had,” Sting recalled. “Internationally, he is known all over the world and one of the greatest of all time, there is no question about that. I respect him and wish him all the best. I know that he will go out with a bang. It’s going to be great. Everything Muta ever did was great, and I know he’s not going to stop now. Congratulations to him.”
Speaking directly to Muta, Sting reflected on how often he was pushed to his limits through the many times they faced each other. Sting feels he has “bragging rights” from being able to say he faced Muta in front of 65,000 people at the Tokyo Dome. He stated that was a moment he will never forget, and he is forever grateful.
WrestleZone will have coverage of The Great Muta Final “Bye-Bye” once it airs on January 22.
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