The Great Muta‘s long, storied wrestling career has included so many great matches, a giant egg baby, and getting a ranking system for wrestling match bloodshed named after him. I was fortunate enough to see the 55-year-old former AJPW president team with Pentagon Jr. about a month ago, and he didn’t look like he was on the verge of retirement.
At a press conference early on Monday, Muta revealed that he believes his wrestling career may be over after a double knee replacement surgery at the end of March.
【記者会見】「俺のプロレス生活最後のムーンサルトを披露したい」武藤敬司が3月末にヒザの人工関節の手術を決断！3.14後楽園大会でかつての弟子たちとスペシャル8人タッグマッチ！詳細→https://t.co/jIq6GGsjbW #w_1 #プロレス #pwACE #武藤敬司 #後楽園 pic.twitter.com/sUD5DxFTWd
— WRESTLE-1（W-1公式） (@W_1_official) February 19, 2018
本日の会見で一大決心を発表させて頂いた。両膝を人工関節にする。果たしてプロレスラーとしてリングに戻ってこれるのか不安と恐怖だが頑張って打ち勝ってみせる。 pic.twitter.com/g329iwOlPT
— 武藤 敬司 (@muto_keiji) February 19, 2018
Muta explained that most of the doctors and trainers he consulted recommended he not wrestle on the artificial joints. He says that although one trainer believed he would be able to get back in the ring, Muta still doubts he will be able to perform moonsaults, which he arguably popularized in Japan and the United States, after the surgery. He says the surgery will take about a year of rehab, after which he’ll find out if a return to competition is possible.
The Great Muta will perform what is likely to be his last moonsault at Wrestle-1 Tour 2018 Trans Magic at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on March 14 in an eight man tag match with Ryota Hama, SUSHI, and Kazushi Miyamoto vs. Masayuki Kono, Hiroshi Yamato, Yasufumi Nakanoichi, and KAI. Muta says he requested the match and the competitors, all of whom trained under him at the All Japan dojo, specifically in case this ends up being his last ever match.
