Hypothetical: Book The Great Muta in the WWF/WWE!

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

When would he have fit in best and how would you have booked him?

I think I most would have enjoyed him around the early 1990s or so at the IC level. I don't see Vince and friends giving him Yokozuna's push, but I don't think they'd mind have him in the IC scene two years or so before it. Having Hart, Michaels, Perfect, etc. could have been a lot of fun. Although he probably would work better as a heel so I'm not sure how they could have had him with Michaels/Perfect. Also, I'm not taking into consideration all the stuff we would have missed out on around this time from his Japan work.

Alternatively, I could see him being a big deal in the New Generation Era. Although they already had Hakushi so outside of tagging I'm not sure where Muta could fit in exactly.

[MrElijah]

Muta in the WWF almost happened if it wasn't for WCW

[Jake, The Jake, Jake]

Dec 17, 2014 16:10:08 GMT -5 MrElijah said:

Muta in the WWF almost happened if it wasn't for WCW

I'm almost positive we got the long end of the stick on that one. I can't see WWF knowing what to do with Muta.

[________ has left the building]

Dec 17, 2014 22:30:08 GMT -5 Jake, The Jake, Jake said:

Dec 17, 2014 16:10:08 GMT -5 MrElijah said:

Muta in the WWF almost happened if it wasn't for WCW

I'm almost positive we got the long end of the stick on that one. I can't see WWF knowing what to do with Muta.

Easy: He gets paired with Mr Fuji, wrestles at the Intercontinental title level, and leaves in a couple of years due to being homesick.

[Jake, The Jake, Jake]

Dec 17, 2014 22:32:46 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

Dec 17, 2014 22:30:08 GMT -5 Jake, The Jake, Jake said:

I'm almost positive we got the long end of the stick on that one. I can't see WWF knowing what to do with Muta.

Easy: He gets paired with Mr Fuji, wrestles at the Intercontinental title level, and leaves in a couple of years due to being homesick.

Yeah, but even if they book him right I think he loses a lot of his mystique. WWF was full of cartoon characters in 1991, whereas WCW was full of normal, relatable characters. When Muta showed up in WCW it was "Holy shit, who the hell is this guy? He's got face paint, he breathes poison mist, what? AND he does a backflip off the top rope?"

I think if you plop him in WWF he loses a lot of that, and just becomes Japanese Tatanka.

[Digital Witness]

I'm not sure Yokozuna gets his main event championship run if Muta gets there at the right time.

I see Muta putting on some absolute classics with Hart, Hennig and Hall around 93-94. If we were to get mega-heel Muta from around 96, that guy's your champ.

Keiji Mutoh was simply on another level compared to the majority of wrestlers from any country and would have got massive heat as a heel during that time frame.

The way I see it, if Muta was in the WWF in 1994, Hart doesn't get salt in the eyes causing him to lose the WWF championship, he gets the green mist.

[________ has left the building]

Dec 17, 2014 22:39:36 GMT -5 Jake, The Jake, Jake said:

Dec 17, 2014 22:32:46 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

Easy: He gets paired with Mr Fuji, wrestles at the Intercontinental title level, and leaves in a couple of years due to being homesick.

Yeah, but even if they book him right I think he loses a lot of his mystique. WWF was full of cartoon characters in 1991, whereas WCW was full of normal, relatable characters. When Muta showed up in WCW it was "Holy shit, who the hell is this guy? He's got face paint, he breathes poison mist, what? AND he does a backflip off the top rope?"

I think if you plop him in WWF he loses a lot of that, and just becomes Japanese Tatanka.

He would had kept the ring gear, face paint, poison mist, and moonsault. Kwang and Hakushi were basically WWF's attempt to create Muta.

[Digital Witness]

Dec 17, 2014 22:39:36 GMT -5 Jake, The Jake, Jake said:

Dec 17, 2014 22:32:46 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

Easy: He gets paired with Mr Fuji, wrestles at the Intercontinental title level, and leaves in a couple of years due to being homesick.

Yeah, but even if they book him right I think he loses a lot of his mystique. WWF was full of cartoon characters in 1991, whereas WCW was full of normal, relatable characters. When Muta showed up in WCW it was "Holy shit, who the hell is this guy? He's got face paint, he breathes poison mist, what? AND he does a backflip off the top rope?"

I think if you plop him in WWF he loses a lot of that, and just becomes Japanese Tatanka.

Tatanka was mediocre in just about every conceivable way. The Great Muta was one of the absolute best in the world throughout the 90s. Not a good comparison.

Also, any excuse to post this half hour of professional wrestling gold:

[Reflecto]

Dec 17, 2014 22:43:24 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

Dec 17, 2014 22:39:36 GMT -5 Jake, The Jake, Jake said:

Yeah, but even if they book him right I think he loses a lot of his mystique. WWF was full of cartoon characters in 1991, whereas WCW was full of normal, relatable characters. When Muta showed up in WCW it was "Holy shit, who the hell is this guy? He's got face paint, he breathes poison mist, what? AND he does a backflip off the top rope?"

I think if you plop him in WWF he loses a lot of that, and just becomes Japanese Tatanka.

He would had kept the ring gear, face paint, poison mist, and moonsault. Kwang and Hakushi were basically WWF's attempt to create Muta.

That's probably the point. Great Muta would probably both get "barn-burning five-star matches with Bret, Shawn, and the rest of the roster" and also get his share of stupid bullshit that'd take him two steps back for every amazing match he had. Possibly on the same show, having a great match with Owen and then celebrate by having Doink the Clown show up in his facepaint before misting Muta and throwing confetti on him.

[sportatorium]

You would have had to put him w/ Bret or Curt. They likely knew who he was & would have had great matches with him & would have been willing to make him look great in the feud. Shawn would have been a clown about it full stop.