Last week, Keiji Mutoh, the iconic Japanese wrestler known to many as The Great Muta, captured Pro Wrestling NOAH‘s GHC Heavyweight Championship to become only the third man in history to win the three major titles in Japan – NJPW‘s IWGP Heavyweight Championship, AJPW‘s Triple Crown, and now NOAH‘s GHC Heavyweight title. In a press conference on Monday, Mutoh not only revealed that he’s signed a two-year deal with NOAH, but has been approached about a title defense in IMPACT Wrestling, furthering the previous NOAH-IMPACT alliance, and continuing the Forbidden Door explosion of late that has seen IMPACT working with the likes of AEW, AAA, and most recently, a rejuvenated relationship with NJPW.
@muto_keiji (The Great Muta) talks about receiving a message to defend the @noah_ghc Heavyweight Championship on @IMPACTWRESTLING.#noah_ghc #IMPACTonAXSTV #ImpactWrestling pic.twitter.com/5efZgkDB9k
— Himanshu Doi (@Himanshu_Doi) February 15, 2021
The former 4x IWGP Heavyweight Champion and 3x Triple Crown Champion added the GHC Heavyweight title to his collection on Friday at NOAH’s Destination 2021 – Back to Budokan event, joining Kensuke Sasaki and Yoshihiro Takayama as the only two men to dominate the three top promotions in Japan. NOAH has had a working relationship with IMPACT for years, including seeing IMPACT star Eddie Edwards capture the GHC title in 2017. Even Mutoh has had experience working with IMPACT, back when it was TNA in 2014 and 2015, which saw him pair with former WWE and ECW Superstar Tajiri in a victory at TNA Bound for Glory ’14 over The Revolution‘s “Cowboy” James Storm and NJPW’s SANADA. The last major NOAH star to appear in IMPACT was in 2019, when NOAH legend Naomichi Marufuji competed in IMPACT, including teaming with Edwards in an IMPACT World Tag Team title match against The North‘s Ethan Page and Josh Alexander in October during a taping in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can watch Pro Wrestling NOAH as well as DDT, TJPW, and more on Wrestle Universe. You can catch IMPACT Wrestling on Tuesday nights on AXS TV and Twitch.TV as well as all the time on IMPACT Plus.
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