We’re just a few hours away from the WWE Royal Rumble, and while most of the field for the men’s match has already been revealed – there’s a potentially big surprise coming in the match for fans of Japanese wrestling. Ahead of his retirement next month, Keiji Muto is backstage at the WWE Royal Rumble.
Keiji Muto Is Backstage At Royal Rumble
This would be reported earlier today, that the wrestling legend is backstage at the WWE Royal Rumble. While it has not been confirmed that he will be in the match, it would make sense given the match at the beginning of the month against WWE superstar Shinsuke Nakamura at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s New Years Day event. There was a potential deal made, that if Nakamura went to NOAH – Muto would come to WWE.
Muto has never worked a match with WWE over this career, but has experience in the United States wrestling for the NWA, WCW & Impact Wrestling, and recently appearing on All Elite Wrestling TV as well. He is a clear Hall of Fame name, potentially being inducted later this year. However, WWE would want to use modern & archived footage for his induction, and having some footage of a Royal Rumble debut would allow an easy way to do this.
The Great Muta Character Has Been Retired, But Muto Retires On February 21st
Muto recently retired his iconic The Great Muta character, wrestling alongside Sting & Darby Allin in Pro Wrestling NOAH. He is set to retire on February 21st against Tetsuya Naito, in the main event of a massive cross promotional supershow which features names from New Japan Pro Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and more. Being able to add WWE to his resume before retirement would be a great way to cap off all his accomplishments in North America, and would give a genuine surprise to longtime fans.
If he’s in the match, we can only expect him to hit a few signature spots – and perhaps eliminate Shinsuke Nakamura from the match. His in-ring skills are limited at this point due to age, but in a crowded match like the Royal Rumble, that can be more easily ignored.
Do you want to see Keiji Muto make his WWE debut? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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