NOAH Great Muta Final Bye-Bye Results – Jan. 22, 2023 – Great Muta’s Retirement Match

Jan 22, 2023

January 22, 2023
Yokohama, Japan – Yokohama Arena
English Commentary: Stewart Fulton and Mark Pickering
Results via Chick Fritts of F4WOnline.com

Quick Match Results

KONGO defeated Atsushi Kotogi & Seiki Yoshioka via Stuka Splash (pinfall)
Jungle Kyona & Saori Anou defeated Maya Yukihi & Natsu Sumire via Jungle Buster (pinfall)
Timothy Thatcher defeated Masaaki Mochizuki via Armbar (submission)
Junta Miyawaki, Alejandro, & Yasutaka Yano defeated Yoshinari Ogawa, Eita, & NOSAWA Rongai via Disqualification
Jake Lee, Jack Morris, & Anthony Greene defeated Masa Kitamiya, Daiki Inaba, & Yoshiki Inamura via Yakuza Kick (pinfall)
GHC Martial Arts Rules match – Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Hideki Suzuki via Triangle Choke (ref stoppage)
AMAKUSA, Ultimo Dragon, & Ninja Mack defeated YO-HEY, Kzy, & Dante Leon via Ninja Bomb (pinfall)
Kaito Kiyomiya, Hijo de Doctor Wagner Jr., Takashi Sugiura, & Satoshi Kojima defeated KONGO via Moonsault (pinfall)
The Great Muta, Sting, & Darby Allin defeated Hakushi, AKIRA, & Naomichi Marufuji via Shinning Wizard (pinfall)

Atsushi Kotogi & Seiki Yoshioka vs. KONGO (Hajime Ohara & Hi69)

Nothing special, but a fine enough opener.

This opening junior tag started with typical back-and-forth during the first few control segments. As the pace picked up later in the match, the trading continued, just with a little more urgency. HIROKI eventually ended the match with a Stuka Splash on Yoshioka.

Winner: KONGO via Pinfall.

Maya Yukihi & Natsu Sumire vs. Jungle Kyona & Saori Anou

After a brief altercation after the opening bell, Natsu and Anou tagged out, leaving Kyona and Maya to trade strikes. Natsu pulled Kyona to the floor, helping her team establish control early. Natsu and Maya then worked to isolate Kyona, leading to the eventual hot tag.

After receiving the tag, Anou reversed the flow of the match for a while, but it didn’t take long for the heel pairing to begin their isolation tactic again. This time, Kyona was able to help Anou, keeping her competitive even through Natsu and Maya’s concentrated efforts.

Kyona eventually made the tag, but a top rope dropkick, pair of running boots, and a top rope splash left her on the receiving end of a near fall. Kyona continued to fight, however, landing a double suplex, a double lariat, and a sliding lariat for a near fall of her own.

Natsu connected with a pair of DDTs, forcing Anou to make the save; this led to a scramble for control. Kyona eventually landed a lariat which she followed with the Jungle Buster on Natsu, winning the match for her team.

Winner: Jungle Kyona & Saori Anou via Pinfall.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Masaaki Mochizuki

Great match. Many people are mixed on Thatcher’s time in NOAH, but he has been a continued highlight for me, whether in the main event or lower on the card.

Thatcher opened the match with a quick attempt for grappling control, but Mochizuki answered by targeting Thatcher’s leg, taking the lead early. Thatcher eventually struck back by taking control on the mat.

Mochizuki used the targeted leg as a check to a standing Thatcher throughout the match; whenever Thatcher showed a little bit of life, he slowed him to a halt by focusing on the leg. Mochizuki tried to connect with a flurry of strikes, but Thatcher caught him with an armbar out of nowhere, forcing the submission.

Winner: Timothy Thatcher via Submission.

Yoshinari Ogawa, Eita, & NOSAWA Rongai vs. Junta Miyawaki, Alejandro, & Yasutaka Yano

This was bad.

A quick brawl allowed team Ogawa to establish an early lead. Ogawa and company were more than willing to gain a numbers advantage at any turn as they worked to isolate whoever they were in the ring with. A lot of attention was paid to Alejandro, with the heels eventually ripping off his mask, resulting in the disqualification.

Winner: Junta Miyawaki, Alejandro, & Yasutaka Yano via Disqualification.

After the match, NOSAWA cut an unwilling Miyawaki’s hair.

Jake Lee, Jack Morris, & Anthony Greene vs. Masa Kitamiya, Daiki Inaba, & Yoshiki Inamura

The opening minutes of this match saw different pairings of opponents testing their grit against one another. GLG eventually established control by forcing Inamura into the corner and trading tags to keep him from his team. GLG maintained their control for some time, even after Masa tagged into the match.

A tag to Inaba actually turned things around for his team. A lariat to Morris caused a match reset, leading to a Lee/Inamura exchange. Inamura dropped Lee with a suplex and a ton of elbow strikes, but Lee answered with a big knee to the midsection, followed yakuza kick. The rest of GLG cleared the ring of their opponents, and Lee pinned Inamura to win the match.

Winner: Jake Lee, Jack Morris, & Anthony Greene via Pinfall.

Keiji Muto Grand Final Card Announcement

A video package played to announce the card for Muto’s Tokyo Dome farewell on 2/21/2023. All the matches had cute little names to set them apart.

Starting Love tag: Masa Kitamiya and Daiki Inaba vs. Yoshiki Inamura and Yasutaka Yano

TJPW Spark: Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki, Rika Tatsumi, and Shoko Nakajima vs. Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Miu Watanabe, Yuki Arai

World Warrior Battle 6-Man tag: Takashi Sugiura, Satoshi Kojima, and Timothy Thatcher vs. Good Looking Guys (Anthony Greene, Jack Morris & Jake Lee)

New Explosion 10-Man tag: Eita, Yoshinari Ogawa, Hayata, Daga, and Chris Ridgeway vs. Atsushi Kotoge, YO-HEY, Seki Yoshioka, Alejandro and Junta Miyawaki

Dramatic Dream Future 8-Man tag: Shunma Katsumata, Mao, Toui Kojima, and Yuki Ueno vs. Tetsuya Endo, Yuya Koroku, Hideki Okatani, and Takeshi Masada

Dragongate vs. NOAH 6-Man tag: Dragongate (Shun Skywalker, Kai, and Diamante) vs. NOAH (Naomichi Marufuji, Hijo Del Dr. Wagner Jr., and Ninja Mack)

AJPW vs. NOAH 6-Man tag: AJPW (Kento Miyahara, Suwama, and Yuma Aoyagi) vs. NOAH/Kongo (Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima, and Manabu Soya)

Final De Lucha Tag: Gedo and Taiji Ishimori vs. NOSAWA Rongai and MAZADA

Tokyo Tornado: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Amakusa

Shinning Through: IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kaito Kiyomiya

Pro-Wrestling “Last” Love: Keiji Muto vs. Tetsuya Naito

This is an incredibly stacked card. It really feels as if the wrestling world is coming together to celebrate the career of Muto.

GHC Martial Arts Rules Match
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Hideki Suzuki

This is what it’s all about. I loved this.

The match opened with a scramble on the mat. Sakuraba tried to secure guard on Suzuki, but Suzuki was able to pass. After the stalemate on the ground, they stood up and traded a few palm strikes, but Suzuki secured a double-leg takedown to return to the mat.

Sakuraba popped back to his feet and tried a takedown of his own, finally pulling Suzuki into full guard. From guard, Sakuraba nearly secured an armbar, but Suzuki flipped out of the hold. Both men struggled for control of the legs of the other, leading to an extended struggle for the lead.

Sakuraba secured a triangle choke from the mat. Suzuki tried to escape by powering up and landing a buckle bomb, but before he could connect, he passed out. The referee noticed and stopped the match, leaving Sakuraba as the winner.

Winner: Kazushi Sakuraba via Ref Stoppage.

AMAKUSA, Ultimo Dragon, & Ninja Mack vs. YO-HEY, Kzy, & Dante Leon

This match was a ton of fun.

The match opened with an extended period of animated sequences. The lucha libre rules (no tags) allowed for fluid transitions between the competitors, leading to spatiality as the match escalated. Everyone hit impressive dives except Dragon, who teased a jump instead. Sonny Onoo, who accompanied Dragon to the ring, got involved, landing some quick kicks on KZY ahead of the finish. Ninja Mack won the match for his team with an insane top-rope dive on YO-HEY.

Winner: AMAKUSA, Ultimo Dragon, & Ninja Mack via Pinfall.

After the match, Onoo took a picture of the winning team with a disposable camera.

Kaito Kiyomiya, Hijo de Doctor Wagner Jr., Takashi Sugiura, & Satoshi Kojima vs. KONGO (Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakamjima, Masakatsu Funaki, & Manabu Soya)

This was a good match. The exchanges were fun, and all built upon each other up to the finish.

Kenoh and Kojima entered the match early, and with the rest of the faction’s help, Kongo established control. Kongo worked to isolate Kojima, with each member beating on the veteran.

Once the tag finally came, Sugiura challenged Kenoh, trading heavy blows and putting Kongo on the backfoot. Kaito tagged in and continued to further the lead made by Sugiura.

Funaki challenged Kaito, connecting with thunderous strikes and forcing the tag. Soya and Wagner entered to trade power moves, with Soya gaining the upper hand with a spear and a brainbuster. Kongo rushed the ring to fully cement Soya’s lead, which led to a free-for-all shortly after. Once the fog cleared, Wagner hit Soya with a driver and a beautiful moonsault to win the match.

Winner: Kaito Kiyomiya, Hijo de Doctor Wagner Jr., Takashi Sugiura, & Satoshi Kojima via Pinfall.

The Great Muta, Sting, & Darby Allin vs. Hakushi, AKIRA, & Naomichi Marufuji

This was incredible. It was filled with outlandish visuals, creative spots, and memorable moments. They worked around the limitations of the older wrestlers brilliantly, making them look outstanding despite their constraints. Brilliant sendoff.

The presentation of this match was highly extravagant. Before the match, a video package showed off Muta’s career and history with Sting. Marufuji came to the ring with an elaborate body and face paint combination. Hakushi and AKIRA had elaborate individual entrances. The Great Kabuki also walked to the ring with his nunchucks and gave the crowd a surprise show, mist and all. Allin skated to the ring with his AEW theme and the TNT championship. Sting’s first WCW theme, “Turbo Charged,” played before his entrance to his AEW theme with the snow. Muta’s entrance was probably the least ornate; other than a unique attire and some sparklers, it was normal.

Muta and Hakushi opened the match. Muta taunted Hakushi with a spray of green mist in the air. A scramble led the pair to the ground, but this first interaction was a tease of what was coming.

Marufuji and Sting tagged into the match. Marufuji tried chopping Sting, but Sting was unphased. Sting dragged Marufuji into the corner and tagged in Allin. Before Allin and Marufuji could come to blows, Marufuji tagged in AKIRA. AKIRA and Allin traded moves briefly before tagging out to Sting and Hakushi, respectively.

Sting hit Hakushi with a lariat that sent him to the floor. Hakushi took a moment to recover, only for Sting to bump him off the apron, over the barricade, and into the bell table. This led to a brawl outside, with Muta focusing Hakushi.

Muta choked Hakushi with a cable before jumping his ringside accompaniment. Muta took Hakushi’s graveside marker, broke it over his knee, and jabbed the jagged wood into Hakushi’s head, drawing blood. After dragging Hakushi back into the ring, Allin bit Hakushi’s wound, and Sting targeted it with slams into the barricade and ring post.

Muta slowed the violence momentarily, locking Hakushi in an STF in the middle of the ring. AKIRA hit the ring to make the save, leading to a tag into Marufuji.

Marufuji moved Allin into the corner, leading into a slightly faster sequence. Allin landed a fantastic dive, as only he could, before grabbing a chair. Instead of hitting him with it, Allin sat Marufuji in the chair, climbed to the top rope, and hit a dropkick, ring-to-floor.

Sting tagged in, but after several Stinger splashes, he lost control to AKIRA. AKIRA slipped up, however, getting caught in the scorpion deathlock before Muta re-entered the match. Muta connected with his signature dragon screws and shining wizard, but AKIRA held on. After blocking Muta’s second attempt at a shining wizard, AKIRA landed a top rope splash and tagged out to Hakushi.

Hakushi climbed to the top rope and delivered a falling headbutt for a nearfall. Allin hit the ring, smashing Hakushi over the head with his skateboard. This led to a brawl, clearing the ring of everyone but Hakushi and Muta.

Hakushi, blood-drenched, cupped his hands over his cut and drank his own blood before botching a top rope walk. Muta blinded Hakushi with the green mist after the fall. Muta hit Hakushi with a shining wizard. Hakushi’s tag partners hit the ring and made the save, but Muta’s partners were quick to back him up.

With Hakushi still on his back, Allin landed a coffin drop. Muta followed this with another shining wizard before pinning Hakushi to win his farewell.

Winner: The Great Muta, Sting, & Darby Allin via Pinfall.

After the conclusion, Muta attacked Hakushi’s ringside monk again. He grabbed the grave marker and stabbed Hakushi with it again. Muta then took Hakushi’s blood and wrote a message on the broken marker, trapping Hakushi’s demon inside him forever.

On his way to the back, Muta was visibly in a lot of pain. Allin and Sting helped him to the top but left him alone for one last mist spray.