Sting Set For Great Muta's Retirement Match

AEW’s recent Grand Slam event was chock full of surprises, including an unexpected appearance from Japanese wrestling legend The Great Muta.

Muta appeared during Sting and Darby Allin’s brawl with The House of Black, with Muta misting Buddy Matthews en route to Sting and Darby getting the win. Now it has been revealed that the two will formally share a ring for the first time since 2004 as Sting will team with Muta in January 2023.

Pro Wrestling NOAH revealed the two will team at the Yokohama Arena for the last ever match of The Great Muta character:

“We are pleased to announce the participation of AEW superstar and international pro wrestling legend Sting at the GREAT MUTA FINAL 'BYE-BYE' event, which will be held on Sunday, January 22, 2023 in Yokohama. It was The Great Muta who came to the unexpected rescue of Sting On AEW Rampage: Grand Slam this week. This incident triggered him to partner with Sting at the Yokohama Arena event.”

The match comes as part of Keiji Muto’s retirement tour, with the highly influential ‘Musketeer’ hanging up his boots after nearly 40 years in the ring, but as of writing, no opponents have been announced.

One of NJPW’s fabled ‘Three Musketeers’, Muto is one of only four men to have held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the Triple Crown, and NOAH’s GHC Heavyweight Championship, and one of only two to have held the above and the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.

Sting and Muta famously feuded over the NWA TV Title in the late 80s, and went on to team together in New Japan in the early 90s, with Muto later working with WCW sporadically in the late 90s and early 2000s due to a working relationship between WCW and NJPW.