Pro Wrestling NOAH dropped a bombshell early this morning as they have announced Shinsuke Nakamura will wrestle the Great Muta on January 1st, 2023 at Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Keiji Mutoh will be retiring next February and has been announcing dates plus new matches in the process.
While he will be teaming with Sting in his final match for Pro Wrestling NOAH, he will be wrestling as “The Great Muta” to open the 2023 calendar wrestling year against another Japanese legend.
Nakamura’s homecoming
Shinsuke Nakamura is no stranger to big time matches in Japan. Nakamura is a 3-time IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and 5-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion.
Nakamura last wrestled outside of the WWE organization on January 30th, 2016 in his final New Japan match. That was a six-man tag where his team emerged victorious. A team that included Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii.
The Great Muta and Shinsuke Nakamura have wrestled one other time in their careers. As an active member of the All-Japan roster, Muta crossed over to over New Japan Pro Wrestling and defeated Nakamura on April 27th, 2008 to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
This match will take place on the Pro Wrestling NOAH “The New Year 2023” card. Nakamura took to Twitter this morning saying “This is miracle.”
The fact that we are getting a match between a WWE contracted employee and a legendary performer from Japan who is not under the WWE umbrella is astounding.
What’s more surreal about this bout is it’s taking place outside of the WWE promotion. One thing is for sure, this announcement has already made a lot of waves.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Great Muta is not a typo folks. This match between two of the biggest Japanese icons is coming at you in less than two months.