The Great Muta Announced for WWE Hall of Fame's Class of 2023

[Kemo]

As WWE prepares for its biggest event of the year, WrestleMania, the company has started to reveal this year's hall of fame class. WrestleMania 39 will occur on April 1 and 2 at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The WWE 2023 Hall of Fame will air on March 31, immediately after Friday Night Smackdown.

On the March 10 episode of Smackdown, they announced that Rey Mysterio has the first inductee into the Hall of Fame. It's unclear if Mysterio is the headliner of this year's WWE Hall of Fame, although that seems likely. Regardless, the class of 2023 has gotten bigger with another announcement.

WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair appeared on WWE's 'The Bump' to announce The Great Muta as the next member of the WWE Hall of Fame's Class of 2023.

Although he didn't compete for WWE, The Great Muta(AKA Keiji Muto) is highly respected in professional wrestling. He competed in WCW in the 80s and early '90s as he had rivalries with the likes of Sting and Ric Flair. Along with his in-ring ability, he intrigued fans with his persona and popularized spraying "Poison mist" in his opponent's faces.

In Japan, Muta is highly celebrated as a legend. Among his many accomplishments, he has held the New Japan Pro Wrestling IWGP World Heavyweight Championship four times, the tag team championship six times, and won the G1 Climax in 1995.

At 58, he won Pro Wrestling Noah's Global Honor Crowned Heavyweight Championship against Go Shiozaki at Destination 2021 ～Back to Budokan on Feb. 12, 2021. He would lose the title on June 6. 2021 to Naomichi Marufuji at CyberFight Festival.

Muta finally ended his professional wrestling career this year. WWE helped Muta celebrate his final matches toward retirement when they allowed Shinsuke Nakamura to go to Pro Wrestling Noah on Jan. 1 to have a match. All Elite Wrestling also allowed Sting and Darby Allin to team with Muta in a winning effort against Akira, Hakushi, and Naomichi Marufuji at the Pro Wrestling Noah Great Muta Final Bye-Bye event on Jan. 22. His last match was a loss against Tetsuya Naito at Pro Wrestling Noah Keiji Muto Grand Final Pro-Wrestling "Last" Love on Feb. 21.

After a long and successful career, The Great Muta will be honored on March 31 as an inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame.

[Smartmark]

He deserves it no doubt. One of the greatest ever, and a true living Legend.