10 Deserving candidates for the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019

#8 Keiji Muto (the Great Muta.)

Keiji Mutoh, better known as the Great Muta

Keiji Mutoh was a multi-time Judo champion in Japan before making the transition to pro wrestling. As was common in those days, he was sent on a learning sabbatical to the United States, where he worked for the NWA promotion.

Mutoh was changed into the Great Muta character while in the United States and adopted the face paint and green mist of his kayfabe 'father,' the Great Kabuki. Muta's springboard elbow, moonsault, and spinning kicks are more commonplace in wrestling today, but in the 1980s they had seldom been seen in the USA.

Muta would hold the NWA Television Title and the NWA world title and is one of the few wrestlers to have held the IWGP championship as well. Mutoh is mostly retired but still pops up for matches from time to time.

Why he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame: Muta was crucial to the development of modern American wrestling styles and was a major star all over the world and in his native Japan. He has faced many legends, such as Hulk Hogan, Sting, and Ric Flair, and beaten them.