The Great Muta Or Justin Thunder Luger?

[Slick_36]

Both of these guys are easily in my top 10 favorite wrestlers of all time. I think they have a lot of parallels with eachother, but at the same time they are some of the most unique and era defining wrestlers in the business. Their match with eachother was one of my favorites of all time, when Liger reveals his unmasked form and goes ape shit. Seriously a defining moment in the sport. So who do you have? MUTA! or LIGER!?

[YT]G0A0o2TG8Nk[/YT]

 

[Pittie Petey]

Muta and it aint even close
He was such an awesome heel when he first appeared in WCW with Gary Hart
His war with Sting is still one of my favorite feuds
Muta changed the game as far as American wrestling goes
Liger was just another Japanese import by the time he showed up

 

[Slick_36]

 

[SammyPops]

I prefer the Great Kabuki.

Great rivalry with JYD

 

[Slick_36]

I loved this homage to their match that Liger did recently.

[YT]yKZO74l3u7M[/YT]

 

[Slick_36]

I prefer the Great Kabuki.

Great rivalry with JYD

Great call. I wouldn't put him up there with them all time, but they wouldn't exist without the Great Kabuki. Excellent character.

 

[Slick_36]

Muta and it aint even close
He was such an awesome heel when he first appeared in WCW with Gary Hart
His war with Sting is still one of my favorite feuds
Muta changed the game as far as American wrestling goes
Liger was just another Japanese import by the time he showed up

Muta/Mutoh definitely changed the game the world over, more than once in his long career. Being the Heavyweight, he has a higher ceiling of what he can accomplish and has put on some of the greatest performances we have ever seen.

 

[beefcake180]

Liger's look really stood out to me when I was a kid and I'll always have fond memories of him. So Liger for me.

 

[Slick_36]

I have to go with Liger personally speaking. The cruiserweights of WCW fascinated me as a kid and had me dying to emulate their skills and ability. Liget wrestled on the very first Monday Night Nitro ever in the Mall of America. How cool is that? He is like a cosmic Tiger Mask who doesn't give a fuck! I love in his match with Muta when he snaps and becomes Kishin Liger, he straight tries to kill his opponents. Total animal. But he really defined the cruiserweight style we love so much in guys like Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Eddie Guerrero, AJ Styles, Mysterio Jr., KENTA/Itami, Chris Jericho, and so many more.

Spoiler

 

[edco76]

Changed my avatar

 

[Slick_36]

Changed my avatar

Righteous! That mist is so iconic.

 

[YourHeroandMine]

On a personal level, this is easy for me. Muta. His character performance was captivating, his matches during his prime were quality, he was doing shit that no other heavyweight was doing back then, and his feuds with Sting and Hase are two of my favorite ever.

Objectively, though, I think it's a lot closer than that. Muta's late 80's to early 90's run in the US and mid 90's run in Japan was fucking INSANE in terms of match quality and showmanship. He was also doing crazy shit for a heavyweight back in that time frame; his moonsault (still one of the best I've ever seen), planchas, missile dropkicks, handspring elbows, . He also had a better, constantly evolving gimmick and portrayed it to perfection.

Liger, on the other hand, was even more innovative and cutting edge than Muta, was probably more influential to a wider number of wrestlers, and remained a top notch worker for longer, so you've got to factor all that in. While I'm partial to Muta on a personal level, I'm not sure one could objectively place my favorite Muta feuds any higher than Liger's rivalries with Pillman, Benoit, or Otani.

So many great matches out of both guys. Speaking of Muta, I wish Ambrose would stop doing that power drive elbow. Ambrose is a good worker, but he doesn't even come close to executing that thing like Muta used to.

 

[Slick_36]

On a personal level, this is easy for me. Muta. His character performance was captivating, his matches during his prime were quality, he was doing shit that no other heavyweight was doing back then, and his feuds with Sting and Hase are two of my favorite ever.

Objectively, though, I think it's a lot closer than that. Muta's late 80's to early 90's run in the US and mid 90's run in Japan was fucking INSANE in terms of match quality and showmanship. He was also doing crazy shit for a heavyweight back in that time frame; his moonsault (still one of the best I've ever seen), planchas, missile dropkicks, handspring elbows, . He also had a better, constantly evolving gimmick and portrayed it to perfection.

Liger, on the other hand, was even more innovative and cutting edge than Muta, was probably more influential to a wider number of wrestlers, and remained a top notch worker for longer, so you've got to factor all that in. While I'm partial to Muta on a personal level, I'm not sure one could objectively place my favorite Muta feuds any higher than Liger's rivalries with Pillman, Benoit, or Otani.

So many great matches out of both guys. Speaking of Muta, I wish Ambrose would stop doing that power drive elbow. Ambrose is a good worker, but he doesn't even come close to executing that thing like Muta used to.

Hell yes! This is the kind of post that has me psyched for this new subforum. Might get me back in to wrestling again.

 

[AndTate]

Muta pinches it for me, 1996 and 2001 were amazing years for him for such different reasons.

 

[Prime LeVan]

I edge this one out to Muta, but BARELY. My favorite Japanese wrestler was Kensuke Sasaki though. Dude looked like he was legit trying to kill people out there...

 

[GSPSAKU]

On a personal level, this is easy for me. Muta. His character performance was captivating, his matches during his prime were quality, he was doing shit that no other heavyweight was doing back then, and his feuds with Sting and Hase are two of my favorite ever.

Objectively, though, I think it's a lot closer than that. Muta's late 80's to early 90's run in the US and mid 90's run in Japan was fucking INSANE in terms of match quality and showmanship. He was also doing crazy shit for a heavyweight back in that time frame; his moonsault (still one of the best I've ever seen), planchas, missile dropkicks, handspring elbows, . He also had a better, constantly evolving gimmick and portrayed it to perfection.

Liger, on the other hand, was even more innovative and cutting edge than Muta, was probably more influential to a wider number of wrestlers, and remained a top notch worker for longer, so you've got to factor all that in. While I'm partial to Muta on a personal level, I'm not sure one could objectively place my favorite Muta feuds any higher than Liger's rivalries with Pillman, Benoit, or Otani.

So many great matches out of both guys. Speaking of Muta, I wish Ambrose would stop doing that power drive elbow. Ambrose is a good worker, but he doesn't even come close to executing that thing like Muta used to.

This is how I feel as well. Muta, Muta, Muta. Never stale, always evolving and changing and the first Japanese wrestler to truly entertain a crowd. He is/was the absolute best at both worlds; wrestling and entertainment.

 

[deezy]

Missed Mutas big American run, Liger edges it out for me simply on nostalgia. Both are great tho.

 

[Deleted member 449757]

Muta by FAR. I never liked Liger.

 

[EmpireShallFall]

 

[Slick_36]

That match was pretty cool, they wrestled against Tiger Mask I, III, and IV. Koji takes the mask off halfway through though because he's too cool for it lol. It's on YouTube actually.