Christopher Daniels Thanks Keiji Muto For Inspiring Him To Use A Moonsault

By Eric Mutter
Christopher Daniels makes his way to the ring AEW

Earlier this week Keiji Muto brought his legendary career to a close, wrestling his final matches against Tetsuya Naito and Masahiro Chono. The Japanese great's retirement has brought out a lot of emotions from fellow wrestlers who were tremendous fans of his historic work. First, it was AEW star Konosuke Takeshita taking time to thank Muto, and now Christopher Daniels has the floor.

Tuesday night on Twitter, Daniels posted a photo of himself, long-time partner Frankie Kazarian, and Muto, while also writing, "Congratulations to Keiji Muto on a spectacular career! Thank you for the inspiration to make the moonsault a part of my repertoire, & best wishes for an enjoyable retirement!"

While many had used the moonsault prior to Muto — including Chavo Guerrero Sr., Lanny Poffo, and the move's creator Mando Guerrero – Muto is credited with popularizing the move in both Japan and the United States, the latter when he appeared in WCW during the late 80s and early 90s. For his part, Daniels has used the BME (Best Moonsault Ever), a double jump moonsault, throughout his career.

Despite often being on opposite ends of the globe, Daniels and Muto would come into contact on two occasions. The first of which was the main event of Ring of Honor Final Battle 2003, when Muto — in his Great Muta persona — and partner Arashi defeated Daniels and Dan Maff to retain the All Japan Pro Wrestling World Tag Team Titles. The two would face off one more time in the opening match of TNA Lockdown 2014, with Muto — once again as Muta — teaming with SANADA and Yasu to defeat Daniels, Kazarian, and Chris Sabin in a six-man Steel Cage Match.

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