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Great Muta vs. Masahiro Chono
NWA Heavyweight Championship Challenge on December 28th, 1992

Event: WCW Starrcade "BattleBowl"
Location: Atlanta, GA
Announced Attendance: 8,000

Side headlock to start the match by Chono, Muta muscles out of it and they jockey for position. Irish whip by Muta but Chono shoulderblocks him down. Chono waits for Muta to get up, and Muta bails out of the ring but returns after a moment. They go into a Test of Strength, Chono flips Muta to the mat but Muta goes for the full nelson. Abdominal stretch by Muta but Chono reverses it. Muta gets out of it and starts pulling on Chono's arm. Chono gets out of it and returns the favor, but Muta gets back to his feet and kicks Chono in the leg. Kicks to the leg by Muta, snapmare, and he applies a headscissors. Chono gets out of it and goes for Muta's leg, but Muta gets to the ropes. They circle each other, kick by Chono and he throws Muta out of the ring. Muta returns after a moment, kick by Chono and he throws out Muta again. Chono rolls out after Muta but Muta quickly rolls back into the ring. Chono comes back in as well, tie-up, wristlock by Chono and he applies a hammerlock on the mat. Kick to the arm by Chono, Muta armdrags out of it but Chono keeps the armbar applied. Scoop slam by Chono, he goes up top but Muta is on his feet and he hits a superplex. Irish whip by Muta and he hits a back bodydrop. Muta applies a single leg crab hold, then applies the Muta Lock. Muta releases the hold after a moment and Chono gets to the ropes. Back up, kick by Chono and he hits a vertical suplex. Irish whip by Chono but Muta rolls past Chono and delivers a jumping back kick, sending Chono out of the ring. Chono gets back in, kick by Muta, Irish whip and he hits the Space Rolling Elbow. Kick by Muta, backbreaker, Muta goes up top but Chono rolls out of the way of the moonsault. Muta lands on his feet but Chono kicks him in the leg. Yakuza Kick by Chono, he goes off the ropes and hits a second one but Muta comes back with an elbow strike. Small package by Muta, but he gets a two count. Dropkick by Chono and he hits a backdrop suplex. Chono picks up Muta and goes for another one, but Muta lands on top of him for a two count. Irish whip by Muta but Chono avoids the dropkick and slaps on the STF in the middle of the ring. Muta struggles but he can't move and has no choice but to submit! Your winner and still champion: Masahiro Chono

Match Thoughts: Probably the worst singles match these two have had in my opinion. There were a few problems. First of all, the crowd likes Muta but didn't care about Chono since they didn't know who he was. The "wow, Muta is here!" factor was down a peg since it was his second match of the night, so while the crowd was still behind him it wasn't as intense as it could have been. Then you add in that the action itself was pretty lackluster with an ending that came out of nowhere. Really on this card this match wasn't needed, but I guess they wanted some type of title match on the show. It wasn't that it was bad as in 1992 Chono could go and Muta didn't seem tired from his previous match, but it just came off as flat and meaningless even though a title was at stake. Score: 4.0


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