Character Product Keiji Mutoh DX Figures review

At one point in time, the Triple Crown Championship belts were considered by many
to be the absolute pinnacle of Pro-Wrestling. An opinion that was substantiated by
the near-flawless craftsmanship and high-caliber work rate of the All Japan Pro-
Wrestling roster. The arduous task of unifying all three championships during the
peak of All Japan's relevance in the 1990's made for many historic fights for the
Triple Crown.

Legends like Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, Stan Hansen,
Big Van Vader and Dr. Death Steve Williams all come to mind instantly when most
Puroresu fans think of the Triple Crown belts. The figureheads and stars of All Japan
that set a new standard of excellence for the Pro-Wrestling industry in the 1990's.

Epic stories of strength and determination, the act of overcoming insurmountable
obstacles and  the resonating aura of those who managed to rise above the competition.
The ring served as the canvas and the Triple Crown Belts were the greatest Tri-fecta of
Championship titles to hold in all of Pro-Wrestling.

Today we'll be taking a look at three very popular figures that contain the prestigious
Triple Crown belts. Blog #171 covers the Character Product Keiji Mutoh DX Figures.

The first deluxe figure variant we'll be looking depicts Keiji Mutoh in his entrance attire.

Keiji Mutoh is sculpted in his iconic "Pro-Wrest LOVE" pose. The overcoat Keiji Mutoh
contains  "Cross Wizard" era decals (a series of designs Mutoh would start wearing around
2001).

The first Triple Crown belt is the NWA United National Championship.

Fellow legends who held the NWA United Championship before being unified into the
Triple Crowns includes: Antonio Inoki, Genichiro Tenryu, Harley Race, Billy Robinson,
The Sheik, Abdullah The Butcher and Stan Hansen.

All three variants contain the same packaging front and back.

Keiji Mutoh's profile stats read:

"Height: 188cm (6'2)
Weight: 110kg
Signature moves: Shining Wizard
                             Moonsault Press
Titles: Triple Crown Belt
            NWA World's Strongest belt
            IWGP Belt
            World's Strongest Tag
            IWGP Tag"

The second figure variant depicts Keiji Mutoh-sans overcoat. The sculpted of this variant
shows Keiji Mutoh about to perform his Pro-Wrest LOVE pose (by kissing his hands).

Some Japanese stores refer to this variant as the "KISS Pose".

The same "KISS" pose Keiji Mutoh figure was also packaged with Mitsuharu Misawa in a
limited edition deluxe double pack (which you can read my review on here).

As you can see from the above picture, (even though Keiji Mutoh is performing a kiss), Mutoh
contains the same head sculpt as his entrance attire variant.

The second Triple Crown belt is the PWF World Heavyweight Championship.

In the 16 year time-span that the PWF Championship existed before unification, legends
like Giant Baba, Jumbo Tsuruta, Stan Hansen, Abdullah The Butcher and Riki Choshu
all held the PWF Championship.

Keiji Mutoh's right kneepad reads "HOLD OUT", a nod to Mutoh's old New Japan Pro
-Wrestling theme song. Mutoh's left kneepad contains 61 and 0. 610 in a certain Japanese
numerical system spells out "MUTOH".

Mutoh's tights contain more decals of the Cross Wizard design.

The third and final deluxe variant features Keiji Mutoh performing the Pro-Wrest LOVE
pose without his overcoat.

The third Triple Crown belt is the NWA International Heavyweight Championship belt.
The most prestigious and oldest of the three belts going back to 1957.

The NWA International belt was brought to Japan by "The Undefeated Iron Man" Lou
Thesz. Rikidozan's defeat of Thesz during this era helped establish Japan's credibility
in the Wrestling world.

Other legends who held the NWA International belt include: Gene Kiniski, Bobo Brazil,
Dory Funk Jr., Stan Hansen, Bruiser Brody, Giant Baba and Kintaro Oki (who single-
handedly held the NWA International title for a combined total of 3,052 days!)

                       

All three versions contain the same face sculpt and identical upper/lower torso.

                   
                     
                              Mini Big Heads Vol. 4. Keiji Mutoh (Entrance ver.) and Great Muta
                              (Devil ver.) figures.

The same Keiji Mutoh head sculpt and pose were shrunken down into minifigure form
as part of the fourth volume of Character Product's Pro-Kaku Heroes Mini Big Head
Figures line in 2004.

I find the paint job on the Triple Crown belts to be shoddy at best. Especially since
Character Product had been producing Pro-Wrestling action figures for 7 years by
this point in the company's existence.

                  


As deluxe figures, each variant comes with an acrylic display base, name plate and figure
holders that attach to the base.


Closing thoughts:

Released in 2004, the deluxe Keiji Mutoh set would be the first action figures made in
Mutoh's likeness under the Character Product banner.

While it's nice having three different variants to collect, Character Product could have
realistically bundled all three belts and alterations into one package (or two packages at
tops) if they felt inclined enough to do so.

Take for example Character Product's Kokushi Muso DX figure - which contained about 10
different accessories including a bonus pair of removable arms and entrance attire (which
was also released one year earlier in 2003) or Toukon Shop's Kazuyuki Fujita DX figure
which came bundled with two IWGP Heavyweight Championships back in 2001.

Technically speaking, Toshiaki Kawada was the actual reigning Triple Crown champion at
the time of the DX Keiji Mutoh figure's release. Though (with all due respect to Kawada)
I can see why Character Product decided to place the Triple Crown belts with three Keiji
Mutoh figures instead. After all, Mutoh was All Japan's president at the time and already
a two time Triple Crown champion. Not to mention, a major star in New Japan Pro-
Wrestling for well over a decade.

                              

For collectors who don't feel like pursuing the Keiji Mutoh DX figure variants, Character
Product also released the Triple Crown belts separately as a special three pack the same year;
using the same belts bundled with the Mutoh figures. The only difference is the added keychain
rings on the tips of each belt.

Though, with the soaring costs of Japanese figures on the secondhand market, I don't recommend
purchasing the three belt set for the $200 average they currently go for.