藤波辰爾
Muto wrestled his last match as a member of the New Japan roster at Wrestling World on January 4, 2002, where he alongside his teammate Hiroshi Hase defeated Osamu Nishimura and Tatsumi Fujinami. Muto would then defect full-time to All Japan, which led to him and Kea being stripped off the IWGP Tag Team Championship on February 2.