Masayuki Kono
On June 7, 2011, Muto announced his resignation as the president of All Japan Pro Wrestling, remaining in the promotion as an active wrestler and a member of the Supervisory Board. Muto's decision stemmed from a real-life incident where Yoshikazu Taru assaulted Nobukazu Hirai backstage at an All Japan Pro Wrestling show, which led to Hirai suffering a stroke after competing in a match. Muto took the blame for the incident, which led to All Japan suspending not only Taru, but also Kazuhiko Masada, Masayuki Kono and Minoru Tanaka who were present when the attack took place. After being on the midcard and without a big feud for most of 2011, Muto became the main challenger for NOAH's Jun Akiyama, who had won the Triple Crown Championship from Suwama. Muto reunited with Kenta Kobashi at All Together to defeat Akiyama and Takao Omori. Akiyama challenged Muto to a match for the title that took place on March 20, 2012, which Muto eventually lost.