One of the most influential and innovative wrestlers to ever come out of Japan and to take America by storm. Because of his amazing year in 1989, Great Muta was able to enjoy many tours of the US and also as a result became a huge star in his homeland. Throughout this mixtape, we’re going to look at some of Muta’s highs and lows from 1989-2000. Sit back, relax, and enjoy a good 2.5 hours of Muta!

From 4/1/89. The Great Muta appears on the Danger Zone with Paul E. Dangerously & “Secret Service” Jack Victory!

• NWA World Television Champion Sting (w/Eddie Gilbert) vs. The Great Muta (w/Gary Hart) (NWA Great American Bash 7/23/89)
  

These final four matches on this card are THE matches Baltimore has come together to see. The story is simple: Muta is undefeated over the past several months and Sting is the MAN to beat. This is most definitely Muta’s biggest challenge in the NWA to date. Muta waits over in the second ring, so Sting LEAPS over BOTH sets of ropes to pounce on Muta. Gah-lee, he was awesome before the knee injury in 1990. Sting chases Gary Hart away, but then gets nailed by Muta off the top with a judo chop! Muta quickly hits the Handspring Back Elbow in the corner and sets up for the MOONSAULT here in the first minute of the match. He comes off the top, but he lands on his feet as Sting rolls out of the way. Sting thinks he’s going to start no-selling, but Muta’s kicks catch up with him and send him out to the floor, so Muta follows him out with a pescado. Muta heads back into the ring to pose for the crowd, but then Sting catches him with a clothesline from the apron and then one from the top rope for two. A standing dropkick from Sting sends Muta out now as Sting leaps over the top rope to meet Muta down on the floor for a little pounding. Back in, Sting goes for a suplex, but Muta slips out of it and hooks on the Oriental Sleeper, which doesn’t appear to be much different than the regular sleeper hold. Sting makes the ropes and hits a press slam, but then misses the leaping elbow drop. Muta shows Sting how it’s done with HIS beautiful version of an elbow drop (yes, it can be beautiful). Muta hooks on a chinlock, but just as Sting starts to rise up out of it, Muta turns it into an abdominal stretch and uses the ropes for leverage! Muta decides to not follow the cliché and let Sting escape with a hiptoss. Instead, he drops Sting down into the OKLAHOMA ROLL for 1-2-NO! Sting gets a second wind, but Muta stops that with a thumb to the eye and kicks away at the Stinger. He goes for another Handspring Back Elbow, but Sting moves out of the way and follows up with clotheslines. Sting delivers the running face slam and then dropkicks Muta out to the floor. Back in, Sting ducks the RED POISON MIST from Muta that hits ref Nick Patrick instead. Stinger Splash misses, so Muta hits the MOONSAULT instead. Tommy Young pulls Nick Patrick out to the floor and counts 1-2-NO! Absolutely no one had kicked out of the moonsault before. Sting ducks a spin kick and drops Muta down with a back suplex bridge for 1-2-3! (8:09) Quite the controversial finish, as both men got a shoulder up at two, therefore Muta is still considered undefeated. The belt would be made vacant as a result, ending Sting’s first major title reign. This was definitely one of Sting’s best matches outside of Flair and Vader. Everything was set up perfectly with Muta’s undefeated streak on the line and Sting having one of his banner years. ****

Part one. Sorry, I hate that its split up too.

And part two.

• Ric Flair & Sting (w/Ole Anderson) vs. Terry Funk & The Great Muta (w/Gary Hart) – Thunderdome Cage Match (NWA Halloween Havoc 10/29/89)
  

Oh man, the THUNDERDOME cage match! It’s just like the hell in the cell but without a top. It’s also supposedly electrified at the top to keep you from escaping. The only way to win this match is for either team’s second (or manager) to throw in the towel signaling that his team has had all they can stand. By the way, Bruno Sammartino is the special guest referee for this one. Funk gets OWNED by the faces to start. Sting takes Funk out to the floor and rams him face-first into the cage. Back in, Flair whips Funk from corner-to-corner and chops him down to set up a rolling knee drop. He rolls right into Muta and slaps him off the apron! Haha. Sting dropkicks Funk into his own corner to tag in Muta. Sting goes crazy on Muta and tags in Flair. He connects with an inverted atomic drop and follows up with another rolling knee. Sting tags and takes Muta to the floor for some cage-bashing. He even tries to RAM Muta through the cage while Flair and Funk brawl around ringside. Back in, order is restored and Sting gets caught in the heel corner. It eventually breaks down as they pair off (Flair/Funk, Sting/Muta) and just pound on one another. In the ring, Muta hits a snap suplex on Sting. Flair makes the save and dumps Muta out to concentrate on Funk. Sting comes back and delivers face slams to both Funk and Muta. Flair and Sting double-team Muta to lead into the SCORPION DEATHLOCK, but Funk makes the save. They pair off again, as Flair and Funk end up climbing the cage and slamming each other’s faces into the cage! Funk falls down while Muta is climbing up on the other side. Sting brings Muta down, but gets nailed as they get back in the ring. Meanwhile, Funk and Flair are back to climbing the cage! Flair BRUTALIZES him by just beating the crap out of him while he’s hung up on the cage wall! Sting has Muta up in a Military Press Slam. He teases to toss Muta out to the floor, but then he just slams him down in the ring. Sting ends up going up after Funk while Flair trades some SERIOUS chops on the floor with Muta. Flair brings Muta into the ring and sets up for the FIGURE-FOUR while Sting swings from a rope into Funk that hangs from the top of the cage wall, trying to bring him down off the cage! Once Flair gets tired of the Figure Four and decides to help Sting, he takes a spin kick to the back of the head from Muta. Mutalock on Flair is applied as Sting and Funk are still fighting on the cage. Funk ends up using the same rope Sting used to swing on and ties Sting’s leg to the cage wall! Ole Anderson helps him break loose because Flair realizes he’s in big trouble. Funk and Muta deliver a Spike Piledriver to Flair! Sting finally gets perched and LEAPS from the cage wall onto Funk! Amazing! Sting chases Muta up the cage wall while Flair sets Funk up for the FIGURE-FOUR. Muta gets off the cage and fights back with a backbreaker on Sting to set up the MOONSAULT, but Sting crotches Muta up top. Flair finally applies the FIGURE-FOUR on Funk! Sting heads up top and SPLASHES Funk! Awesome. Sting returns to the top and does it again! Muta tries to nail Bruno, but Bruno slaps him back and knocks him out to the floor. Gary Hart heads into the ring, so Ole follows him in and pops Hart to cause his towel is to land on Bruno’s back to give Flair and Sting the win. (22:04) Fun match with some really great spots going down, but it still didn’t seem to be on par with some of the other stuff they were doing at the time. That doesn’t mean it was bad, because it wasn’t. In other ways, it felt like it should’ve been more chaotic with all the heat these four generated in other arenas. ***

• The Great Muta vs. Hiroshi Hase (NJPW TV 9/14/90)
  

As best to my knowledge, Muta and Hase had two memorable bloody encounters and this is the first. They exchange arm holds to start. Muta backs Hase into the corner and delivers a double mule kick. Muta works a headlock and Hase fights out for a nice gutwrench throw. He follows that up with a heel kick and a front senton for two. Muta corners Hase and whips him across for the Handspring Elbow. Muta Lock is applied! Muta chops Hase around, which wakes up Hase to answer back with tons of open hand slaps. Hase runs into a spin kick in the corner and gets tossed out so Muta can throw him RIGHT into the ringpost. Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a GUSHER~! Muta beats on Hase on the apron and works the cut. Ref Tiger Hatori asks if Hase wants to quit, but he shakes his head no. Power Drive Elbow gets 1-2-NO! Cradle piledriver gets 1-2-NO! Muta gets in some open shots on the bloody Hase, and he begs Muta to bring it. Muta grabs a sleeper/body scissors, but Hase makes the ropes. Hase is having trouble getting to his feet, so Muta drops him with a spin kick. Hase elbows out of another sleeper, but whiffs on a dropkick. Poor Hase. He just can’t get anything going. Muta whips Hase in for another sleeper, but Hase counters with a back suplex. HERE COMES HASE! Flying knee drop gets 1-2-NO! NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX gets 1-2-NO! Big clothesline puts Muta on the apron and a running charge sends Muta to the guardrail. Hase collapses for a moment, but then goes out and gives Muta a suplex on the floor. Back in, Hase goes American on us and delivers a ten-count corner punch. He follows it up with a cross-corner whip and a clothesline. Golden Arm Bomber! Hase comes off the top for a single sledge, but Muta catches him with the GREEN MIST! Muta wears Hase out with a back suplex and goes to the floor to bring in a cheap-looking WWII-era gurney to beat everybody with. Well, that will get Muta DQ’ed. (18:37) Afterwards, Muta lays Hase on the gurney and gives him a MOONSAULT! Really good match with Hase bleeding everywhere. It still doesn’t come close to the amount of the blood in the infamous “Muta Scale” match, which we’ll look at a little bit later. ***½

• The Great Muta vs. Ricky Steamboat (NJPW’s Antonio Inoki 30^th Anniversary Show 9/30/90)
  

A dream match that should have happened in 1989 had Steamboat stuck around after the Great American Bash. This is the year in between Steamboat’s NWA run and his short-lived return to the WWF after WrestleMania VII. Ever the jerk, Muta dropkicks Steamboat when he’s not looking to kick-start this match. He chokes Steamboat down by using his karate belt, which is hugely disrespectful in Japanese culture. It’s the equivalent of a heel wearing a Yankees jersey at a show in Boston. They go to the floor where Steamboat gets sent over the guardrail into the front row. Back in, Muta continues to choke Steamboat down to gain his advantage. Steamboat slides underneath Muta off a whip and chops away. A dropkick puts Muta on the floor. Muta heads back in and starts wrestling. Steamboat snaps off a pair of armdrags into an armbar. Steamboat hits a dropkick, Muta hits a dropkick, and then they both attempt dropkicks. Muta misses the Power Drive Elbow and we’re back to the armbar. Muta finally escapes with an inverted atomic drop and enziguri kicks Steamboat out to the floor. Muta follows and drops his balls on the guardrail a couple times. Muta returns to the ring and taunts the crowd. Steamboat gets back in and they exchange chops. Muta wins that battle and works the leg. He cheats a little bit here and there by grabbing the ropes. Steamboat tries to chop back on one leg and goes for a slam, but Muta falls on top for two. Muta reverts to the legbar. Steamboat tries to stand up holding onto the ropes while Muta kicks away at the bad leg. Steamboat starts chopping, so Muta snapmares him over and connects with the Power Drive Elbow for two. Muta hits the backbreaker to set up for the MOONSAULT, but Steamboat pops up and dropkicks him for a super back suplex. Both men are down. From there, Steamboat treats Muta like Randy Savage for a nice WrestleMania III nearfall sequence. Muta ducks a chop and comes off the ropes for a crossbody block with Steamboat up against the ropes to send them both flying out to the floor. Back in, Steamboat hits a Flying Judo Chop. FLYING BODYPRESS? No! Muta hits him with the GREEN MIST~! and kills him dead with the MOONSAULT. (18:58) Is it just me or did Steamboat appear to be on auto-pilot here? Not one of Steamboat’s best, but Muta was playing a heel really well at this point. All he had to do in America was just be Japanese to get heat, but in Japan he actually has to work for it. **¼

• The Great Muta & Sting vs. Rick & Scott Steiner (NJPW Tokyo Dome 1/4/92)
  

This was the second annual WCW/New Japan supershow. Hey, it’s the only way Sting and the Steiners will ever wrestle in front of 50,000 people. Muta’s alter ego Keiji Mutoh is one half of the IWGP tag champs along with Hiroshi Hase. BLUE MIST~! Scott tries to go after one of Muta’s legs and gets blasted with an enziguri. Muta’s on the move and nails Scott with a spin kick and a dropkick. Sting and Rick tag. Rick hits Sting with a Steinerline and the Steiner Bulldog! That gets two. Rick runs into a lariat as Sting charges out of the corner. Sting gives Rick a taste of his own medicine by lifting him upside down and driving Rick stomach-first into the corner. Rick avoids a Stinger Splash and tags Scott. Immediately, Scott grabs Sting and delivers the Tiger Driver! He follows up with the Tilt-a-Whirl Slam for two. Sting reverses a tombstone piledriver into one of his own for two. In comes Muta. Power Drive Elbow connects, but Scott escapes Muta and delivers a t-bone suplex. Rick tags and delivers a Belly-to-Belly Superplex. Rick snaps off a NICE release German suplex for two. Scott tags and connects with a pumphandle slam. He takes Muta into the corner and gives him the Super Samoan drop move. On the mat, Scott grabs a dragon sleeper, but Muta makes the ropes. Scott hoists Muta up on his shoulders and tags Rick as he comes off the top with an elbow drop for 1-2-NO! Now Rick lifts Muta upside down and runs him stomach-first into the corner. That gets two. Scott comes back in and delivers the Spinning Belly-to-Belly Suplex. Scott tosses Muta out for a belly-to-belly suplex from Rick. Back in, Muta ducks under a clothesline and hits a back suplex. Tag to Sting, this time he hits the Stinger Splash on Rick! Tag to Muta, he tries the Handspring Elbow, but Rick catches him for a German suplex! AWESOME! Cover, 1-2-NO! Sting gets rid of Rick and together, he and Muta deliver a DOUBLE FACE SLAM to Scott! Another awesome spot. Sting presses Muta and throws him at Rick who happens to be up against the ropes to send them both tumbling over the top rope to the floor. Sting meets Rick on the floor with a plancha. Scott punches Sting away, but then takes a plancha from Muta! Back in, the Steiners meet Sting and Muta with STEREO FLYING CLOTHESLINES! Sting counters a Tilt-a-Whirl Slam from Scott into a victory roll while Rick gives Muta a Belly-to-Belly Suplex. Despite Rick’s efforts to pin Muta, the ref Bill Alfonso counts Sting’s pin on Scott for 1-2-3. (11:03) They went for the Sting/Luger vs. Steiners match from the first Superbrawl and succeeded for the most part. Finish was kind of lame though. Still a great match. ***¾

• IWGP Heavyweight Champion The Great Muta vs. Hiroshi Hase (NJPW TV 12/14/92)

These two have had one rollercoaster relationship over the past several years. Former IWGP tag champs together and other times mortal enemies. Hase goes crazy on Muta to start with lariats and the Golden Arm Bomber! They go to the floor where Muta gets his head slammed on a table. Back in, Hase works the mid-section with a gutbuster and a front suplex that lands Muta across the top rope. Muta delivers a flurry of kicks to get Hase off him for a second. Muta works the leg with an Indian deathlock to go into the Mutalock. Hase wisely pulls back on Muta’s neck to escape the hold. Awesome. Neckbreaker gets two for Hase. Muta heads out and starts looking for something underneath the ring. While Muta’s searching, Hase is just chilling in the ring. Muta doesn’t find what he’s looking for and comes back in to a suplex. Muta chops back and throws Hase out for a Handspring Elbow up against the guardrail. The concrete gets exposed and Muta delivers a Running Face Slam. Back in, Muta hits a Power Drive Elbow. Hase gets dropped legs first on the top rope from a headlock and falls to the floor only to be dropped on the guardrail too! Back in again, Hase stops Muta on the top and brings him down with a superplex. German suplex with a bridge gets two. Hase grinds Muta’s face across the top rope, but whiffs on a dropkick. Muta heads out and throws a chair in the ring. Hase tries to get the chair away from ref Tiger Hatori, but Muta runs in and kicks Hase down and beats him with the chair. Muta heads up top for the MOONSAULT, but Hase shoves him onto the top rope. Muta gets knocked off the apron and finds a FOOT LONG SPIKE! He then throws another chair into the ring to distract the ref and brings the spike into the ring. Hase gets it away from him and jabs Muta in the forehead with it! HERE WE GO! And the Muta Scale is born. Not only does Hase stab him with it, but he GRINDS the cut with the spike! To say Muta’s blood is everywhere is an understatement. To witness Hase also BITING the cut and then spitting “chunks” of Muta’s flesh out from his mouth is incredibly insane. Hase has blood all over his chest and blood is poured all over the ring. Muta still manages to try and come back with a Handspring Elbow, but Hase moves. Hase hits a piledriver and bites on Muta some more. Muta gets dropped throat-first on the top rope and then Hase goes to a sleeper. Muta’s face is more red now than it was with the kabuki face paint at the beginning of the match. I love it. Hase is just merciless. I really think he could have been a huge star in the US. He grabs a Scorpion Deathlock, which reminds me of WrestleMania 13. Muta makes the ropes and NO-SELLS some running big boots from Hase. He avoids a FOURTH boot and answers back with a belly-to-belly suplex. Muta gets an adrenaline rush and delivers a TRIFECTA of back suplexes. Muta heads up for the MOONSAULT, but misses! Golden Arm Bomber! Cover, 1-2-NO! Hase delivers a Powerbomb for 1-2-NO! Hase goes for another Golden Arm Bomber, but Muta elbows out and hits a Dragon Suplex for 1-2-NO! Muta can’t believe it. He gets another ADRENALINE RUSH, which is the equivalent of getting a special in No Mercy, and gives Hase another Dragon Suplex for 1-2-NO!! WHAT! Backbreaker sets up the MOONSAULT and that finally gets the win. (23:05) Well, Muta bled buckets in this one. There’s so much blood, you’d think Hase was busted open too. Still an incredible match over fifteen years later. I seriously think Hase could have been such a huge star in the US. You can tell just in his wrestling and attitude that he could have adapted very well over here. After the match, the NWA world champ Masa Chono and the Great Muta have a standoff with their belts. Those two would meet in the Tokyo Dome, leading to Muta bringing the NWA belt back to America to take on Barry Windham at Superbrawl III. I wanted to put that match on here so badly, but I can’t find it on Youtube anymore. I do have a review of it though if you’re interested on my Clash of the Champions XXII recap. ****¼

• WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion The Great Muta (NJPW Fukuoka Dome 5/3/93)

This was back when Hogan was getting paid ridiculous amounts of money for only a handful of appearances over in Japan, while pretty much ignoring the American fan base despite being the WWF champ. Still though, this is an interesting clash of styles. Hogan does seem to step it up wrestling wise more so in Japan. Hogan keeps Muta on the mat to start with various basic wrestling holds like an armbar or a front headlock. You know, stuff he should be doing in America, but doesn’t. Muta comes back with a dropkick and Hogan takes a walk. Back in, Muta goes to the eyes and hits the Power Drive Elbow for two. Hogan grounds Muta again, but Muta makes the ropes and heads outside. He goes underneath the ring to confuse Hogan, but it really doesn’t work. Hogan gets chopped out to the floor, but goes to the eyes and hits a suplex. They fight into the front row for a little bit and head back to ringside as Hogan delivers a back suplex. Hogan gets whipped into the ringpost. Muta grabs the ring bell hammer and nails Hulk in the face with it. He takes Hogan out to the platform for a suplex and then runs ALL the way back up the aisle and sprints back to clothesline Hulk into the ring! Oh, Muta. The crowd loves it though. Back in, Hogan starts scratching and clawing to gain the advantage. Muta reverses a cross-corner whip and hits Hulk with the Handspring Elbow. Backbreaker sets up the MOONSAULT! 1-2-NO! If this were Anywhere, USA, Hogan would HULKING UP right about now. Muta and Hogan head out to the floor. Muta swings off a ladder that leads to the rafters from the platform and crashes into Hogan. Back in, Muta and ref Tiger Hatori fight over a chair. Hogan capitalizes with the AXE BOMBER! Hogan takes the chair away, but turns around into some GREEN MIST~! Missile dropkick misses. Hogan hits the LEG DROP for 1-2-NO! Big Boot sets up another AXE BOMBER for 1-2-3. (15:55) Kind of a weird match that didn’t really seem to know where it was going. Good enough action to keep me watching though. **

• The Great Muta vs. Jushin Liger (NJPW TV 10/20/96)
  

Let me just say that Muta’s ring attire is SCARY AWESOME. His music is different too and A LOT cooler I think than his original. Muta freaks out some kids in the front row to start things off. They finally get to wrestling where Liger controls with a headlock. Dropkick puts Muta on the floor and he is PISSED. Back in, Muta goes to the eyes (even though Liger wears a mask) and throws him to the floor. Muta kicks Liger on his way back in the ring, but gets nailed with a Rolling Kick in the corner. Muta takes another breather on the floor. Back in again, Liger grabs a chinlock and follows up with a back suplex. Muta NO-SELLS and blasts Liger with a chop. Liger gets dumped out and taken over the guardrail for a Piledriver on a table! Muta wants to lean the table against the ring apron, but it keeps falling over so he takes the table and just slams it over Liger’s back. Muta grabs the WWII-era gurney from under the ring and jabs Liger a couple times in the stomach with it. Liger punches back and hits a piledriver of his own. Muta NO-SELLS that too and kicks Liger back down! They head out to the platform for Muta’s mile long clothesline. Back in, Muta hits a back suplex for two. Liger avoids the Handspring Elbow and nails Muta with the Rolling Kick again! Front Missile Dropkick from Liger leads to a pescado on the floor. Nice series of moves there. Muta crawls underneath the ring and Liger gives chase. Muta gets the better of Liger by sneaking out first and poking him with a freaking broomstick once Liger sticks his head out. In the ring, Muta rips off Liger’s mask! Muta brings a chair in the ring and goes to nail Liger, but Liger’s face is revealed with kabuki makeup on! Muta doesn’t know what to think of it and gets blasted with GREEN MIST~! Incredible! Liger brings a spike into the ring and jabs Muta in the forehead with it! He pulls off the rest of his body suit from his upper body to reveal black stripes. Liger stripes? They go to the floor where Liger beats Muta with the chair. He beats Muta with another spike and then pulls up the ringside mats for a piledriver! Good gosh this is awesome. Now Liger comes off the top down to the floor and crowns Muta with the chair. Liger brings a table into the ring and sets it up in the corner. He whips Muta into it and runs at him with the spike! Holy crap! Well, Muta moves of course and sprays Muta with the deadly RED MIST~! Handspring Elbow connects into the table, followed by a Running Face Slam to set up the MOONSAULT. That gets three. (17:35) How cool is that? Muta ripping off Liger’s mask only to find himself there. That’s genius. This started out kind of slow, but I believe that was the point. Muta didn’t take Liger too seriously until he the mask was torn off. What can I say? I love this match. ****

• The Great Muta (w/Sonny Oono) vs. Masa Chono (WCW Monday Nitro 5/26/97)
  

Chono had been an occasional member of the nWo for almost six months now and has been trying to recruit Muta in Japan for a while. He flashes Muta an nWo shirt before the bell. Lots of stalling here. Oono tries to encourage Muta to go after Chono, but nothing happens. Chono chases Oono around the ring. Back in, Muta grabs a weak headlock. Oono gets in the ring to yell at Muta and takes the RED MIST~! in the face. SWERVE! The ref throws the match out as Muta stomps away on his former manager. (3:00) Ha, Muta grabs Oono’s disposable camera and takes a picture of Chono being rough with Oono. Apparently, Muta doesn’t wear shirts – he just holds onto the nWo shirt and we now have our latest nWo member. No match, just an angle. [N/A]

• The Great Muta & Vampiro vs. The Cat & Mystery Partner Sting (WCW Thunder 8/9/00)
  

Ahh, the final year of WCW – where Ernest “The Cat” Miller is *your* WCW commissioner. We’ve got Schiavone, Tenay and Stevie Ray on commentary. Muta got mixed up with Vampiro because of Vampiro’s idolization of Muta in his youth to form the short-lived Dark Carnival tag team during the summer of 2000. This was the last regular American tour that Muta has made to date. He would make a one night only appearance in ROH at Final Battle 2003. It’s a big brawl to start with Sting pairing off with Vampiro while Muta and Cat fight on the other side of the ring. They make it in the ring where Sting plays face-in-peril. He takes a Power Drive Elbow from Muta. Vampiro tags in for the false tag spot to Miller. Whoops, Sting eats a boot when he tries the Stinger Splash. They clothesline each other to set up the mild tag to the Cat. He looks awful in there – blowing kicks and a hiptoss. Cat does hit a competent DDT on Vampiro for two as the Demon walks down to the ring. He meets Sting at New Blood Rising that following Sunday. Sting gets the GREEN MIST~! when he tries a Stinger Splash while The Cat hits the FELINER (roundhouse kick) on Vampiro for 1-2-3. (4:39) Cat gets the RED MIST~! The Dark Carnival triple-team Cat and Sting as they fade to black. Stevie Ray ~ “SOMEBODY HELP ‘EM!” Kind of a sad way to end the Great Muta mixtape. ¼*

Final Thoughts: Tons of great stuff to see here. Check out anything from 1989, anything with Hase, and the Liger match. These are MUST-SEE matches.