The most interesting man on AEW Collision Saturday night was none other than Wheeler Yuta.
Booked to face Anthony Henry, it didn’t feel like it was going to be anything more than a normal wrestling match. Maybe something to highlight Wheeler Yuta a bit who, despite being AEW Trios Champion, seemed like a man without a country.
His partners PAC and Claudio Castagnoli have aligned with Jon Moxley after he tried to suffocate AEW Men’s World Champion Bryan Danielson with a bag. PAC even held Yuta back during it, as Yuta screamed for the suffocation to stop. Danielson is currently not cleared to wrestle but is scheduled to wrestle Nigel McGuinness at AEW Grand Slam in New York City.
In some people’s eyes, the Blackpool Combat Club hasn’t broken up but merely removed Bryan Danielson from the team and added PAC and Marina Shafir, who has been following Moxley around lately. However, it seems pretty clear that Wheeler Yuta doesn’t approve of what went down against The American Dragon.
Wheeler Yuta definitely seemed off in the match, with Henry taking much of the offence. It wasn’t until Henry started trying to bully Wheeler Yuta, calling him a sad boi because Bryan Danielson wasn’t there, that Wheeler went from a guy barely defending himself at times in the match, to a raging inferno.
Yuta’s eyes widened as he woke up and started smashing the hell out of Anthony Henry into the corner. Wheeler shoved referee Mike Posey out of the way so he could continue the assault. With Wheeler Yuta’s adrenaline at full force he assaulted Anthony Henry on the outside, and even kicking his temporary tag partner BEEF just because.
Wheeler Yuta would rain elbows down on Anthony Henry to the point of no response and then locked the Cattle Mutilation, Bryan Danielson’s original finisher, to win the match. He almost cost himself the win in his rage by nearly attacking Posey in the corner. He would finally crumble to his knees as the adrenaline finally ran out. He didn’t look like a man who just won a big comeback. He looked like someone unable to control his rage.
Later on, Wheeler Yuta would explain why the bag suffocation bothered him so much, since he just lost his aunt to COVID in Japan:
This was by far the best promo by Wheeler Yuta and one of his best in-ring performances. He’s had better matches overall due to having stronger competition, but the story being told in the Anthony Henry match was incredible.
Yuta talked about how the former members of BCC made him watch the bag suffocation and how he doesn’t understand it, or Moxley’s statements.
Wheeler Yuta made it clear he wasn’t aligned with the former Blackpool Combat Club and while he did support Bryan Danielson and his recovery, he didn’t exactly know where he fit in all of this.
Yuta has been pretty much aligned with someone in AEW his entire career. He was the young boy of Best Friends, dealing with bullying from Trent Baretta and Kris Statlander he took personal. He didn’t feel he was being taken serious and wasn’t learning enough to be a top star, which is why he went to the Blackpool Combat Club. He hoped that William Regal and the BCC would take him to that next step.
Aside from a run as ROH Pure Champion, Yuta hasn’t won any singles gold in All Elite Wrestling since being in BCC. Whatever progress he made it felt like it eventually slowed down. Moxley started disappearing and focus went more on Bryan Danielson. PAC joining Yuta and Claudio for the Trios Championship felt like the first shot in the arm that Wheeler Yuta’s tenure in BCC has had in over a year.
And unfortunately it is now in the shadow of the heinous attack by Jon Moxley. And if Yuta is now a man without a country, no longer associated with BCC? It might be the best thing for his career going forward. I’m more interested in his next steps than I have ever been.
It’s still a mystery what will happen with the Trios Championship. Yuta still wore it to the ring for the match against Anthony Henry, so he hasn’t given up the championship. If he turns on PAC and Claudio and doesn’t take the tough love, is he still going to defend the title with them? Can they all still co-exist? Or will the Trios Champion once again feel the fate of a vacating?
I would love to see this the start of a serious focus on Wheeler Yuta, someone who I’ve been critical of his development in the past. If Daniel Garcia doesn’t return? Whatever plans were set for him should end up going to Yuta. I would love to see him in the Continental Classic as well this year.
Even if Garcia returns, having Yuta take that next step into being a player in the AEW midcard instead of just a young boy or a pin eater in multi-man matches would be vital for AEW’s growth for the years down the road. Especially if this wasn’t just a one week performance. If Yuta can keep up this energy and storytelling? Going solo will be the best thing for his career. He might be ready.
Wheeler Yuta has fought for the Best Friends. He has fought for Blackpool Combat Club. It’s now time for him to fight for himself.
