AEW star recalls match against Jon Moxley feeling like "life or death"

While an oppotunity to lock horns with Jon Moxley bears spotlight, there looms an added pressure to deliver and stand out. Such an occasion was perfectly capitalized by AEW star Wheeler Yuta, who has reflected upon the match that lifted his career.

Slipping away from his Best Friends stablemates, Yuta was on the precipice of joining the newly formed Blackpool Combat Club after losing to Bryan Danielson. However, the young wrestler had a final test to pass.

The 2-time ROH Pure Champion faced Jon Moxley in a thrilling bout on April 8, 2022 edition of Rampage. Despite coming up short, he earned the nod of respect from William Regal and Moxley. Amid huge cheers, Regal dished out his ''Slap of Honor'' on a fired-up Yuta, officially accepting his inclusion into the faction.

On the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Wheeler Yuta reflected upon the build-up ahead of his battle against Jon Moxley:

"Being able to have that couple days of people being like 'Hey, you have to watch this' and 'Hey, this is really important' was really cool. It was really nice to have that moment. That match...there's a few times where in the ring I was like 'All right, I'm completely in this moment and nothing else matters.' Obviously, you're always trying to get the win and you're always trying to compete as best you can. But, that was one of those moments where it feels like life or death...This is my opportunity and I really have to go seize it. So being able to do that and seeing where it took me with the BCC, has just been awesome," said Yuta.

The Hawaii native further weighed in on his in-ring growth with subsequent bouts against the Purveyor of Violence:

"I knew how important it was for me to prove myself, you know? The matches that I had [previously] with Jon Moxley — we had one that took about 90 seconds, one that was about 10 minutes, and that one was about 18 [minutes]. So just being able to show that growth was really my goal. I obviously did not expect for things to take off the way the that they did, but I knew in that moment that this is really important and this is an opportunity I have to seize," he added. (H/T: WrestlingInc)

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Wrestling veteran feels Wheeler Yuta is a better in-ring worker than Jon Moxley

Ever since making his AEW debut, Wheeler Yuta has been one with undeniable in-ring improvement. Despite rubbing shoulders with wrestling stalwarts such as Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli, the former ROH Pure Champion has never felt out of place in his faction.

On the Keepin' It 100 podcast, Disco Inferno lauded Yuta for upgrading his skills and being an astute professional in the ring:

"Wheeler Yuta’s work looks better than [Jon] Moxley’s! And it does, when they’re fighting or they’re beating people down, Yuta looks like he’s throwing smoke when he’s punching the guy. (…) I still think he was over pushed and pushed too fast, but I still think he’s in a better spot than he was before he started," said Inferno. [02:38 onward]

(You can read more here)

The Blackpool Combat Club will collide with The Elite on the upcoming Blood and Guts edition of Dynamite on June 19th. It remains to be seen who will emerge as the mystery partners for both the sides.